Make vegetable stock by starting accumulated raw vegetable scraps in cold water and cooking them at a gentle simmer without boiling. Keep the scraps in a covered container in the freezer while you collect them; divide the finished stock into shallow containers, refrigerate it within 2 hours, and use it within 3 to 4 days or freeze it. Onion and carrot ends, leek greens, celery, and mushroom stems, and the seedy part of tomatoes make a good base. Knowing what to leave out matters most: sulfur-rich vegetables, peels that have turned bitter, and spoiled scraps can ruin the stock.
Vegetable stock is made from pieces that are already left over when vegetables are prepared: onion ends and outer layers, carrot ends and peels, the dark green leaves of leeks, celery leaves, mushroom and parsley stems, and the seedy inside of tomatoes. These pieces accumulate in small amounts each day and are not enough to fill a pot on their own, so they are collected in a container. The scraps must be clean and sound. Scraps do not mean spoiled vegetables; they are fresh parts of a vegetable that are inedible or unused.
Not every scrap belongs in the stock, and this choice has the greatest effect on its quality. Sulfur-rich vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, and radishes smell strong when cooked for a long time and transfer that smell to the entire stock. Do not use green potato peels. Pepper seeds and the white membrane add bitterness. Carrot peels that have turned bitter while sitting, unwashed soil, and any moldy or rotting piece should also be left out. Boiling will not fix any of these problems; anything wrong that goes into the pot affects the whole stock.
Put the scraps in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover them; judge the proportion by eye, not by weight, and keep the scraps submerged. Heat the pot over medium heat and lower the heat as the water approaches a boil. Like meat stock, vegetable stock should not be boiled: keep it at a gentle simmer, with only occasional bubbles on the surface. Boiling breaks up the scraps and makes the stock cloudy. If foam collects on the surface, skim it off with a spoon because it also makes the stock cloudy. Leave the lid ajar and add hot water as the level drops; cold water lowers the pot’s temperature.
You can tell the stock is ready by the condition of the scraps, not by the time; taste it too, because stock that tastes like plain water has not developed enough flavor. As cooking progresses, the scraps release their color into the water: the carrots turn pale, the onion skins lose their color, green leaves turn gray, and the textures soften. When the scraps have released their color and softened, the stock has taken on their flavor; cooking it longer will not add flavor, only reduce the liquid. Remove the pot from the heat and strain the stock. Do not press the scraps in the strainer; pressing them makes the stock cloudy and less clear.
Add no salt or only a little to the vegetable stock. If it is salted before you know which dish it will go into, it can throw off that dish’s seasoning; adjust the salt by tasting the dish in which you use the stock. Seasonings should be used sparingly for the same reason: a few peppercorns and one bay leaf are enough. Use the finished stock in place of plain water in soups, rice, and vegetable dishes. Onion skins give the stock a golden color; leave them out if you want a colorless stock, or use more skins if you want a darker stock.
Comments (3)
Turpgilleri suya atmama kuralı önemliymiş, ben brokoli saplarını da biriktiriyordum ve su acı çıkıyordu. Suçu soğan kabuğunda arıyordum. Şimdi poşeti ikiye ayırdım: soğan, havuç, kereviz ve pırasa bir tarafta, turpgiller başka bir yerde ve onlar çöpe gidiyor.
Artıkları dondurucuda bir poşette biriktiriyorum, dolunca tencereye atıyorum. Haftada bir litre çıkıyor.
Kaynatmadan pişirmek berraklık için mi, yoksa tat için mi?
İkisi için de. Kaynayan su sebzeden çıkan parçacıkları dağıtıp suyu bulandırıyor, ayrıca bazı sebzelerde keskin bir tat çıkarıyor. Hafif fokurdama hem berrak hem yumuşak bir su veriyor.