Soup Stocks & Bone Broths

All traditional cultures make use of animal bones, usually in the form of gelatin-rich bone broths.

With the weather cooling, I love to make chicken and beef stock to use for soups, sauces, risotto and anything else I can imagine! It is important to note that stock is just a starting point - this is not the soup or the sauce, just the stock. I usually devote a day that I will be home or at least in and out to check on it and plan the night before to make the stock. It requires minimal effort, only a little planning and hovering.

The healthiest soup stocks contain gelatin. Not the powdered kind that is now made in a lab with food additives but the old-fashioned kind that is from the cartlidge of the animal and is full of nutrients and digestive support. In order to get that, you want to use animal parts that we normally throw away. You can ask for them at a better butcher and they sometimes have them or can get them for you. If you buy your meat from a farmer, they can always get them for you. The true test of the level of gelatin in your stock is the level of "gel" that is evident after refrigeration. If it remains liquid, there is little gelatin. Thick, almost like jello, indicates a great deal of gelatin.

Stocks are rich in minerals, especially calcium, magnesium, potassium and all of the trace minerals. The use of cold water to start with a little vinegar while cooking allows the minerals to be drawn from the bone marrow and enriched into the stock. It goes without saying that if you can find organic, grass fed beef or organic, free range chicken that would be best.

Stocks also improve digestion and have been used as a traditional healing remedy for colitis, Crohn's disease, acid reflux, colds, flu, asthma and many other intestinal issues. The heat of the broth along with the nutrient value and easy digestion might explain some of the healing properties. I often use a small cup of broth as an after school snack during the winter for kids who are tired, hungry and exposed to all sorts of things at school.

The basics of soup stock are as follows...
Beef bones & meaty pieces OR a whole Chicken with chicken parts such as necks, wings, or feet (best if you can get them) The bones & cartilage parts are for the nutrients, the meat is for the flavor.

Place the chicken and/or bones & cartilage parts in cold water (1-4 quarts depending on the size of your stock pot & amount of bones) with some apple cider vinegar for at least an hour - I just soak mine overnight in the refrigerator. Brown the meaty parts of the beef before adding to the warming water on the stove.

Cook for 12+ hours at very low temperature - a simmer. You will want to check on it after the 1st and 2nd hour and skim off any scum that rises to the top. After that, you can add the vegetables - carrots, onions, celery, parsley.

Cool and strain the liquid. I use the chicken for chicken salad, soups, enchiladas, etc... Refrigerate the liquid and cross your fingers for good gelatin! You can skim the fat off the top after it has cooled. Enjoy!
(for more details, see the recipes under "Further Reading") *

Andrew Schloss, The Washington Post...

Broth isn't much; a chicken back, some parsley sprigs, a carrot, a celery stalk and time, of course, to bring the flavors out. And after hours of simmering, its life begins, for broth is not a finished food - it is just the start of culinary magic. And it is the crux of all cooking. With it, the sauce is a snap and the soup is practically made.

The words "broth" and "stock" are used interchangeably in many cook-books, and for good reason, because the differences between the two are hair-splittingly small. In general usage "broth" is a home-cooking term, while "stock" is the province of professional kitchens. Broth is made from spits and spots of leftovers, and its nature changes according to what is on hand. Stock follows a prescribed formula. It is made on a regular basis and forms the groundwork for all of the sauces, soups and simmerings that are the mainstays of a classic kitchen.

There is yet another distinction. The meaty element of stock is predominantly bone, while broth is typically made with meat. This difference changes the finished products in two significant ways. The large proportion of bone gives stock a more gelatinous texture and greater clarity. Broths tend to be thinner and cloudier.

Essential to all broths is starting with cold water. As the ingredients warm in the water, their fibers open slowly, releasing their juices to add flavor. Off flavors can result if the broth is not skimmed.

The broth must be kept at a bare simmer throughout the cooking process to ensure clarity. *

Taken from...

Research by Dr, Weston A. Price, a dentist, in the 1930's in response to the rampant dental decay and structural problems he witnessed in his practice. His research involved a ten year study of the health of populations untouched by western civilization. His studies revealed that dental caries and deformed dental arches resulting in crowded, crooked teeth are the result of nutritional deficiencies within one generation, not genetic defects. His work is published in the landmark resource, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, and is carried on today through the Weston A. Price Foundation.