Golden Goodness

As my access to a variety of fresh Michigan produce started to wane last autumn, I began collecting vegetable scraps for a batch of vegetable broth. I put the scraps in bags in the freezer until I had about six pounds. I also dehydrated some left over mushrooms that otherwise would have been languished. I had three end of season tomatoes, a few large cloves of garlic, several handfuls of herbs harvested before the first freeze (sage, basil, thyme oregano, rosemary, chives, and parsley), and the left over dehydrated  mushrooms in addition to cut ends and pieces of:

Carrots

Celery

Garlic scapes

Red pepper

Onion

Leek greens

The ribs of Swiss chard, kale, and spinach

Zucchini

Carrot top leaves

I ended up with about 6 pounds of vegetable material and added 8 quarts of purified water to the pot to cover the vegetables. Then, I followed the directions in the Ball Blue Book bringing them to a boil and then simmering covered for two hours. After that, I cooked it all down with the cover removed for two hours before straining. This created over 5 quarts of golden liquid ready for winter soups.

I canned it in my pressure canner following the directions in the canner booklet. When I use it in recipes, I dilute it 1 part broth with two parts purified water. A great use of kitchen scraps.

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Vegetables for Broth

Canned Vegetable Broth