Aviator Eats: Veggie Scrap Stock

Aviator Eats: Veggie Scrap Stock

In the restaurant industry, restaurants create “value-added products” in order to extend shelf life, prevent waste and more. Some examples include turning berries into a jam (the shelf life is extended) or a butcher grinding steak trimmings into burger patties (no waste).

Why are we telling you about “value-added products”? Well, you can stretch your grocery budget by creating your own value-added food or regrowing food from scraps at home. This guide uses all the odds and ends of vegetables to create a stock for soups, gravies, braises, and more.

We’re calling it a guide because we’re not going to provide exact amounts, it depends upon the vegetables your household has. 1 full freezer bag will make about 4 quarts of stock.E

Equipment: – 1 Gallon Freezer Safe Plastic Bag (like Ziploc)

Ingredients

Assorted vegetable scraps such as:

• Onion tops, bottoms, and peels
• Garlic skin and nibs
• Carrot peels
• Potato skins
• Mushroom stems
• Celery bottoms and leaves
• Stems of herbs like parsley, cilantro, sage, etc.

Instructions

• Anytime you cook something add scraps to the bag in the freezer.
• When the bag is completely full add it to a stockpot and cover scraps with water.
• Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
• Let it simmer for at least 30 minutes, you can definitely simmer longer.
• Strain out the vegetables and portion the stock.Note:

The veggie scrap stock is going to need seasoning (salt, pepper, herbs, red pepper, dried chilies, etc.). You can add the seasoning to taste in the stockpot or you can season as you use up the stock. Seasoning as you use it is helpful if you’re using it in different preparations.