How To Make Your Own Vegetable Stock One from grandmas good old kitchen

[mrdee 1]

Quite a bit of work, and quite a bit of equipment, ingredients and especially time needed to make this one, but it is an effort which is well worth it in the end, since it will be a great base for sauces and soups.

 

This method is to make a large quantity of stock, and it is a, not the recipe for vegetable stock, as it can be made in numerous ways.

 

Equipment:

 

2 large pans (15 to 20 litres)

1 oven tray

1 pointed sieve

1 bowl-shaped sieve

1 washed and wetted passing cloth (or, if not available, a clean and wetted tea towel can be used).

1 container with lid

1 skimmer

1 large ladle

1 cutting board

Ingredients:

 

40 grammes of butter or oil

500 gr of onion

500 gr white of leek

250 gr celeriac

100 gr fennel

500 gr tomato

200 gr mushrooms

fresh parsley

2 bay leaves

3 gr thyme

5 gr broken pepper corns

5 gr charvil

10 litres of cold water

0.5 litre of white wine

Method:

 

 

Wash and clean the vegetables and cut into small pieces.

In the oven tray in which you put the butter or oil, gently stew the vegetables, making sure the colour does not change.

Before vegetables can discolour, remove from oven, stop the stewing with the white wine and add some of the cold water.

Fill one of the pans with the cold water and add the contents of the oven tray.

Slowly begin to heat the liquid, until just below boiling point (about 90 degrees Centigrade).

While the stock is absorbing the vegetable flavours and aromas, remove the foam from the top with a skimmer and repeat this.

Let the stock absorb for about one hour (See warnings below)

Put the wet straining cloth into the pointed strainer and put the bowl-shaped sieve on top and strain the stock.

Let the stock cool off in a cool place (not in the fridge).

Keep the cooled off stock in the fridge (must be covered) or freeze it in equal portions for later use.

Warnings:

 

Never let the stock boil, or it will fail.

Take the foam off the top of the stock carefully, if done too vigorously it could make the stock fail.

Give the stock time to cool off before putting it into the fridge or freezer.

Rinse the straining cloth/tea towel before use to prevent remainders of soap to be present.

Should the stock not be clear enough, you can add a vegetable clarifier (can be bought in a specialised herb and spice shop).

 

Result:

 

If you have done everything right, the stock should be crystal clear.

Edited November 2, 2011 by mrdee (see edit history)