Green Tip: DIY Vegetable Broth

The Palisadian-Post has teamed up with locally founded environmental nonprofit Resilient Palisades to deliver a weekly “green tip” to our readers.

From composting to using orange peels as natural pesticides and boiling, baking and then grinding egg shells to use as a “calcium boost” in smoothies, previous green tips have addressed creative ways to divert food waste from ending up in landfills.

Here is another creative way to use food scraps, which will help reduce packaging and even save you a little money at the grocery store: making your own vegetable broth from leftover scraps.

Step 1: Wash your vegetable scraps. Many vegetable scraps will do, such as onions, garlic, parsley, ginger, celery, lettuce, potato skins and carrot peels.

However, keep in mind that cruciferous vegetables—like cauliflower, broccoli and brussels sprouts—can make the broth bitter, so it’s best to skip those. It’s good to have a mix of vegetables for the broth, and make sure you have at least two cups.

Step 2: Place your vegetables into a pot and completely cover them with water.

Step 3: Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.

Step 4: Strain your broth through a sieve or colander, and you’re done.

You can keep the broth in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze for future use. The leftover boiled vegetables can then be used for composting (make sure to cool them first for vermicomposting).

To make your broth more savory, you can add shiitake mushrooms to the vegetable scrap mix and stir in some miso at the end. You can then use this vegan alternative in place of beef or bone broth.