# anyone make bone broth?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 27, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322 "2012-11-27T23:13:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/1 "2012-11-27T23:13:36Z")
I have used the jelly-type stuff you get when you cook meat and made soup out of it, but I’ve been reading about making broth out of the bones. I assume you bring them to a boil and then simmer, the longer the better.
I get there will be nutrition (minerals?) you would otherwise be throwing away but what I’m wondering is how good would it taste?
in other words - could you just throw veggies & seasonings in and call it soup or would it be very thin/watery?
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/2 "2012-11-27T23:22:42Z")
It depends on what’s left in and on the bone. You can brown bones to bring out flavor, and it’s a basic in many brown sauces. But I thought bone broth was about extracting the gelatin from the bones. It could be fairly thin when hot, but it ought to set up like jello.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/3 "2012-11-27T23:28:41Z")
Here’s a really old study on the nutritional value of [Bone and Vegetable Broth](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1975347/pdf/archdisch01497-0052.pdf). It was considered for the nutritional value for feeding infants.
> [@](#):
>
> As judged by chemical standards, bone and vegetable broths are not of
> great nutritional value. Their protein is mainly gelatin, and they contain
> only small amounts of starch and sugar. For technical reasons fat was only
> determined in the laboratory broth (see tables 1 and 2). The amount found
> was about the same as that in milk, but in practice the fat will vary (a) with
> the amount of fat left on the bones, (b) with the type of marrow, and (c) with
> the amount skimmed off during the preparation of the broth.
> Assuming the broth to contain as much as 3 per cent. fat, its calorie
> value will be far below that of milk, and its inorganic salt composition in
> most respects also very inferior. Broths and milk contain approximately the
> same amounts of iron, but the latter is admittedly a poor source of this metal.
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### Author:  [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/4 "2012-11-28T00:14:44Z")
I find it pretty watery unless you boil it down a lot. It has a rich texture and a kind of depth to the flavour if you use it instead of water in a soup (i.e. you add enough other flavour components).
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/5 "2012-11-28T00:26:32Z")
I’ve done it a few times. Just save up some bones, and when you have enough (i.e., the gallon ziplock in your freezer is filling up), boil them for a long time. Optionally, toss in some bay leaves, celery, or other vegetables. Fish out all solids at the end, and use it in place of water in any savory dish. It’s not the same as meat broth, but it still has a lot more flavor than water.
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### Author:  [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/6 "2012-11-28T01:15:22Z")
I use bones to make broth, but they have a little beef attached to them. I get them from boning ribeye steaks. I use a pressure cooker for about an hour and the results make a great base for onion soup.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/7 "2012-11-28T02:44:22Z")
You can make either a ‘white’ stock or a ‘brown’ stock from bones of any animal, including fish. The only difference is that brown stock is made from roasted bones, and white stock is not. It really has nothing to do with the color of the end product.
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### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/8 "2012-11-28T03:00:03Z")
I make a roast chicken now and then, and I pick the carcass pretty clean of meat. Then the skin and bones go into a pot, and get boiled up. If I saved the peels and skins and trimmings from the veggies that I used, then that goes in the pot too. Generally I roast the bird with onion, carrot, and celery. Anyway, after I think that the broth is done, I strain the solids out of the liquid, and if I think the liquid is too watery, then I reduce it. Generally I’ll add some of the diced meat back into the broth, too.
I freeze this soup in single servings. If I want chicken soup, then I can add some frozen mixed vegetables, or some noodles, or rice, and heat everything until it’s cooked. It’s a heck of a lot better than canned soup. And sometimes all I want is some broth and meat.
Sometimes I do this with a bone in beef roast, too, but usually I don’t see any bone in roasts that look that good.
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### Author:  [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/9 "2012-11-28T03:13:52Z")
I’ve done it, both with chicken and beef bones.
Mostly I did it because I’m a foodie and it seemed the cool thing to do. Both attempts worked out all right, but…
The recipes I followed end up with you making a ton of broth. I filled my freezer both times, and only got through maybe 20% before I started feeling like - ugh, this stuff is getting old, I’d better just toss it.
The broth I made - it was good, for sure. I liked the chicken broth the most. The beef broth - well, it tasted a bit, I dunno, ‘richer’ isn’t the right word - maybe “marrow-ier” or “bone-ier”? I’m sure it’s an acquired taste, and it wasn’t bad, but it seemed stronger, deeper and darker than what I was accustomed to.
Add on that - I’m single, so even when I do cook, it’s small quantities. Homemade broth - great if you can use it all, I ended making large quantities then wasting most. It was a fun cooking experiment, and I’ve filed it in my experiences for when I do have a lot of people to cook for regularly, but until then I’ll just stick to the store-bought broth.
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### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/10 "2012-11-28T03:19:15Z")
If you have more broth than you think you’ll be able to use in the normal course of cooking, try cooking vegetables in it. Especially chicken broth. But yeah, I’ve had to pitch some broth when it got a few months old, because a freezer is not a stasis chamber.
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### Author:  [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/11 "2012-11-28T03:25:09Z")
I make a batch occasionally, whenever I’ve filled a gallon bag or two with chicken carcasses, vegetable trimmings, those carrots in the bottom of the fridge that are getting a bit limp, etc. Then it goes into quart containers in the freezer, and I’ll usually use it over a few months. Then I just use it whenever a recipe calls for chicken stock. It’s not as rich as stock carefully made from roasted chicken backs, for example. But it’s not too bad compared to canned chicken stock. I also will use it to cook rice, or in some dishes where water is called for but some extra savory wouldn’t hurt. I think I tossed a quart into a batch of chili I made a few weeks ago, instead of water for cooking the dried beans.
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### Author:  [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/12 "2012-11-28T03:26:04Z")
Broth is made by simmering meat.
Stock is made by simmering the bones.
Stock is my preference because you get the gelatin out of the connective tissue and all the flavor from the bones. When you make broth from meat, to get any flavor in it you have to simmer until all the flavor is gone from the meat and in the liquid. Then you throw the meat out because there is no flavor left in it. I take the meat off the bones and simmer the carcass and leavings with some carrots, celery, onion, salt, peppercorns and a fresh rosemary sprig or two. I’ve got 8 quarts in the freezer that I made Thanksgiving night.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/13 "2012-11-28T04:18:03Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#):
>
> Broth is made by simmering meat.
>
> Stock is made by simmering the bones.
>
> Stock is my preference because you get the gelatin out of the connective tissue and all the flavor from the bones. When you make broth from meat, to get any flavor in it you have to simmer until all the flavor is gone from the meat and in the liquid. Then you throw the meat out because there is no flavor left in it. I take the meat off the bones and simmer the carcass and leavings with some carrots, celery, onion, salt, peppercorns and a fresh rosemary sprig or two. I’ve got 8 quarts in the freezer that I made Thanksgiving night.
And if you simmer the stock down far enough, you have demi glace, which is a gelatinous concentrate of all those good things. Takes up a lot less space than stock, too. 😉
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### Author:  [@Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stickler)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/14 "2012-11-28T06:31:20Z")
* * *
Went i was a kid my grandfather used to BBQ ribs. After that my grandmother would
take the ribs and put them in a roaster and stick them in the oven to simmer for
hours till the meat nearly fell off the ribs.
I noticed the bones were soft enough to chew and taste the morrow of the bone,
was delicious. I hope this helps you some way.
Thank you kindly
Stickler
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/15 "2012-11-28T06:47:22Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#):
>
> If you have more broth than you think you’ll be able to use in the normal course of cooking, try cooking vegetables in it. Especially chicken broth. But yeah, I’ve had to pitch some broth when it got a few months old, because a freezer is not a stasis chamber.
Or rice. Rice loves broth.
I don’t understand how you can have broth for so long in the freezer. I can never have enough broth.
> [@](#):
>
> And if you simmer the stock down far enough, you have demi glace, which is a gelatinous concentrate of all those good things. Takes up a lot less space than stock, too.
Technically, it’s _glace de viande_. (Demi-glace isn’t nearly as reduced, and it’s a mix of veal stock and sauce espagnole, although you can do a non-traditional one with other stocks than veal, but the sauce espagnole still stays). This is what I do with almost all my broth/stock these days. Not only does it take up less space and works great reconstituted, but it’s awesome for concentrated flavors to add to gravy, sauces, stews, etc. It’s basically homemade bouillon.
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### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/16 "2012-11-28T11:02:40Z")
Yeah, rice and broth play very nicely together. Potatoes boiled in broth are very, very good, too, they have a lot of flavor without the fat and salt.
The reason I tend to have broth go stale in the freezer is because I forget it’s there, a lot of the time. It’s a bad habit of mine.
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### Author:  [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/17 "2012-11-28T14:24:48Z")
a lot of good posts, thanks to everybody. glad I brought this up! I also have trouble using up large amounts of whatever - even frozen - before it’s either too old or I’m too tired of it. but some good ideas, here.
found some stuff about the health of it [HERE](http://nourishedkitchen.com/bone-broths-adrenals-bones-teeth/)
\*Making bone stocks is an easy way to massively raise the minerals in oneʼs diet. But the benefits of bone broth go well beyond mineral content. fats + minerals = bio-available minerals The problem with mineral supplements is that we arenʼt what we eat. A more accurate statement is we are what we absorb from what we eat. Mineral uptake is the issue here. The good news is the fats in bone broths help restore greater gut health and therefore increase the absorption rate of the minerals present in broths
\*
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### Author:  [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/18 "2012-11-28T14:38:32Z")
I bought a big beef knuckle bone and cooked it in a slow cooker to make a highly gelatinous bone broth. I wish I had roasted it first – it would have had more flavor. Froze the result and add it to soups and stews as i remember. It’s easy enough to do. Have made soups from chicken and turkey carcases for as long as I remember. Yum!
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/19 "2012-11-28T15:15:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> Or rice. Rice loves broth.
>
> I don’t understand how you can have broth for so long in the freezer. I can never have enough broth.
>
> Technically, it’s _glace de viande_. (Demi-glace isn’t nearly as reduced, and it’s a mix of veal stock and sauce espagnole, although you can do a non-traditional one with other stocks than veal, but the sauce espagnole still stays). This is what I do with almost all my broth/stock these days. Not only does it take up less space and works great reconstituted, but it’s awesome for concentrated flavors to add to gravy, sauces, stews, etc. It’s basically homemade bouillon.
I claim brain fart due to the codeine cough syrup I’m ingesting these days. :smack:
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-bone-broth/642322/20 "2012-11-28T15:34:02Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> I claim brain fart due to the codeine cough syrup I’m ingesting these days. :smack:
It’s okay. It’s a common mix-up. “Glace de viande” is not really as well-known a term as “demiglace.” You could also just call it “meat glaze” if you don’t want to be all Frenchy-like.
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