You know all those veggie scraps you throw into the compost? (Or worse, into the trash?) You can extend the usage of your vegetables if you save the ends and peels in a ziplock bag or storage container in your fridge to make vegetable broth, or what I like to call “Compost Soup.”
In the summer this is also a great way to keep the fruit flies to a minimum!
The thing about saving your veggie scraps to make vegetable broth is that some veggies work better than others to make a good tasting soup. Here is a list of veggie scraps you should keep and another list of veggies that you should go easy on adding.
Good to keep:
- Onion ends and peel (as long as it isn’t mouldy)
- Garlic ends
- Carrot peels and ends
- Celery ends
- Bell peppers
- Potato peels
- Yam or sweet potato peels
- Turnip peels
- Green leafy vegetable ends and yellowing leaves (not slimy leaves)
- Beet peels and ends (if you don’t mind purple broth)
- Leek or green onion tops
- Tomatoes (but don’t wait too long to use them as they go bad quickly)
- Squash parts
- Apple peels
Not as good to keep (or use sparingly)
- Cabbage
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
-too many of these vegetables make the broth less tasty.
Don’t use:
- Fruit peelings (except apple)
Directions:
Collect discarded veggie bits over a week or so until you have enough to fill a soup pot. Keep your eye on your scraps to make sure they aren’t going bad and discard the ones that rot. Put them in a soup pot and cover your “compost” with water. Bring to a boil. Simmer until veggies are soft. Then strain the broth into a container and use in soup or drink as is. It should keep in your refrigerator up to a week but try to use it as soon as possible for fresher tasting broth.
Saving your vegetable scraps and making broth out of them allows you get all the nutrients from your vegetables. Plus it’s frugal, and there is less food waste. Soft cooked veggies are still compostable.
Have you ever saved veggie scraps to make broth?
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Hey melodie–since you were talking about compost soup–i thought i would share a funny composting story with your lovely readers! thanks for sharing your awesome space with us this friday!
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Hey thanks! I never knew I could!! I always wondered how to make vegetarian broth….Now I know. So simple! Call me dumb
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My sister makes the best vegie soup…and now I can come close with your ideas.
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Brilliant idea. Seriously. I now have something to do with all my vegetable peelings. You see we don’t have room for a compost heap and our council don’t collect food waste, so until now they have gone in the bin and I have always thought it was a terrible waste. Vegetable broth here I come.
.-= Cave Mother´s last blog ..I’m Touching Wood, But I Think Things Have Got Easier =-.
I bet that is super flavorful! Great way to use scraps too.
What a great tutorial! I really appreciate the lists of what to use/ not to use… I had NO idea I could use apple peelings in my vegetable broth! Thanks so much for this.
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Thanks for commenting on my blog! This is some great info for making broth. Thanks for sharing =)
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Thanks for inviting me to join your linky. (My survivor brownies are not exactly vegetarian or healthy… but a nice indulgence!) Happy Mother’s Day. :~D
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Thanks for inviting me to join you today, Melodie!
For whatever reason, I’ve totally never considered using my leftover veggie scraps/ends to make a broth. Definitely not seeing the forest for the trees with that one!
One question though – what do you think about adding asparagus ends? I didn’t notice it on your list, but I’ve got so many right now since it’s in season.
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@Trina – I think asparagus ends would be okay. I knew I’d end up leaving something out! Also, cucumbers? Don’t use. Anything watery like that that you’d only eat raw I wouldn’t put in. Basically there is a family of cabbage-like veggies (notice how cauliflower and broccoil grow wrapped up in their leaves like cabbage?) that give the broth a very pungent taste. I use some, but not alot. I think asparagus should be fine though. And each time you make this, because you will be using different amounts of certain scraps, it will taste slightly different.
What a neat idea! I never thought of that!
I also wanted to let you know that I’m doing a review and giveaway on my blog that I think your readers would like. I have never seen a nursing bracelet giveaway so I was on a journey to do one and I got to!!!!
http://meandmineinasmalltown.b.....w-and.html
Yep I found you! I never thought of keeping veggie scraps for soup! What a very helpful idea!
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What a great idea! Broth is too expensive to buy when it is so easy to make.
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I’ve never saved scraps for broth, but I always made soup from any veggies that are going “past their best”. I’ll have to try your recipe though as it is a very good way to help prevent food waste and also often a lot of the veggie’s nutrition is in the peels. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
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I love doing this! Veggie broth is great for cooking your rice and other grains in as well!
One warning about the asparagus ends… go sparingly! They will very quickly over take the flavor of your broth! Or that’s what I have found. So unless you want asparagus broth.
Also, if you are worried about the scraps going bad before you get to them, throw them in a bag in the freezer! Just keep adding your scraps until you have a full bag. I have one bag of scraps and one bag of usable leftovers, but not enough to make a meal out of. I make the broth and then throw all the leftovers in for soup.
Thanks for the tips Diana. Especially about using the freezer. Duh! (on my part!)
What a great idea! I had never thought to do that. I’ll have to bookmark this for future use
Thanks for linking up to Food Revolution Fridays! Love having you participate!
I just made chicken broth today (which I realize is different because it has meat, but still broth) and according to the book I used, I can freeze it for 3 months. I’m assuming you can do the same?
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@Claire – Yes. You can totally freeze this. Three months sounds right to me.
If you’re ever in doubt how long something will last, there is a great site you can check. It has had storage info for everything I’ve ever looked up: http://www.stilltasty.com/searchitems/search_page
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