CI's insanely expensive Ultimate Vegetable Stock

M

marilynfl

Moderator
I've been going through old CI's to get rid of them and saw this recipe. Decided to make it and was reading through the exhaustive list of ingredients when I happened to glance over at how much it makes as I was guessing a gallon. Because, let's face it...if you're making a basic ingredient that is really for OTHER recipes, you want that work to add up to something substantial.

We're talking onions, carrot, celery, a small head of cauliflower, a pound of collard greens, shallots, scallions, garlic, leeks, herbs, a few spices and over 1.5 hours to make.

And it makes...a quart of stock.

A QUART. Four cups. I can use up four cups in a heartbeat. I went over the recipe several times to see if it was a typo. Nope. 7.5 cups of water are used and after the 90 minutes, she strains it into a 2 quart container, but doesn't press on the leavings. So...one quart.

Me being me, I took the magazine to the grocery store with pen in hand, noted, then added up the ingredients. Apparently, CI either does not consider cost an important issue or they do, but don't care...because a rough estimate puts it at $26. For a quart of vegetable stock. The mind boggles.

Here we go:

2 medium onions ($1)

10-12 garlic cloves ($0.50)

8 large shallots $5.60 (5/pound = $3.50)

1 celery rib ($0.25)

1 carrot ($0.25)

4 large leeks $6 (2 for $2.98)

2 bay leaves

1.5 tsp salt

1 tsp peppercorns

1 pound collard greens ($4)

1 small head cauliflower ($3.50)

8-10 sprigs fresh thyme ($2 blister pack)

1 lemongrass stalk ($2 blister pack)

4 scallions ($1)

2 tsp rice wine vinegar

PS: I could have made three different dinners with that list.

 
Compare that to Splendid Table frozen Stock Base

Yield: Makes about 1 3/4 cups base; enough for 7 quarts broth

A good vegetable stock is an important ingredient to have on hand, but supermarket offerings don’t taste like vegetables, and traditional homemade versions are expensive and time-consuming to make. In our recipe, we grind a selection of fresh vegetables, salt, and savory ingredients to a paste that we can store in the freezer and reconstitute as needed. Leeks provide good allium flavor, and a small amount of freeze-dried onions support the fresh flavor of the leeks. Tomato paste and soy sauce provide an ultimate boost.

Long-simmered vegetable broth tends to be murky and off-tasting. After testing, we realized we prefer the clean, fresh flavor–not to mention the ease–of vegetable broth made by stirring boiling water into a paste of vegetables and herbs, which can be conveniently stored in the freezer. Dried minced onions minimized wateriness; unlike dehydrated onions they are freeze-dried and maintain more flavor compounds. For the best balance, measure the prepped vegetables by weight. Kosher salt aids in grinding the vegetables. The base contains enough salt to keep it from freezing solid, making it easy to scoop out a little at a time. To make 1 cup of broth, combine 1 tablespoon of fresh or frozen broth base with 1 cup of boiling water. If particle-free broth is desired, let the broth steep for 5 minutes and then strain it through a fine-mesh strainer.

Ingredients

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped and washed thoroughly (2 1/2 cups or 5 ounces)

2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2/3 cup or 3 ounces)

1/2 small celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3/4 cup or 3 ounces)

1/2 cup (1/2 ounce) fresh parsley leaves and thin stems

3 tablespoons dried minced onions

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

Leeks and minced onion
Directions

1. Process leeks, carrots, celery root, parsley, minced onions, and salt in food processor, scraping down sides of bowl frequently, until paste is as fine as possible, 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomato paste and process for 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl every 20 seconds. Add soy sauce and continue to process 1 minute longer.

2. Transfer mixture to airtight container and tap firmly on counter to remove air bubbles. Press small piece of parchment paper flush against surface of mixture and cover. Freeze for up to 6 months.

Vegetable broth base (per 1 cup prepared) Cal 10; Total Fat 0g, Sat Fat 0g; Chol 0mg; Sodium 380mg; Total Carbs 2g, Fiber 0g, Total Sugar 1g, Added Sugar 0g; Protein 0g

https://www.splendidtable.org/story/2018/02/09/vegetable-broth-base

 
Wow, that is crazy. For me, I would not waste a whole head of cauliflower on vegetable stock

In all my years of cooking, I have never used it, but then not a vegetarian. I use chicken stock for almost everything, even beans cooked in a slow cooker. Kitchen Basics, unsalted is the best on the market for my taste. I buy it by the case. Plus I make my own when I get enough backbones and a few carcasses . My homemade stock is kept for special dishes or when cooking for company. I use beef stock now and then but have not found one I really love. Occasionally, I have good beef bones to make beef stock which I freeze.
What are the reviews for that recipe? With all those ingredients, I wonder if the taste is fresh or muddled.

 
When I roast a chicken I take the drippings/juices from that. Then brown the carcass and

simmer that to add to the juices and concentrate that. It's a delicious rich stock. I even use it for French onion soup.

 
I know. I was just replying to Karen's post about chicken stock. smileys/surprise.gif)

My DGD is now vegan and if I make something for her I will probably go to that trouble. When I have cooked for vegetarians I usually just buy the stock.
Keeping kitchen trimmings would be a good start--carrot tops, maybe even peels(?), Fennel fronds (again not too much) parsley is a very overlooked flavor I think. And cabbage, but not too much so it takes over. I have had a recipe that used sweet potato. Whole leek. Lots of celery.

 
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