Basic Vegetable Broth

Do you have vegetable scraps left over from making a pot of soup or a salad teeming with fresh veggies? If you do, you can easily make veggie broth to can for later use.

If you don’t have veggies for this, you can easily start saving tops of carrots, onion skins, cabbage leaves and cores, and other scraps from veggies as you use them, and simply toss them in a freezer safe bag and freeze until you’re ready for them.

Yesterday I brought out a couple gallon bags of scraps plus some fresh veggies that needed used immediately, and poured into the roaster. I added enough water to fill the roaster, and added seasonings to flavor just a little more. Then I set the roaster to 250 F and let it run all day until bed time. It cooled through the night and was ready for canning this morning. I had carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, jalapeno, onion, cabbage, and spinach in this batch.

This morning, I pulled out 7 quart jars and filled each by using a fine mesh small strainer inside the canning funnel. 7 quarts fill my canner pot. After the first 7 quarts sat in the canner, I filled 10 more jars in pints, until the roaster was empty. The strained out veggies went out to the scrap pile in the back of the yard, frequented by various neighborhood animals.

Fill the water bath canner to an inch or two of water over top of the jars, and start the canner going. Once at a rolling boil, boil for an hour. Don’t forget to add vinegar or cream of tartar to the water.

Once cooled and pinged, you will have easy broth for your rice or pasta or soups, at pennies per jar. This is super easy and worth the time. For us, this will be a flavorful addition to rice when making quesadillas and burritos.

If you’ve tried this, let me know your favorite veggie combinations!