Vegetable broth - is there a point?

[suzukiaustin]

Is there any point in making vegetable broth? When you cook the veggies, do they retain any of their nutrients, or is veggie broth purely for flavor? If you make veggie broth, what do you use it for?

I don't like to waste stuff, so I take my peels, extra pieces of veggies, etc. and put them in a giant zip lock bag in the freezer. NT doesn't have any recipes for veggie broth, and I just don't know what to do with all of the veggie scraps. Any ideas?

Thanks!

[Lizzo]

I save all my veggie scraps too and just throw them in my bone broth. It's hard for me to be able to throw perfectly good, intact veggies into stock and to throw away perfectly good veggies scraps in the trash(we can't compost b/c we live in an appt with no back yard). So this relieves both of my guilts- and it's more economical.

[snowbunny]

We just use it for flavor or for soups when we have vegetarian guests.

[holyhelianthus]

NT doesn't have any recipes for veggie broth

if there i broth recipes than there is veggie broth recipes. just substitute the animal broth for the veggie broth.

[tanyalynn]

When I'm organized and using my veggie scraps, I just cover them with water and boil for 20-30 mins. I don't think they need the really long cook time that bones do. I think you get some vitamins & minerals from them, so it's useful if you want a different flavor for something or you run out of bone broth. I've found it's fine for cooking grains, doesn't add a weird flavor or anything. I lost a lot of my good links, but there are some veggies that aren't recommended, either because they cook up to strong/unpleasant flavors, or they are high in things like oxalates (I don't remember why oxalic acid is a problem, I read it and then it flittered away). Another reason I haven't done it lately--I can't remember the list of use/don't use veggies.

[RootBeerFloat]

There was a very wise woman who used to post on the vaccines form; her advice to moms whenever one of their kids was sick was to make them homemade vegetable soup, because of the importance of those minerals in the diet. I also save my veggie scraps (I tend to throw out the ones that are higher in oxalic acid, which blocks minearal absorption) and, when the bag is full enough, toss them in a pot of boiling water for an hour or two. Use sea salt when you do this; it helps to remove minerals from the veggies and put them in the stock. The remains make great compost.

NT has a few veggie stock recipies, check out Dr. Connoley's vegetable soup, Bieler Broth, and posassium broth. All good and very nourishing.

I use veggie broth the same way I do bone broth. To cook soups, sauces, or soaked grains. And often just to drink. I can't keep broth in our house, we go through it like crazy, so I tend to just grab whatever we have on hand and use it when I need it.