07 Feb What Is Bone Broth Made of and How?
If you are curious to learn how bone broth is actually made, you’ve come to the right place. Basically, the process involves beef or chicken bones that simmer for a long time on the stove.
And why should you be interested in this cooking process? Well, when it comes to healthy foods, bone broth has been an emerging trend the past year and will continue to be.
This is mainly because the secrets of bone broth that have been used by cultures for thousands of years, to nourish, heal, and support the body… have come to the surface again!
Why Bone Broth?
When it comes to knowing how bone broth is made, it’s good to know some of the benefits that come from drinking it, and why you should know how to prepare it yourself:
- It boosts your immune system;
Bone broth is known to be rich with amino acids, like arginine, glutamine, and cysteine. These health boosters are well-known supporters of the immune system.
- It may help protect your joints;
Collagen is the main structural protein in the various connective tissues in the body, it is the most important protein, making up from 25% to 35% of the whole-body protein content. This protein is needed for healthy bones, so you are in luck! Bone broth is the goldmine of gelatin, which breaks down as collagen in the body.
- It may reduce inflammation and help with your digestion.
Besides strengthening your bones, the gelatin is said to help seal up holes in the intestines. This can help ease leaky gut, chronic diarrhea, constipation, and even some food intolerances.
In addition to this, all of the nutrients, minerals and amino acids that the bone broth contains are helping you grow shiny hair, strong nails, and are keeping your youthful look.
Bone broth takes traditional broth a step farther. This nutritional liquid can give you a lot of health benefits thanks to collagen, minerals and amino acids. So, when it comes to following a healthy diet, bone broth may be the answer you have been searching for! Stay tuned to read how it’s made!
What Is Bone Broth Made Of?
Here are the main ingredients that are used in the making of bone broth:
- Beef or chicken bones
The quality of the bones that you use in your bone broth will influence the nutrient content. So, making sure that the bones come from well-fed animals is important. Otherwise, the bones won’t have any nutritional value.
A lot of times people don’t know whether the bone broth can be made with cooked bones. The answer is simple if you already have pre-cooked bones, great! You can use them in your bone broth if not, the raw bones will need to be blanched and roasted before the simmering begins.
At Broth by Design, we only use bones from grass-fed animals, as well as organic vegetables and herbs in our bone broth and green broth.
- Vegetables
Making bone broth includes big chunks of vegetables: celery, carrot, green beans, broccoli, zucchini. And aromatic veggies such as onion, bay leaves and a few cloves of garlic.
Adding vegetables when cooking bone broth is important. Why? Because a lot of nutrients in the broth come from the vegetables. Next time you want to toss your leftover vegetable scraps, keep them for the next batch of bone broth.
This approach of using the collected leftovers from the vegetables is a tradition that comes from our great-grandparents. In the past, people didn’t have a habit of throwing away food that can be used and turned into a delicious meal. Their great wisdom gave us a lot of recipes that don’t require a lot of products but are still one of the healthier options out there.
How Can You Make Your Bone Broth More Flavorful?
Adding veggies wouldn’t just add minerals and other nutrients such as calcium to your bone broth, they will add flavor and make it tastier!
- Apple cider vinegar
The apple cider vinegar is added to help extract the vitamins and minerals from the bones. However, using an excessive amount of it may harm the taste!
- Sea salt – to season your broth
- Water
How to Make Bone Broth?
Some typical mistakes can happen when making bone broth at home. For example, the bone broth won’t gel. This is because you either didn’t cook it for long enough to extract enough collagen from the bones or you didn’t have enough bones in your broth.
Assembling the right tools is also important. Like a heavy stockpot for simmering, baking sheet to roast the bones on, skimmer for removing the fat off the top of the liquid as it’s cooking and a fine mesh for straining the broth.
Don’t worry, if you follow the next steps, you will know how to make this nutritional superhero:
1. Blanch the bones
When the bone broth is simmering, just below the boiling point of water, a white or grayish foam may rise to the top. And since it simmers for a long time, bone broth can be especially susceptible to this foam, which can give the broth an off-flavor. To avoid this, blanching the bones before cooking is a must.
To blanch, cover the bones with cold water, bring to a boil, and let them cook for 20 minutes before draining and roasting.
2. Roast the bones
The next step is to roast the bones on both sides.
Firstly, preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) degrees. Then, place your bones vertically on a baking sheet on the pan and roast them for about 15 minutes.
This step magnifies the rich, meaty flavor of the broth. So, crank your oven up and roast the bones until they’ve reached a brownish color.
3. Prepare veggies
Adding extra nutritional value and taste is achieved with vegetables. The next step is chopping the vegetables that are going to be used in the bone broth.
Afterward, mix the ingredients in a cooking pot.
4. Cooking
The next step is the cooking part.
In this step, it’s important to know that you should simmer, not boil! So, keeping your stove on 200°F (93°C), just below boiling is the ideal temperature for making the best-tasting bone broth.
When cooking on a regular stove, it will take from 12 to about 24 hours for the bones to simmer. If you are using an instant pot it will take around 4 to 5 hours.
During the first few hours, check on it occasionally to skim off any foam from the top. If the bones were already blanched, the process of skimming will be to a minimum. If not, you’ll have to spend more time skimming off the layer floating on top during the first few hours of the simmering process.
5. Remove solids
After the cooking of the bone broth is done. The solids are strained and only the liquid is left.
6. Store your bone broth
The final step is the serving and storing part.
One way to go about it is by using jars, or freezing the broth in ice cube trays!
Or, you can invite your family for a healthy dinner and enjoy bone broth’s benefits with some good company.
What Should You Eat Bone Broth With?
Drinking bone broth will leave you with a warm, delicious feeling. It’s a satisfying drink somewhere between a beverage and soup.
Other than that, you can use your bone broth to add additional nutritional value to your other meals. There are numerous cooking recipes when it comes to cooking with bone broth, or bone broth powder.
Next time, instead of cooking rice or other types of grains in water, cook it in bone broth for a tasty, nutritional boost. Simply swap the amount of water you’d normally use with bone broth. This will add extra flavor to meat dishes like grilled chicken, steak and slow-cooked pork.
Summing Up
Though it may seem like a fairly straightforward process, there are lots of details involved in the making of bone broth.
In conclusion, pairing beef or chicken bones with plenty of vegetables is the fundamental cookbook when it comes to making bone broth and other recipes with it. These recipes pair gelatin-rich bone broths with vitamin and mineral-rich vegetables for wholesome, delicious meals.
Lastly, if you are having a busy schedule, don’t ruin your diet by eating fast food. Try our bone broth and have a healthy meal within minutes. It’s a delicious elixir for busy people or for the ones that aren’t so talented when it comes to cooking but love its advantages.
