After an overwhelming response to our last question & answer session (I received over 100 questions by email, and if I haven’t had a chance to answer you – please be patient with me), future question and answer sessions will focus on single topics. And this week, I’m answering your questions about bone broth – from why your stock never gels, to if you can use the fat from your broths to defining broth, stock and bone broth. Don’t forget to enter our bone broth kit giveaway.
Next week, our question and answer session will focus on natural bodycare and you can send questions to questions@nourishedkitchen.com. If you have a random question that you need answered, please post it to our facebook wall, it’ll still get answered!
Video: Readers Questions on Bone Broth
Trouble viewing the video? Click here.
relevant links:
Basic Information on Bone Broths:
You can get more information on bone broths through the links below, which also includes a print copy of this question and answer session.
Basic Bone Broth Instructions:
If you want to get started making bone broth, here’s a few tutorials that’ll set you on the right path.
- Roast Chicken Stock
- Perpetual Soup: The Easiest Way to Make Bone Broth
- Fresh Chicken Broth
- Asian-style Chicken Foot Stock
- Homemade Beef Stock
Recipes for Using Bone Broths:
If you’re wondering how to use up all that broth you’ll be making, here’s some recipes I use.
- Drink it plain with a little salt, ground pepper and crushed garlic.
- Braised & Roast Meats: Easy Roast Chicken, Salisbury Steak for Grownups, Cider-braised Brisket with Tzimmes, Roast Lamb with Oregano and Lemon, Beef Pot Roast with Winter Vegetables
- Soups & Stews: Potato Leek Soup with Dill, Gluten-free Chicken & Dumplings, Chipotle Chile, Black Bean & Chicken Soup, Spiced Lentil Soup with Roasted Tomatoes, Curried Lentil Soup with Coconut, Onion Bisque with Frizzled Leeks, Egg Drop Soup with Duck, Wild Mushroom Stew, Caldo Verde, Winter Minestrone Soup, Beef Burgundy
- Braising Vegetables: Braised Whole Baby Beets.
Tools for Making Bone Broths:
If you want to get the right tools for making bone broth, try these:
- Where to Buy Good Gelatin to Supplement Your Broth
- Nourishing Traditions (the cookbook that started it all)
- Heavy-bottomed Stock Pot
- 6-qt Slow cooker
- Fine-mesh Sieve or Reusable Coffee Filter (for straining broth)
Next Week: Natural Bodycare:
- Email your questions about natural bodycare to questions@nourishedkitchen.com.
- If you have any other questions unrelated to broths (this week) or natural bodycare (next week), please post them to Nourished Kitchen’s facebook wall. They’ll still get answered!
I have a question that has been on my mind. I am lucky enough to have my own cattle and have been making bone broth successfully. BUT, I’ve always been told that cooking food for a long period of time destroys the vitamins. So, what can you tell me about this? Thank you!
We don’t consume bone broth for vitamins, but for minerals which aren’t that effected by cooking. So get your vitamins from liver, meats, healthy fats and vegetables, and take plenty of bone broth for the minerals.
Question. Can I reheat meals, soups casseroles etc made using refrigerated bone broth? Once something is cooked and re-cooked/reheated I don’t usually heat again. Is this also the case for foods made from bone broth/stocks? Thanks, Andrea.
From what I’ve heard, you can store bone broth in the refrigerator for about a week, up to 6 months in the freezer. I’ve seen many people say that if you plan on storing the broth longer than a week it needs to be boiled again before the week is up to remove any pathogens.
I wouldn’t trust foods you’ve added bone broth to that have been stored in a fridge over a week, as you can’t really boil those…
I like the idea of storing bone broth in the freezer that was frozen in ice cube trays and put into freezer safe bags. Then you can pull out cubes as needed to add to meals fresh that you don’t plan to store for more than a few days.
I have been happily making perpetual bone broth in my Crock-Pot every two weeks for several months now. I loved it! Is was always there for me to use for my rices and soups and the chicken was very convenient for my family’s sandwiches and salads! Last week I took my year-old daughter in for her check-up, vaccines and lead-screening. To my surprise the doctor called me personally to tell me that her level was a 7 and that he wanted to do a follow-up test! I couldn’t
believe it! Six children and NONE of then have EVER had high lead levels (4 out of the 6 have been born in the same home eating the same
junk that the majority of Americans ear! Go figure!)! I’m almost positive that it must be from my perpetual bone broth as I have recently become aware that there is some lead in the Crock-Pot. I am beside myself that I may have caused my children harm by feeding them lead tainted broth! Has anyone else had any lead issues with perpetual bone broth?
Can I use bone broth to cook noodles for pasta- will that add any nutrients to the meal? Also, the same with frozen, organic veggies? My 2 1/.2 yr has become a p[icky eater and I would love to sneak more nutrients into her meals. Thanks!
I am very confused. I made a very good gelatinous broth that later became liquid. Here’s what happened:
After the broth was cooled in the fridge, I skimmed off the tallow and stored it away. I wanted to reheat the pot just a little (not boiling) to get the gelatin into liquid form. Then I poured it into some mason jars.
Well, today after cooling yet again in the fridge, the broth has not gone back to being gelatinous. Does anybody have a clue as to what happened to all the gelatin? I didn’t boil it, only reheated it to make it easier to pour into the jars.
I am sorry I don’t have an scientific answer but I have had a similar situation. I made a beautifully thick gelatinous stock. I put some in the fridge that got super very well rubbery for lack of a better term. From that batch I kept a portion of it hot till the next day. Then I put it in the fridge. That second half of the batch would not solidify. I don’t know why but it would not. My guess iis the proteins disintegrated?
I hope you find an answer.
Peace,
Leanne
After successfully making a chicken bone broth in a crockpot, I decided to make a larger quantity in a stock pot but did not watch the temperature before I left for work.
When I got home about 10 hours later, the water temperature was only 140F. Tweaking with the stove top settings overnight, I finally have it a low simmer (200F) about 18 hours after the slow boil and skimming yesterday morning.
Is it still safe or is there a risk of illness due to the low temperature cooking that happened earlier?
Thanks!
If I am adding fresh herbs, should I wait to add them until close to the end of the cooking time?
My broth did not gel, can I add it to the pot again two days later to get it to gel?