gourmet babble

• 1 bunch organic carrots (ideally with greens), cut in half
• 1 bunch of celery (ideally with greens), cut in halves or thirds
• 3 large organic onions, quartered
• 3 pounds of organic potatoes, quartered
• 1 bulb of fennel, coarsely chopped
• 2 bulbs of garlic, cut in half so as to expose every clove
• 1/2 - 1 pound of mushrooms, coarsely sliced
• Mushroom stems, onion peels, potato peels, and other vegetable "leavings"
• 1/4 cup whole black peppercorns
• 2 - 4 bay leaves

Preheat oven to 350°. Take a large glass pan and coat with an oven-safe oil, such as macadamia nut or grapeseed. Place carrots, celery, potatoes, fennel, garlic, and onions in the pan. Drizzle with oil (I used olive) over vegetables and ensure even coating. Roast vegetables in oven for one hour. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Organic vegetables, before (left) and after (right) oven roasting

Take a large stockpot and put the roasted and remaining raw vegetables in, as well as the various herbs and spices. Deglaze the roasting pan with 2 cups of water and add to the stockpot (there's a lot of tasty things in that pan that you want to save for the broth). Given the potency of organic vegetables and the exceptionally long simmer times, we can get a lot out of these veggies; thus, estimate twice as much water as you have vegetables. I used a 20 quart stockpot and filled it to just an couple of inches below the rim. Add the water to the stockpot and increase heat to simmer (approximately 200° if you are using an induction oven).

20 quart stockpot, filled with vegetables and water (close-up, right)

Let simmer, covered, for 18 to 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

Strain soup in small batches, mashing vegetables caught in strainer to release the trapped broth within. (Be sure the mash-released fluids are also strained.)

First straining pass, with masher in strainer on left

Collect broth in a smaller stockpot (I used a 17 quart stockpot) and turn the heat up to a hearty simmer. Leave uncovered to let boil down by about half to form a concentrate, stirring occasionally; this will probably take 8 to 24 hours, based on how well you control the boil. Try to minimize the heat used, as excess heat will reduce the nutritive quality of of the stock.

When the stock has reduced by half, strain a second time into a yet smaller container; I chose a 10 quart stockpot here.

Second straining pass

Heat to just below a simmer to keep the stock and allow to mix a final time without the particulate matter. When ready (and this is up to you; you can wait 15 minutes or 24 hours), make a cold water or ice water bath capable of containing the stockpot to close to the rim (though not right at it, as you don't want the bath water accidentally getting in the stock). Submerge the stockpot in the bath and circulate the water every so often.

Cold water bath

The key here is to rapidly cool the stock to prevent bacteria growth and spoilage that occurs in the 60°-140° zone. Moving through that temperature range as quickly as possible keeps as much flavor naturally in the broth as is possible. If the bath water heats up too much, you may need to cycle out the bath water with a fresh batch of cold water (or, if using ice, simply add more ice).

When sufficiently chilled, divide into refrigerator and freezer-safe containers. Be sure to leave a little air in the top of each container, as water expands when freezing, and you don't want to burst your containers and/or make a mess of your freezer.

Stock doled out into containers

When that is complete, set aside one container for the refrigerator for near-term use and freeze the rest.

One freezer shelf — 7 quarts of concentrated stock!

It's a lot of work, and takes days, but ultimately, you've just made a lot of fresh, sodium-free stock that will be far better than canned stock or broth in any of your recipes.