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Sunday, April 6, 2014

Bone Broth

Bone broth is everything that appeals to penny-pinching Petunia. Firstly, it is made with stuff that one would ordinarily throw away. Secondly, compared to more expensive dishes, it is far more nutritious. 

Bone broth "contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons--stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.” (Quote from HERE) Best of all, bone broth contains all the minerals I need to restore my adrenals and thyroid in a form that is easily absorbed. It's much more delicious than popping supplements into my mouth.

Before I started cooking with the thermal pot, broths were a hassle. You had to boil them for hours. Meanwhile, someone had to tend the fire. Of course, energy costs went through the roof. With a thermal pot (or in my case, TWO 7 litre thermal pots), it really costs very little to make bone broth. Best of all, there is no need to tend the fire.

My bone broths are boiled for five days. The thermal pots need to be re-heated for 5 minutes every 6 hours. Other than that, they sit calmly in the insulated holders cooking the goodness out of bones, cartilage, heads of this and feet of that.


For 1 hour, I soak 2 pork bones + 1 fish head + fish bones, heads and tails, 
in water with 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.


Odds and ends of vegetables, plus some.

After 5 days, everything but the largest bones become reduced to a mush. I strain the broth.

A thick and viscous broth results. I pop it into the fridge and then skim off the congealed fat from the top. The broth turns to jelly when cold. I scoop the jelly into containers and freeze for use.

One container of broth became mushroom soup. I added evaporated milk, dill 
and 2 punnets of button mushrooms.

One container of broth became pumpkin soup. I added pumpkins, tomatoes, onions and celery... boiled it in a thermal pot for 1 hour. Then I blended the lot.


Another container of broth became fish beehoon soup. I added blue ginger, yellow ginger, onions and lots of Chinese parsley.... boiled it in a thermal pot for 1 hour, strained it... added evaporated milk, fish and vegetables.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

hi Petunia
After you soak with apple cider vinegar, do you pour away the vinegar and add water before boiling? :) thanks am not a good cook at all, so appreciate your reply.
SS

Petunia Lee said...

SS Wang - You soak in water +vinegar. You boil the whole lot without throwing anything.

Unknown said...

I wanted to tell you,
Thank you for the broth you brew.
Despite fact that I can’t write,
But I insist, alright!

Mum used the broth the other night,
She put potatoes, onions, tomatoes and all in sight.
Words can’t express my gratitude,
When I took a sip of the soup.

Wow! Heaven fragrance filled the air,
I bowed my head and said a little prayer.
Thank you Lord, for making our paths meet,
So that I get to taste this lovely treat!

Petunia Lee said...

LOL! You are a hard act to follow for a certain Little Someone!!

Unknown said...

Hi Petunia, could you let me knw what's the purpose of soaking the bones in the apple cider vinegar?

Petunia Lee said...

The apple cider vinegar is a relatively mild and sweet vinegar that does not leave an unpleasant taste in the broth. Its purpose as an acidic medium is to break down the bones so that your broth is mineral rich.

pummanuel said...

Hi Petunia, do you blanch the bones before you soak them in the water?

My mother in law cooks pig's bone broth every week, over the stove for 2 days. However, she doesn't add other things so her broth is clear. She quoted the same reasons as you mentioned and attributed her children's build to it. However, her method is so laborious that I stopped after some time.

Petunia Lee said...

Hi... nope. I don't blanche. I strain out all the impurities at the end instead. A sieve will do... or else, you can also use a muslin cloth. I don't use muslin cloth. Lazy.