Sometimes a soup recipe calls for canned broth as an ingredient. Now the price of broth is not low. Bullion cubes would do the trick, but what I am thinking is to use the leftover vegetable cooking liquid. Make sure it has enough salt. Has anybody tried that? Or would you use plain salt water?
I have to make my own homemade bullion cubes because the store bought or canned usually has MSG in it, and if I use them then I get migraine headaches. MSG is a flavor enhancer, so I usually make broth from left over veggies or trimmings, or chicken or beef and put in ice cube trays and freeze and then put them in baggies to use.
Some people save leftover veggie cooking water just for use in soups. You can put a jar with a lid in your fridge or freezer just for this purpose. As far as having "enough" salt-- salt isn't all that good for you. One benefit of NOT using canned broth is that it cuts down on the amount of sodium in the soup, making it healthier. I certainly wouldn't use salt water. Just make the soup, and at the table each person can at as much salt as they like. Or you could experiment with different seasonings. You may be surprised at how good it tastes without all the added salt.
Broth is really a concentration of whatever you have cooked. Vegetable broth from cooked veggies will work fairly well, but you can add more flavor. It is simple and frugal to make your own broth however. First thing: don't discard any bones, like whole cooked chicken or turkey bones, or any "pieces" of meat you trim from your meat. When you are making a recipe, if you have a leftover piece of meat, freeze it. When trimming veggies like celery, onion, cabbage, strong flavored veggies, store them in a zip lock bag. All of these odds and ends can be placed in a pot of water with perhaps a bay leaf and any extras like more onion and garlic. You don't even have to peel the onions and garlic because you will be discarding them. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil and simmer for an hour or so. I sometimes add some worcestershire sauce or soy sauce for a kick. Strain the veggies and meat from broth or simply spoon out with a slotted spoon. The beauty of homeade broth is you are using ALL of the food you cook with and it is cheap. You can refridgerate it for a few days or freeze it in zip lock bags. Happy cooking.
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