Bone Broth vs. Regular Stock

Options
AlabasterVerve
AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Is there really that much difference in nutrition? I've never been one to eat something just because it's healthy if it doesn't taste good and I have to say my usual soup stock that I make in 3-5 hours tastes much better this bone broth I've been cooking over night. I was going to make some cream of zucchini soup with the broth and I'm honestly debating whether or not I should just toss it!

For those of you who eat bone broth do you prefer it over homemade stock or are you just eating it for the nutrients -- which honestly don't seem all that impressive?

http://adc.bmj.com/content/9/52/251

Replies

  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    Options
    I can't really answer your specific question. As to nutrition, broth and stock are mostly water so there probably isn't much in either one.

    I make homemade stock/broth regularly, seasoned for us, unseasoned for the cat. For the human stock, I usually aim for flavor and therefore roast everything and throw in all sorts of scraps. Therefore, my nice, tasty, cloudy stock would flunk any culinary course but we like it. I make it in a slow oven so I don't have to watch it on top of the stove. I did some research and it seems a modern oven is about as energy efficient as cooking on top. I often toss other things in the oven like sweet potatoes or beets wrapped in foil to cook for later use. In a slow oven, they need to be wrapped to keep them from drying out.

    I tend to refrigerate it before use and lift the fat off and discard that -- unless it's beef fat which I admit I sometimes save for browning beef chunks for soup or stew.

    If you like to make stock, consider buying bay leaves by the ounce from www.myspicesage.com. A 1 oz. bag at $4.25 is a whole passel of bay leaves. You can throw in enough of them that you actually taste it in the broth.
  • RobTheGourmet
    RobTheGourmet Posts: 189 Member
    Options
    bone broth? makes no sense adding the bones will make it a stock and what is regular stock?

    the bone marrow is the key difference in texture and will make it a stock while the broth tends to leave these out

    always go with homemade if its the base for something you will never get better I use split bones and a bit of ground meat to form my stock quickens the process up by a lot talking 30 minutes - 1 hour vs hours
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    Options
    I read all of these low carb, paleo, primal focused nutrition sites and bone broth is such a huge thing on them I didn't think to define what I was talking about -- sorry about that. Here's a great blog post that highlights the difference:
    Broth is typically made with meat and can contain a small amount of bones (think of the bones in a fresh whole chicken). Broth is typically simmered for a short period of time (45 minutes to 2 hours). It is very light in flavor, thin in texture and rich in protein.
    Stock is typically made with bones and can contain a small amount of meat (think of the meat that adheres to a beef neck bone). Often the bones are roasted before simmering them as this simple technique greatly improves the flavor. Beef stocks, for example, can present a faint acrid flavor if the bones aren’t first roasted. Stock is typically simmered for a moderate amount of time (3 to 4 hours). Stock is rich in minerals and gelatin.
    Bone Broth is typically made with bones and can contain a small amount of meat adhering to the bones. As with stock, bones are typically roasted first to improve the flavor of the bone broth. Bone broths are typically simmered for a very long period of time (often in excess of 24 hours). This long cooking time helps to remove as many minerals and nutrients as possible from the bones. At the end of cooking, so many minerals have leached from the bones and into the broth that the bones crumble when pressed lightly between your thumb and forefinger.

    Read more: http://nourishedkitchen.com/bone-broth/#ixzz2ajfk6sOC
  • RobTheGourmet
    RobTheGourmet Posts: 189 Member
    Options
    The difference is broken since many chefs I know, call them one or the other further complicated by TV and media popularization by non cooks as TV cooks, but imo as a classic chef stock is using the marrow, while a broth is not the broth tends to be lighter and have a lighter mouth feel.

    Meant to say your wording is confusing since by adding bones its no longer a broth but a stock and compare in contrast to a regular stock as in the first was not a stock is in it self confusing. :X
  • llstacy
    llstacy Posts: 91 Member
    Options
    I've never tried it, AV, and now I'm glad I didn't if you want to throw yours away. With work and the kids there's no way I could cook bones for days at a time.
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
    Options
    And how do you calculate the calories and macros from stock or broth when you use them for homemade soups?
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    Options
    And how do you calculate the calories and macros from stock or broth when you use them for homemade soups?
    I just use the generic nutrition information for stock from the USDA -- close enough is fine with me.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/usda-soup-stock-chicken-home-prepared-28884531

    I guess this is one of the things that everyone talks about but few people actually do?! I really thought these bone broths were more popular than this and everyone was making them. lol I ended up throwing my attempt at bone broth away and I'll just stick to making the stock my grandmother made.
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
    Options
    Thank you for the link.

    My mother used to make stock with meat bones (she called it broth), celery and onions for flavor, and used it as a base for vegetable or lentil soup.Great taste for sure.

    It is also good to cook brown rice or quinoa, because it ads flavor. Time to get back to basics

    Edited to ask: How come the sodium is so high; over 300 in one cup in a home made stock? Imagine and Kitchen Basic with no salt added broths have much less amount of sodium per serving.
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    Options
    Yes, that's exactly how I make mine -- a carcass and celery and onions. Maybe that's how everyone's mom/grandmom made it. lol

    It's a little inconvenient compared to using bouillon in the cabinet that never goes bad but it's not hard or time consuming really and the taste makes up for it. That and the smell brings back some really great food memories. Totally worth it. :)

    ETA:
    Is that a lot? I usually add about a tablespoon of salt to a pot of stock so 300mg doesn't seem like much to me but if you don't season your stock you can create your own recipe or maybe just do a quick add for the calories? I know my mom's doctor has her strictly watching her sodium so I know it's important for some people to track.
  • felixfromfaire
    felixfromfaire Posts: 4
    Options
    I made my last batch of "stock" out of chicken feet and it was delicious! Rich and thick and perfect for cooking. I thought the benefit was in the gelatin and minerals extracted from the bones while cooking. If it gels when cooled, it is "better for you" than "broth". (I went a little crazy with the "quotation marks") :-P

Categories