Bone broth (or stock) is a source of minerals in forms that your body can easily absorb: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium. Bone broth is rich amino acids, glycine and proline, amino acids not found in significant amounts in muscle meat, the part we most often consume. It also contains compounds that are believed to reduce inflammation of the joints: chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine. And last but not least, bone broth contains collagen--the basic material for bone, marrow, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments--which when broken down in the broth produces gelatin.
There's a reason mom always made you chicken soup when you were sick!
Going back more than a hundred years, studies have shown that the amino acids, glycine and proline, that are produced when making chicken stock reduce inflammation in the respiratory system and improve digestion.
The gelatin in bone broth can help to heal a leaky gut, which may be of specific benefit those with inflammatory or autoimmune disorders. These compounds also reduce joint pain, reduce inflammation, prevent bone loss, and build healthy skin, hair, and nails.
Homemade is better!
If you do buy broth in the grocery store, be sure to check the label. Broth, often labelled "stock," is produced with high temperature-, fast-cooking techniques, using lots of water (to make more product) which result in a watered down, non-gelling broth. It will be missing some of the benefits of a gelatin-rich, homemade broth. MSG and other "flavors" are often added to factory broth. To get all the benefits and avoid the pitfalls, make it yourself--it's easy.
Getting your ingredients together.
The bones: when you roast chicken, beef, lamb, bison, venison, pork, turkey, duck, or goose save the bones for making broth. Keep containers in the freezer for storing the bones until you are ready to make broth. While most people like to make broth from one kind of bones at a time, you can use more than one kind in a batch. If you don't have any bones saved up to use, visit your local butcher and ask for marrow bones, oxtail, or "soup bones." To ensure plenty of gelatin, include some larger bones like knuckles, or feet--chicken feet, beef or calves' feet, pigs' feet (fresh, not smoked). Try to get bones from grass-fed or pastured animals.
Vegetables and herbs: classic broth or stock has onions, celery, and carrots added for flavor. These also impart important minerals. Other vegetables can be added: garlic, peppers, leeks, etc. Avoid cruciferous veggies like cabbage and broccoli--they impart a strong flavor and can make the broth bitter. The classic herbs include parsley, thyme, and bay leaf.
Salt and pepper: Peppercorns add flavor. Add salt to taste only at the end of the cooking process.
Vinegar: many recipes call for a little bit of vinegar. This helps to extract minerals from the bones, but in small amounts will not change the flavor of the broth. There are plenty of recipes on the Internet. Google "bone broth recipe."
Here is one of our favorite recipes.
(It's simple and in a slow cooker--a combination that is hard to beat.):
Simple Slow Cooker Stock
This stock is simple as can be to make and reliably turns out well. The onion floats to the top and caramelizes with the long cooking, adding delicious flavor. You should use enough bones to completely fill the slow cooker.
Makes about 4 quarts.
A bunch of chicken bones, about 6 cups2 chicken feet or a piece of split pig's foot
1 onion coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons of vinegar
Cold, filtered water
Place the chicken bones in a large slow cooker. Add the feet and onion to the pot, then add the vinegar and enough cold filtered water to cover the bones. Let stand for 30 to 60 minutes. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 12 hours, checking occasionally to ensure that the bones remain covered with water and adding more water as needed.
Remove the bones with tongs and a slotted spoon. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer into 2-quart Pyrex measuring containers or a large heatproof bowl and its ready to use in your recipes. If not using right away, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate uncovered for several hours, until the fat rises to the top and congeals. If desired, skim off this fat (you can use it in your cooking) and transfer the stock to containers, cover, and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for many months.
From Nourishing Broth, a book we highly recommend (pp. 155-156). (Affiliate link to Amazon.com)
Storage: If you freeze it your broth in ice trays, you can add it easily to recipes that call for small amounts.
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