In most soup recipes "stock or water" appears on the list of
ingredients. You can get delicious soups using plain water as the
vehicle, but vegetable stock lends a fuller, more vegetable-y flavor.
Stock making is an old-fashioned approach to soup; it enriches the
atmosphere of our modern, expedient kitchens. Furthermore, it makes
good use of vegetale scraps which would otherwise be thrown away.
The best vegetable stock comes from discarded skins and innards of:
If you use cabbage-flavored vegetables or celery use just a little.
Their flavors are too dominant. Eggplant will make it bitter. And
don't use cigtrus rind or banana peels.
Collect your scraps and refrigerate them in plastic bags or
tightly-closed containers until you have enough to fill half a
kettle. Cover the scraps in the kette with water, bring to a boil,
and simmer, covered, one hour or so. Cool it and strain it. Give it a
taste test before using. Occasionally a stock will be bitter, and the
bitterness will carry through to the soup.
