TIL my mom's veggie scrap stock habit is a game changer for my grocery bill

I was about to toss some carrot tops and onion skins when it hit me how my mom always saved them. Now I boil them for broth and it adds flavor without costing extra. What old-school cooking tricks do you guys use to stretch ingredients?

3 comments

3 Comments

burns.riley11h ago

Trying to be thrifty like that once, but my sad broth looked (and tasted) like dishwater. My mom's tricks never stuck with me, honestly.

ramirez.harper1d ago

Seriously, it's just flavored water at that point. My mom did it too but it never replaced buying real broth for me. Not exactly a game changer, just normal cooking.

the_grant1d ago

Got into making bone broth last year after my kids kept getting sick. It started as a way to use up chicken carcasses from Sunday dinner. Like @ramirez.harper said, it's not the same as store-bought, but for soups it works great. The key is simmering it long enough so it actually has flavor. My oldest now calls it 'mom's magic water' and asks for it when he has a cold. So maybe it's just flavored water, but in our house, it's become a staple!