by Paola Fanutti

Created on: January 12, 2009   Last Updated: January 28, 2009

Homemade broths are healthy and hearty alternatives to sodium and preservative laden bouillon cubes, and are delicious, especially when made with fresh meats and ingredients. A great broth is the base of hearty soups and broths are also delicate flavor enhancers in most meat dishes and risotto recipes.

Broths can either be meat, chicken, or vegetable based, depending on the broth recipe, and are effortless to make at home. Consomme is another clarified, thick, meat based, elaborate broth both light and rich in flavour.

To make a homemade, general, meat-based broth, you will need:

1.8 pounds (700 grams) of a brisket (cut of breast or lower chest) piece of beef cut into 3-4 pieces, a stalk of celery, 1 whole carrot, some clove bits, few bay leaves, some whole black pepper grains, and salt.

If you are preparing a chicken-based broth, you require:

Half a bouillon chicken (designed for broth), a whole onion, a leek, a carrot, a celery stalk, two teaspoons of shredded parsley, some whole black pepper grains and salt.

For a vegetable-based broth, you should have:

A whole lot of vegetables, either whole if you prefer only the taste of the vegetables, or finally chopped into cubes if you like vegetable bits in your broth. A good vegetable broth should have a carrot, a leek, a celery stalk, a peeled potato, pieces of tomato, an onion, a fennel stalk, a couple basil leaves, and two teaspoons of shredded parsley.

To prepare a meat or chicken based broth, place the piece of beef or chicken into a stockpot and fill with 3 quarts (2.85 litres) of water. Bring the water to a boil. When the water begins to boil, thick foam will develop on the top of the pot. This foam contains the meat's fat and should be removed. With a stainless steel serving spoon, remove the foam and some of the water on top, to extract the fat and the meat's blood. (If you are preparing a vegetable based broth, you will skip this step and simply add water to your vegetable-filled stockpot.)

After you have removed the animal fat, place all of the unchopped, whole vegetables in the stockpot and let the broth boil for another two hours. Salt to taste. Let the broth cool, and then filter ingredients into another pot, with a finely netted strainer. To turn it into a soup, just add some small-shaped pasta, ideal for soups, to your freshly prepared broth, and let the pasta boil for the cooking time and serve.

Homemade broth is versatile and is not only requested in lots of recipes, like risotto, but also can pack in an extra flavorful punch in everyday dishes. Next time you are preparing chicken, add a ladle or two of chicken broth to the chicken and let it evaporate. Meat based broth flavors veal or beef. A ladle of vegetable broth while steaming will make vegetables light and moist, not dry and tasteless. Homemade broth is easily stored in the fridge for 2-3 days in plastic containers, and retains its taste when frozen as well.

To make a consomme, you will need a quart (1.05 litres) of ready made meat broth, 12.3 ounces (350 grams) of lean ground beef, a carrot, a leek and an egg white. Slice the leek and the carrot into round pieces, and add them too a saucepan with the egg white and meat. Stir mixture before pouring in the broth. Bring to a boil for about 15-20 minutes, then filter with a finely netted strainer.

Consomme can be served in lots of ways, with many ready made vegetables, making it a light and satisfying first course. For instance, sautee two or three delicately sliced porcini mushrooms in a frypan with two tablespoons of oil until soft, then add the pieces to the consomme. For a different recipe idea, you can put in several, whole peeled shrimp tails while the consomme boils and serve a shrimp filled, fishy consomme.

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