Bone Broth
Delicious & Nutritious Liquid Gold
Greetings Friends, 🏝
If Chicken Soup is good for the Soul, then Bone Broths are healing for the body.
Since wrapping up the Kefir Mini-Series, talking bone broths and how to make them efficiently and deliciously was a natural segue.
But why care at all about Bone Broths?
Bone Broths are a fantastic source of vitamins, nutrients and proteins (collagen and gelatin, specifically).
Iron
Vitamins A & K
Selenium
Zinc
Manganese
Are all present in bone broths.
In addition, Amino Acids present in both broth have anti-inflammatory properties and have indicated the aiding of digestion and promoting gut health. One of these amino acids, glutamine, was studied and shown to help heal the intestinal barrier in humans and animals
Joint & Bone Health
Further, Collagen and Gelatin have been shown to help with joint health and aid in combating osteoarthritis.
A 2017 published study showed that gelatin supplementation increased the amount of collagen in tissues. This is thought to help protect joints from unnecessary stress.
Collagen has been shown to increase bone health, making bone broth a perfect source for Collagen. There are 5 main types of Collagen. Without getting in the weeds here’s a TLDR:
Type 1: From fish; primarily supports hair, nail & skin.
Type 2: From chicken; primarily supports the joint/cartilage health, immune system and gut lining.
Type 3: From beef; supports arterial walls and cardiovascular health.
Type 5 (also written as “V”): From egg shells; supports cell membrane strength.
Type 10 (also written as “X”): From chicken; supports bone formation.
So Can’t I Just Take Collagen Powder?
Yes, you can. However, as you can see above, with Collagen having 5 types, what you get store bought is usually the cheapest form that can be sourced (it’s a business, after all).
Most Bone Broth Protein Powders come from Chicken bones, you’ll be getting Types 2 & 10 only.
The current Collagen powder 🐙 has is a bovine based powder, containing Types 1 & 3. (You can find this info on the label and choose accordingly). Collagen powder does not contain all the additional nutrients found in bone broths.
Broth vs Stock: What’s the Difference? 🤔
This is, annoyingly, a very subjective topic.
For simplicity sake, here’s the definition from the Oxford dictionary and then 🐙 commentary.
Stock: a liquid made by cooking bones, meat, fish, or vegetables slowly in water, used as a base for the preparation of soup, gravy, or sauces.
Broth: a soup consisting of meat or vegetables cooked in stock, sometimes thickened with barley or other cereals.
From the above, stocks tend be lightly seasoned and used as a building block. However, the long simmering time tends to make a more viscous liquid; as opposed to broths which tend to be less viscous and served as “final dishes”.
So, yes, “Bone Broth” as the fad name has taken off, is much more a classic Stock, in the culinary world. Catchy name though, right? 😂
*To avoid confusion, the preparation will still be referred to here by the pop-culture term “Bone Broth”.
So let’s get to making our own at home and discuss some variations.
The DIY Guide To Making at Home
Below will be a concise guide with a few optional steps, with my commentary on the pros/cons.
But first… let’s talk about some common myths.
There are enthusiasts and recipes stating that bone broth needs be cooked for up 24 , and even 48, hours. This is absolutely overkill, and I’ll go over some efficiency options that can take the cooking time down to 2 hours.
You will also see people saying you can’t let your broth boil and you should skim the surface obsessively during the day-long-ordeal. Again, not necessary.
There are, in addition, a few ingredients to add to your stock that will greatly increase the nutrient load and optimize the preparation, so let’s go over those now: