Bone Broth has been around for centuries but, it seems to me to be trending now, possibly brought on by the Paleo Diet trend. Bone Broth's nutritional benefits are unparalleled. Plus, lose weight while you sleep! It is rich in minerals, improves digestion and intestinal inflammation, heals the gut lining, allergies, immune system, brain function, reduces cellulite by improving connective tissue, increases hair growth, remineralizes teeth, wound healing, the glycine regulates blood sugar, it has glutamine, proline, and on and on. It's great for Detox. My daughter said her friend had ovarian cancer and attributes the miracle to bone broth. I've made two batches and have tweaked my recipe accordingly. It's very close to the New York Times recipe. So I thought I'd share my Bone Broth Recipe below. There are some tricks involved to maximize it's health benefits…. 1. The longer it simmers, the more the health benefits. 2. Don't skim off the "fat"….the clear circles on top of the broth, which turns hard white when cold, are actually restorative gelatin from the collagen in the cartilage. See pic below. 3. It's best to choose a variety of bones for various benefits but the basic is fresh Grass-fed Beef Bones. Regular supermarkets usually don't have the grass-fed bones but your natural food stores will. Whole Foods does. You can add a mix of marrow bones like oxtail, long bones, short ribs, neck bones, and backs. Chicken feet have a lot of collagen but I think you have to get that from an Asian market. 4. Whole Foods actually sells their own version of Bone Broth in their freezer section. 5. When freezing, you do lose the benefits of the collagen I read somewhere. But there are lots of other benefits. 6. All ingredients should be organic so as to eliminate toxins 7. Many people, including myself, use filtered water to avoid impurities. Water should cover the bones by 3". 8. Morning is the best time to drink this. "Nourished Kitchen" says adults should drink 1 quart a day…I think 2 bowls a day is all I'm going to do…morning and evening. A quart is a lot. Photo: Color varies depending on whether you are using chicken or beef bones and if you are adding tomato paste and shitake mushrooms, which is optional. Bone Broth ***************************************** 4 lbs. Grassfed Beef Bones (optional is a mix of marrow bones to optimize health benefits, oxtail, short ribs, long bones, neck bones, backs, and chicken feet) 2 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar (vinegar leaches minerals out of the bones. Dr. Braggs brand is organic) 3 Carrots peeled and cut into 2" pieces (organic) 3 Celery Stalks cut into 2" pieces (organic) 1 LG Organic Onion cut in half (or 2 small) 2 Bay Leaves 1/2 Bunch of Fresh Thyme (many use parsley but NYT uses thyme) 1 TBSP Whole Black Peppercorns Water to cover by 3" (preferably filtered water) Optional (used by the NYT in their recipe): 4 Shitake Mushrooms (optional but they're the most most nutritious of all types of mushrooms) 2 TBSP Tomato Paste (optional) 1 Can diced organic tomatoes (optional) Added in the last 30 minutes: 1 Garlic Head (skins removed and end cut off) Cover the bones in a very large stock pot on the stove or a Big Pressure Cooker. Add all ingredients except Garlic. Cover with enough water (preferably filtered) to cover bones by at least 3". Cover and simmer at least 11 hours, but no more than 24 hours. The longer you simmer the better it is for you. Pressure Cooker time is 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Remove bones, etc and strain through a fine mesh strainer. ***************************************** So far, I've only used the marrow type bone and chicken bones but may venture from my comfort zone in the next batch I make.
Looks yummy, Lara. I used to make this for my husband many many times. He also loved the marrow that was in the bones. I'd put it on toast for him. I don't know about health benefits but it's delicious. Back then soup bones were cheap, not so much now though. I haven't really looked since he died but I'm sure they've not gotten cheaper. Hmmmmm, now I'm in the mood for some broth and marrow. Should have posted this when it was colder here. I've never had oxtail though.
Lara, I've always used the meaty bone in my soups along with the marrow bone. When I lived in Hungary, chicken feet were always added to chicken soup. The flavor was good but I didn't care to eat the feet but some did.
As a kid, my Mother used mostly "Round Steak", bone-in, for almost all beef meals. The marrow in the bone cooked up along with the meat. It was always my "delicacy" to eat it. Knowing later that it contained lots of cholesterol, I would be more reluctant to do so. We called the marrow "mork", the Czech or Polish word for it. Curiously, a T-V show used that word as a name! Frank
I'll have to research that, Frank. I read on one site that bone broth actually lowers cholesterol but I'm not sure how reputable the source was so I'll continue to look and get back to you on that. I checked 4 more sites but they said nothing about cholesterol…I'll keep checking though. I know there is good and bad cholesterol.
We use all kinds of bones. We save bones in the freezer until we have enough to make a batch. We also add egg shells.
This topic has been discussed here before. I found it under "what are we eating 2016" According to Dr. Williams, eggshells add Hyaluronic Acid, Glucosamine, and Chondroitin
I have never made it myself, but have bought pails of Bone Broth from a website called US Wellness Meats. It's a company in Missouri. It's an easy way to try it without all the work. But I do understand making it yourself is preferred.
They look like a good company, Bonnie….more expensive but convenient. It used to be that i could go to the butcher and ask for bones for my dogs and they were free…oh, but weren't grass-fed. Now, at Whole Foods, they charge $5 a pound for grass-fed bones. A weeks supply of bone broth requires 4lbs of bones which comes to $20 for the week.
Yes, that's the trouble Lara.. We always get to pay for convenience. I remember the days of FREE bones at the butcher too.
Is the term "bone broth" a newly minted one? I have never heard of it. Also, Lara, could the benefits be over-stated? The "cure for cancer" claim, seems over the top.
The concept of bone broth for health has been around for generations….since prehistoric times they say. It's likely your grandmother or at least your great grandmother used it. Lists of benefits have spiraled of late from what I've read but they make a lot of sense and many are validated. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/11/23/nourishing-bone-broth.aspx That reminds me that I should have explained my claim, "lose weight while you sleep"….I heard that claim on TV (my daughter on her news segment so of course she's right lol)….I'm guessing that because it's a protein and if made strictly as a liquid broth, straining out all bits through a fine strainer, then your body doesn't have to digest it while sleeping. When we sleep our metabolism becomes "paralyzed" so that's why you shouldn't eat before bed…but liquids are fine, especially protein.