A while back, I was making something that required broth, and in the middle of making whatever it is that I was making, I realized that I had NO BROTH. I didn’t feel like abandoning my dinner plans for the evening, mostly because I was too lazy to think of something else to make, so I did a google search for a substitution for broth. I found a recipe where you combine a bunch of spices to make a “bouillon powder” and since I had all of the spices on the list but one*, I thought I’d try it out. To use it in place of broth, you use it as you would any bouillon granules—one teaspoon per cup of water to make one cup of broth. Now, I wish I could remember what recipe it was that I used this broth replacement in for the first time, but I can’t. What I do remember is that it worked so well, that now I use it almost every time a recipe calls for broth! There are a couple things about it that make it very appealing to me:
- It is SO much cheaper than buying broth. I didn’t crunch the numbers, but if I did, I’m sure it would be ridiculous. This recipe made a TON of powder that keeps forever in an airtight container.
- It has hardly any salt in it. When buying broth or bouillon granules, I only buy the low-sodium kind because the regular broth is dripping with salt. This broth recipe makes even the low-sodium ones look bad! (Once your dish is complete, if you feel it is lacking a little in salt, you can add a little, and it will still have less than what the regular broth would have added.)
When using this bouillon powder to cook with, I usually use half store-bought low-sodium broth and half of my homemade broth (assuming I’m not completely out of store-bought broth, of course). This way, I’m saving on money and on sodium, but still getting some of the commercial broth flavor. Sodium is hidden in SO many foods, so we really need to make cut-backs whenever we can. Using this recipe is a good start. It’s worked great for me—try it out sometime!
By the way, why should we be worried about how much salt we’re consuming? Well, extra sodium in your diet increases your chance of developing high blood pressure, a condition that can lead to heart and kidney diseases! That’s why!
*The one ingredient I didn’t have was summer savory. I still have no idea what that is, but I think it worked great without it. If you happen to have it, though, maybe it’s even better!
2 comments:
Very interesting...I'll have to try that. You are just full of brilliant ideas! Thanks for sharing.
I'll probably die of heart or kidney disease as I carry around salt in my bag! Everything is so bland to me! when I cook however, I use very little salt and just let everyone salt their own. I buy the same brand of broth- I just buy the chicken flavor.
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