I’m tired of going to the grocery store to buy broth … or is it stock? … for a recipe, and getting thoroughly bumfuzzled concerning which is which.

There I stand – a box of each type in my hands. Reading the labels – yet again – trying to tease out the difference.

Help!

Determined to ferret out the difference and to commit it to memory, I am on a quest – taking a deep dive into online education.

My query’s answer starts like this:

Bottom line:

Stock is made from bones, while broth is made mostly from meat or vegetables.

Fair enough.

But wait a minute … I was having this debate about vegetable stock versus vegetable broth just yesterday in the middle of my local Harris Teeter. Last time I checked, vegetables do not have bones.

This is not helping me.

We continue:

Broth is traditionally made by simmering meat in water, often with vegetables and herbs. Today, however, vegetable broth has become very common.

Using bones in stock creates a thicker liquid, while broth tends to be thinner and more flavorful.

Ah-hah!

But remember about “bone broth” and all those who drink it for its nutritive values? Huh? Huh?

Bone … broth …

Bone broth is technically stock because it requires the addition of bones!

Give me a break.

Basically, in creating either stock or broth, the key is in how long to cook it.

Bones should be simmered a long time to derive the best nutritional profile.

Using meats to flavor the fluid requires a shorter cook time because overcooked meat gets tough – limit cook time to about an hour – because the cooked meat is usually eaten either in the soup or in another recipe.

According to healthline.com, the most common dishes for using broth are:

Cream sauces

Risotto

Dumplings

Casseroles

Stuffing

Cooked grains and legumes

Gravies

Soups

Sauteed or stir-fried dishes

So last night’s delicious Curried Pumpkin and Mushroom Risotto that I made with vegetable stock was created all wrong. The recipe can be found on the website, EatingWell.com.

Dag-gum boneless vegetables steered me wrong.

From now on, I’m just going to grab broth – no bones about it.

Still confused –

Deidre

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