There may be some health benefits to drinking or cooking with homemade bone broth rather than simply using store-bought broths or stock. This is because it will contain more collagen and nutrients than the more highly processed versions quickly made using high heat. There are a few things to know if you want to get the most potential benefits from the broth.
Choose the Right Bones
You can use the bones of pretty much any animal for making this type of benefits of bone broth, although most people prefer to use the bones of just one type of animal per batch of broth. It’s a good idea to use a variety of different bones from that animal, however, and to make sure that some of the bones are larger so that there will be plenty of collagen in the resulting broth, since the cartilage in these larger bones will have more collagen than is found in the smaller bones. The best bones for health purposes come from organically-raised or grass-fed animals, so look for these from a butcher or online source. The best bones are sometimes sold as soup bones or marrow bones.
Add Other Ingredients for Flavor
It doesn’t matter how nutritious a broth made be, if it doesn’t taste good, you won’t want to drink it. The basic ingredients that have to be included in the broth include the bones, water, and an acid like a mild vinegar to help extract the nutrients that are found in the bones. However, it’s typical to add a mix of herbs, spices and vegetables to improve the flavor of the resulting liquid. Garlic, parsley, onions, celery and carrots are very typical, but bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, ginger and sage are also good options to include. Some vegetables tend to turn the taste of the broth bitter and should be avoided, including green bell peppers, cabbage, mustard or collard greens, Brussels sprouts, turnip and broccoli.
Cook for a Long Time
For the best results, the broth needs to be cooked for quite a while, typically between 12 and 24 hours in a slow cooker or on low heat on the stove. These long cooking times will improve the flavor and also increase the amount of collagen and nutrients that are extracted from the bones. It’s common for this type of broth to turn into a kind of gelatin-like consistency when at room temperature or stored in the fridge — this is a sign that it has lots of collagen or gelatin from the bones, which is what you want for the most potential health benefits.
Bone Broth 