Storing Broths and Stocks

Broths and stocks are a cooking staple. Used classically in soups and stews, they can also be used to braise meat for extra tenderness, to cook pastas and rice for extra flavor, and as bases for sauces, among other things.

However, many supermarket shelves often carry broths and stocks in 32-ounce boxes. Although the pour spouts on these boxes are convenient for measuring and some brands are even recycleable or quickly biodegradable, using 32 ounces in a single meal isn't likely if you're cooking for one.

How many times have you used a quarter or a third of a box of stock and put the rest in the fridge, thinking that you would use it later that week, only to throw it out a week and a half or two weeks later after it spoiled? Well, single soup lovers don't cry over spoiled broth! Here is a simple and easy trick to save your extra stock or broth, prevent it from going bad and store it in an simple, easy to use form: Make it into ice cubes!

Just pour the extra stock or broth into an ice cube tray & pop it in the freezer! When the liquid is frozen, dump the cubes in to a ziplock storage back and put them back into the freezer until you are ready to use the broth or stock cubes in the future.

Not only will your broth stay good for several months in the freezer, but ice cubes from a standard ice cube tray are approximately one-ounce each. So - next time you need a cup of broth for that soup you're stiring up - grab about 8 cubes from the freezer, melt them in a saucepan or the microwave, and you've got a cup of fresh broth.