The vegetables and herbs you use for your stock do not need to be fresh. I often have a Tupperware tub in my freezer in which I collect food scraps sorely for use in my next stock. This usually includes bits of vegetables we don’t tend to eat, like the leaves of celery, carrot peelings, the outer leaves of cabbage and the stems of broccoli. They are fine to use in the stock and cut down on your kitchen waste.
Another thing I like to do is tailor my stock for the recipe I am making it for. If you know you are going to use it for soup, then make sure you add common herbs like rosemary & thyme to make a savoury stock. Likewise, if you know you will use the stock in something like ramen, then add oriental spices to infuse into the stock as it is created. I often add ginger, chilli and extra garlic to my slow cooker if I know I will be using the stock for a spicier cuisine.
Another great food waste saving tip is to add cheese rinds to your stockpot. They don’t dissolve into the stock, but do add nice umami to the liquid. I have started freezing all my stilton and brie rinds in my stock box, ready for quick and easy stock making the next time we have an available carcass.
The slow cooker method can also be used to create a vegetable stock. Just replace the chicken carcass with a greater number of vegetables and herbs.