How do you make vegetable stock that actually tastes of something?

Most disappointing vegetable stock is disappointing for the same reason: it was made like an afterthought. A few tired peelings, a lot of water and a long boil give you something that smells pleasant and tastes of almost nothing. Good stock asks for more vegetables than you expect, a bit of colour and a lighter touch with the heat.

The base: more than you think

The backbone is the same trio as a soffritto: onion, carrot and celery. Use a generous amount relative to the water; the pot should look full of vegetables, not like a few pieces bobbing in a lake. Leave onion skins on for colour if they are clean. Add:

• Leek greens for a sweet, rounded onion note.
• Garlic, a few lightly crushed cloves.
• Fennel or its trimmings, for a gentle aniseed lift.
• Parsley stalks, a bay leaf, a few peppercorns, a sprig of thyme.

The savoury boosters

This is what turns a pleasant stock into one that tastes like something.

• Mushrooms, fresh or a few dried porcini, add depth. Even mushroom stalks help.
• A Parmesan rind, simmered in the pot, adds a rounded savoury note. Our page on Parmesan rinds has more uses.
• A spoonful of tomato paste or a couple of ripe tomatoes gives colour and body.
• A strip of kombu or a splash of soy sauce, if your cupboard runs that way, for extra savouriness.

Browning first

Browning is the single biggest step up. Before adding water, cook the onion, carrot and celery in a little oil until they are golden at the edges and smell sweet. If you are adding tomato paste, fry it with them until it darkens. Then pour in the water and scrape the bottom of the pan to lift what has stuck. You can also roast the vegetables on a tray in a hot oven first for a deeper, darker stock.

A pale, unbrowned stock is lovely in a delicate risotto or a spring soup. A browned stock suits bean dishes, winter soups and sauces. Make the one that fits the dish.

What to leave out

• Cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower in quantity: they can make the stock smell sulphurous.
• Lots of potato: it clouds the stock and dulls it.
• Beetroot, unless you want everything pink.
• Anything slimy, mouldy or past it. Scraps are fine; rubbish is not. The stock pot is not a bin.
• Too many strong herbs such as rosemary or sage, which take over.

Simmer, don't boil, and don't go too long

Bring the pot up gently and keep it at a quiet simmer, with small bubbles breaking the surface. A hard boil makes vegetable stock cloudy and can turn it muddy. There is no need to keep it going all afternoon. Taste as you go: when it tastes rich and rounded, and the vegetables are soft and spent, it is done. Past that point it tends to taste stewed rather than stronger.

Strain it through a sieve, pressing the vegetables lightly to get the last of the liquid.

Seasoning and concentrating

We salt stock lightly, or not at all, because it may be reduced later or used in a dish that already has salty ingredients like cheese. Season the soup or risotto instead.

If the stock tastes thin, the fix is not more time with the vegetables in. Strain it, then simmer the liquid on its own to reduce and concentrate it.

Storing it

Cool the stock, then get it into the fridge promptly; dividing it into smaller containers helps it cool faster. The UK Food Standards Agency's guidance on chilling and freezing suggests putting cooked food in the fridge within one to two hours and eating leftovers within two days, or freezing them. Ice-cube trays are handy for freezing small amounts to loosen a sauce.