The Secret Ingredient That Makes Boxed Broth Taste Homemade

Boxed broth from the grocery store is an ingredient that defines compromise. Where homemade broth can deliver a rich and deep flavor that takes soups and sauces to another level, even the best boxed broth is a solid imitation at best. It delivers the basic taste you need but without any of the complexity and intensity that the homemade stuff does. Still, there is no denying it is far more convenient, and lots of people simply don't have the time or the patience to babysit a pot full of stock ingredients for hours and hours. Most of the time, the ease of boxed broth is going to beat that out. But what if you could get a lot closer to that homemade taste with essentially zero extra time and effort? Well, you can with powdered gelatin.

While the quality of the ingredients and the additions like fresh vegetables are part of what make homemade broth taste so good, the addition of bones is also key. Long simmering gradually extracts gelatin from bones as the broth cooks, and that alters the flavor and texture of your broth. Gelatin gives it a richer flavor and that slightly thicker, velvety texture that thin store-bought broth just doesn't have. But conveniently for us, powdered gelatin is widely available and easy to add to boxed broth. It won't make it quite homemade, but it will bring a lot of those qualities to premade broth in a fraction of the time.

All you need to do to upgrade your boxed broth is bloom your powdered gelatin. Start with a ratio of one and a half teaspoons of gelatin for each cup of broth you plan on using, and then you can go up or down a half teaspoon to your preferences once you've tasted the results. Make sure you sprinkle your gelatin into room-temperature broth as adding it to hot broth will result in lumps. Let it fully hydrate by melting into the liquid, and then it's ready to be heated and cooked.

It's not just stock, you can even pull this trick with soups and stews that have already been made or are in the process of cooking. Just spoon a bit of the liquid from the pot, let it cool, dissolve the gelatin in the cool liquid, and then add it back to the cooking ingredients.

While adding gelatin will give your boxed broth and stock a texture it won't have itself, it's only the beginning of the ways you can add more flavor to the store-bought broth. Even just simmering some chopped aromatics like carrots, onion, garlic, and celery will add depth of flavor that should have been there in the first place, and splashes of acidic finishers like white wine or vinegar can bring out more flavor with minimal effort. Combined with gelatin, you might not even miss your homemade broth.