VEGETARIAN STOCK CUBES

[Cuilidh]

For those vegetarians and vegans out there who get frustrated when they see a really nice recipe they would like to make but it asks for chicken or beef stock - there is an alternative available (in Australia, at least).  Massell stock cubes have never seen any part of any animal - according to their ingredients list, anyway.

I have only just discovered this and haven't used any yet.  Their vegetable stock is good and I have used this, but the "meat" versions won't get a testing until this weekend.

If anyone has tried these let us know what you think.

[bluesed]

I havnt tried them but i have never heard of any stock cubes that actually tasted good.
It aint that difficult to make a nice vegetable stock and it can easily be frozen as it has no fat.

Use aprox 500g of vegetables to each liter of water

Depending on what flavors you like you can use most vegetables.
I use a mix of the following
Onions
Leeks
Carrots
Parsley root
Selleri or selleri root
Potato

1 Bouquet Garni (parsley, 4-5 bay leaves, fresh thyme)
3 cloves of garlic(optional)
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns

Clean/Peel and cut all vegetables into similar sizes and let it simmer for 2-3 hours.
If you like a darker and more roasted flavor you can roast your vegetables before either in a pot or in the oven.

Strain and its ready to use.

[judydawn]

We have recipes for vegetable stock concentrate in our books bluesed but hey, I like the idea of roasting the vegies first - that's a new idea 

[Cuilidh]

I wasn't trying to get away from the stock concentrate in our EDC, which I have always got on hand, just offering a possibility if a recipe asked for chicken or beef stock and you wanted to try it out.

[mkr]

Love the idea of roasting the vegies first. Thanks for the tip bluessed.

[KylieJade]

Unfortunately they contain MSG - I know, I know they say no ADDED MSG, but beware - Yeast extract (which they contain) is just clever food manufacturer speak for MSG - (also known as vegetable extract, vegetable protein, "natural" flavour). I went to a demo once and the consultant used Massell instead of our famous stock concentrate – the chemical taste I had in my mouth for hours after was most unpleasant!

[wombat]

I have used massel stock powder for years because they contain no animal ingredients and they are fantastic.  I have them always in my fridge, the vegetarian one, the chicken one and also the beef one. I prefer the powder in the tin to the cubes.

I did run out of beef and want to make my own in the thermomix but i am learning to be sensible.......as much as i would like to make everything from scratch, sometimes it is good to have a backup and at this point in time, bought stock powder is my weakness.

Now i feel a bit guilty. But to let you guys know, I make my own washing powder (FANTASTIC) and my husband goes to work EVERY day with homemade stuff.  Normally there is always a soup, left over meal from last night, homemade yoghurt, muffin/biscuit, hummus and the list goes on.  I am now even making my own pasta dough. yay.

[Cuilidh]

Thanks KylieJade for translating the "newspeak" on the Massell stock cubes.  I hadn't caught on to that one - it doesn't matter how careful you are, "they" always find a way to fool you, don't they?  Because I use them so rarely I guess it's not too much of a problem for me, but I will certainly using them with care in the future.