Brr…it’s cold out there! No better time for a warm cup of bone broth with lots of added benefits to boot. This highly nutritious drink is a great way to warm yourself up from the inside while packing in tons of vitamins and beneficial compounds. Make some from scratch, or try one of our many delicious pre-made options. Let’s find out all that bone broth can offer.

 

Why Bone Broth?

Besides being a nutritious winter warm-up, bone broth may be the ticket to better circulation, gut and joint health. Simmering animal bones for hours releases collagen, hemoglobin, gelatin, and other proteins within them. Subsequently, digestion breaks down these compounds into smaller peptides with even more significant health benefits than whole proteins. This is because the peptide form is easily absorbed and is ready for use by the body. The collagen and gelatin that is released from the bones absorbs quickly and goes to work restoring our own collagen and the cushioning between and around our joints. Gelatin also works to effectively support intestinal health and integrity and to assist in producing probiotics in the gut.

In the lab, doctors simulated cooking and digesting dry-cured ham bones and found the newly released peptides inhibited enzymes that constrict blood vessels and trigger abnormal blood clotting activity. Discussing the findings, doctors said specific peptides released during cooking and digesting bone broth inhibit the activity of enzymes that raise chances for heart and circulatory events.

 

Make Your Own at Home

Making your own bone broth isn’t too challenging, but it can be time-consuming. Here are some tips to keep your bone broth easy, pure, nutritious and delicious.

Firstly, use a time-saving device such as a pressure cooker or crockpot. The ol’ bag of bones needs to simmer for at least 8 hours but could really go all the way up to 48-72 hours to make it worth your while. Tending to a simmering pot on the stove could be a real distraction from other daily tasks. Let your slow cooker do the work. Also, loosen up about the “recipe” for your broth. Use whatever is near to hand and cook with water and a dash of apple cider vinegar. You can toss in a bunch of vegetables such as onion, garlic, celery stalks with leaves, and carrots to kick it up a notch – or simply just use bones. Make it your way. When it comes down to it, the most important thing to remember is: the longer it simmers, the better to make sure you get all those good bone broth benefits.

Once finished, let the broth rest at room temperature, so the fat will slowly rise to the top. Then place the bone broth into the fridge to solidify that same fat and allow it to be easily scraped off as valuable cooking tallow. If you’re going to store it in the fridge for a few days, then leave the cap of fat sitting on top of the broth to help preserve and protect. Make sure to use the broth within 5 days or freeze it. Of course, you might as well drink a cup first and enjoy your fresh, homemade bone broth.

 

 

We’ve Got Good Soup Bones

The most important thing is the quality of the raw material: the bones. You can find clean beef bone products at Martindale’s from humanely treated, grass fed, local cows that graze on nearby farms. Find locally harvested bones free of antibiotics and hormones. Find local beef bones in our freezer case from Swiss Villa Farms and Dutch Meadow Farm. We’ve got quite a variety of good bones here. Also, it’s good to mix different bones for a richer broth in taste and nutrition. Commonly used bones include:

• Marrow bones 

  • are immune-enhancing, with healing marrow within a ring of bone

• Knuckle bones 

  • are rich in cartilage, which produces more collagen when cooked

You can even use our locally harvested chicken feet. They provide rich collagen, too, and are part of a great-tasting chicken bone broth.

 

Alternatives to Making Your Own

Don’t have the time to cook up your own? No problem! There are many pre-made and readily available on store shelves or in the freezer. Get all the bone broth benefits without any of the work!

Our friends at local Dutch Meadows Farm offer a terrific bone broth, found in the freezer section. This Bone Broth is made using only the finest ingredients from their pastured chicken. It’s definitely a customer favorite! You have to try it to decide for yourself. The broth is fresh flash-frozen for maximum freshness and quality.

Another frozen option is Bonafide Provisions beef, chicken, and turkey bone broth. They are not locally made, but, they are still clean and high-quality broths. All Bonafide Provisions bone broths are certified organic and from pasture-raised animals. Additionally, it is frozen fresh and contains no preservatives.

In shelf-stable bone broths, we have Pacific Foods Organic Chicken and also Kettle & Fire Classic Beef. Lastly, we have a variety of Kettle & Fire soups made from a bone broth base. With tasty options like Thai Curry, Tomato, Miso, and Butternut Squash, when it comes to comparing regular broth to bone broth, be sure to note the much higher protein content than a broth that isn’t made from bones.