Once upon a time, in a land not too far away, there were Very Strict Broth Rules. If broth wasn’t prepared a certain way, didn’t have a bright color, wasn’t almost as clear as water, and had more than moderate meat flavor, it was a failure. Big Spooky Chefs sometimes yelled at Little Chef Wannabes for not following the Very Strict Broth Rules. Cookbooks written during that time hailed the Very Strict Broth Rules and warned against the hazards of not following them. Home cooks quaked in fear when confronted with the Very Strict Broth Rules, and decided to just outsource their broth needs to the grocery store. There, among the brightly lit aisles of processed foods, shoppers bought canned and boxed broth. Sure, store-bought broth tasted oddly of metal or old shoes, but thankfully it was at least yellowish and mostly clear. Soon there were even pre-packaged store-brought broth labeled bone broth but lacking in nutrition and ingredients of home made broth.
But then a few rebel home cooks decided that they wanted something different from broth, and so they started making something different: bone broth. Bone broth had very few rules compared to the broth made to please Big Spooky Chefs. Bone broth was delicious, easy to make, and ridiculously full of nutrition. In fact, bone broth was truly a completely different food from broth and stock: the bolder color, the thicker texture, and oh, the tiny yet visible flecks of umami! Word got around that bone broth was so satisfying that people started not only cooking with it but also drinking it. Once they began drinking it, more people wanted to start making it themselves. But… wasn’t it scary to make, neighbors whispered to one another over fences? No, it didn’t have to be scary or even hard, said the rebel cook known as the Broth Whisperer. “Making bone broth could and should be easy… and fun,” she said.
Armed with knowledge, regular people started making bone broth. They started making big batches of bone broth, using and reusing bones to show their respect for the ingredients. Some of the Big Spooky Chefs got mad and swore that no good would come from this bone broth stuff… because people were making it wrong! Yet the bone broth drinkers grew strong from their libations. And little by little, they went through the Very Strict Broth Rules and discarded the rules they didn’t want or even need to follow. They had fun in the kitchen deciding what flavors were delicious, and they felt smart and capable. Throughout the land, the people clinked mugs of bone broth together and enjoyed their new-found culinary freedom. A whole new world was beginning.
Or at least that’s my dream.
Broth Whisperer 