5 Nourishing Facts About Bone Broth

Bone broth has been around for ages, but, recently, it’s found its way back into everyday kitchens, coffee shops, and travel mugs again. Remember when Gwenyth made it popular in 2023?

Whether you’re seeing it on wellness TikTok, at your local grocery store, or simmering slowly on the stovetop, bone broth has become one of the most talked-about comfort foods of the moment.

Part of its appeal is its simplicity. All you have to do is leave a pot of bones, vegetables, and water to simmer for a few hours. No complicated instructions, just warmth, depth of flavor, and something that feels good to sip.

Here are a few things to know if you’re curious about adding bone broth to your regular routine.

1. It’s a Long-Standing Kitchen Staple

Bone broth isn’t new, even if the buzz around it feels modern. 

For generations, cooks used every part of an animal, especially the bones, to make soups, sauces, and stews more nourishing and flavorful. It was a way to stretch food, reduce waste, and bring richness to meals without much cost.

The idea is simple: simmer bones long enough, and they release flavor and collagen that help create a broth with real depth. 

It’s slow cooking in its purest form, the kind of thing that will fill your kitchen with warmth and make the whole house smell like something good is on its way.

2. It’s All About Time and Good Ingredients

Quality matters more than complexity. The best bone broths start with high-quality bones and enough simmering time to draw out their nutrients and flavor. 

Many cooks swear by using bones from grass-fed or pasture-raised animals, along with aromatics like onions, garlic, celery, and bay.

Then, the cooking time is where the magic happens. 

A few hours will give you a light broth. Twelve to twenty-four hours will give you something deeper, silkier, and more substantial. A good broth requires patience, the kind you prepare on a quiet Sunday afternoon and enjoy all week long.

If you’d like a simple starting place, you can work with something like this:

• Place 2 - 3 pounds of bones (chicken, beef, or mixed) in a large pot. 

• Add:

  • 1 chopped onion

  • 2 - 3 garlic cloves

  • A couple of celery stalks

  • A splash of vinegar, salt, and enough water to cover 

• Let it simmer low and slow for at least 6 hours (longer if you can). 

• Strain, taste, and adjust the salt.

That’s all it takes! Nothing fancy, just warmth in a cup.

3. It’s a Source of Simple Nourishment

Bone broth is often talked about in terms of benefits, but the appeal is more everyday than that. 

Warm broth can help support digestion, settle the stomach, and provide a gentle way to hydrate. It contains small amounts of minerals, collagen, and amino acids, but nothing about it is meant to be a cure-all.

Think of it as a steady, nourishing addition rather than a quick fix, a warm mug on a cold morning, a soothing sip when you want something grounding. It offers comfort in the same way a good cup of tea or a bowl of soup does.

4. It’s Easy to Add to Your Cooking

One of the best things about bone broth is how versatile it is. You can sip it on its own, of course, but it also slips easily into everyday cooking. 

You can use it in place of store-bought broth or water when making soups, stews, risotto, grains, ramen, or even mashed potatoes.

It can turn a simple pot of rice into something fragrant and savory. It can also stretch leftovers into a complete meal. 

Either way, it adds a depth of flavor that feels homey and intentional, even when you’re keeping dinner simple.

5. It’s Something You Can Sip Anytime, Anywhere

Cooking from scratch always sounds like a good idea. But, if you don’t have time to simmer a pot for hours, ready-to-drink bone broths are everywhere now. 

Grocery aisles stock shelf-stable cartons, freezer pouches, and even single-serve cups you can quickly heat up. Trusted organic brands like Pacific have bone broth worth taking a look at. 

Cafés and broth bars in some cities are now serving bone broth like coffee, and many people now keep small portions frozen in ice cube trays so they can warm them up quickly. It’s become portable, practical, and easy to integrate into busy days.

A Small Ritual of Warmth

Bone broth’s renewed popularity has less to do with trends and more to do with how it makes us feel: warm and healthy. 

Best of all, it can slip right into our days without ceremony: a mug while we read in the morning, a sip after coming in from the cold, a quiet moment before bed.

As the season shifts and the days grow shorter, it can be comforting to have something simple to come back to time and time again. 

Perhaps bone broth will be that small winter ritual, the kind of thing that reminds us to slow down, breathe, and take care of ourselves in the simplest of ways.

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