LFC Pune | September 2025
Sonal: First attempt at making stock with scraps. Any tips from pros?
Gaurav: Not a pro, but I think you’ve filled it up too much. You could’ve left some space to be able to scoop out the scum that forms. And this has to be on a rolling boil for at least 2-3 hours since it’s only veggies. Otherwise, with bones, it’s usually 4-5 hours, if I remember correctly.
Sonal: Realised the problem as soon as I sent the picture, so now I’ve shifted it to a bigger pot.
I thought we simmered it on low heat? It’s only veggie peels.
Nicole: So you keep adding water? Because otherwise doesn’t the water all dry up?
Gaurav: Sorry, yes, simmer on low heat.
Sonal: I think with respect to the water quantity, the scraps should be submerged in water. Like, an inch or so.
Janhavi: Doesn’t scum form only if you add bones and not for veggie scraps? Does it happen for both?
Gaurav: Yes, correct.
Sonal: Took a good hour of low heat simmering. It tastes good even without salt!
Read this excerpt from The No-Waste Kitchen Cookbook, where Arina Suchde, a Mumbai-based chef, mixologist, and cookbook author, makes a case for our everyday food scraps as the beginnings of a meal, not something to be carelessly discarded.