Bone broth is a nutrient-dense food full of minerals, collagen, amino acids, and healthy fats. It can add amazing flavor to other dishes like soups and stews and help heal your gut!
Long-cooked broth is often dark in color — and bitter. Is it possible to salvage? Make it taste better? Less bitter, maybe?
Before we get there though, let’s talk about why the broth goes bitter in the first place.
Just as the enzyme lipase breaks down fats and eventually turns them rancid (learn how to avoid rancid bone broth), proteases degrade protein chains and eventually make proteins bitter.
This process occurs during cooking. The longer the bones and meat cook, the more the proteases break the bonds connecting the proteins, and the more amino acids get detached (source).
It just so happens that we taste many of these amino acids and protein fragments as bitter. Once we reach this point, there’s no going back. We can’t reconnect the amino acids. Bitterness has resulted.
Learn how to make broth here. Avoid the longer cooking times, and shoot for a flavorful, gelatin-rich stock that cooks for just 3 hours. Or, cook your bones up to 24 hours to get more minerals from the bones. Either way, the resulting nutrient-dense broth isn’t bitter!
The best way to reduce or get rid of bitter flavor in broth is to add sugar and acid to offset the bitterness. Adding sugar and acid doesn’t just mask the bitter flavor; it actually changes the chemistry within the broth!
What to do with bitter broth? Make a bisque!
If you’re frugal and don’t want to discard the bitter broth, make a bisque to hide the flavor. It is a great way to get that broth in without drinking it straight.
Steam or simmer veggies like onions, zucchini, winter squash, or peppers. Cool them and the broth slightly. Add about 3 cups each of veggies and broth to a blender. Then add flavor! 1- or 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, sea salt, white pepper… Fresh garlic, too, and lots of fresh or dried herbs.
To finish it up, add 1/4 cup butter, bacon fat, or fatty parts from a carcass (including the skin). Simply puree the mixture on medium-high speed for 30 to 50 seconds, and enjoy!
Bisques also make a great base for soups. Add meat and sauteed veggies, and create a delicious soup from a mediocre broth.
Check out this post, too, for ideas on how to add your bitter broth to a blended soup!
Easy Ways to Reduce Bitter Taste in Any Food – How to Reduce Bitter Taste in any Food – 10 ways
FAQ
How do you make beef stock less bitter?
What cancels out bitterness?
How do you tone down bitter taste?
How can I reduce the bitterness of beef stew?
A lot of recipes called for cooking some sort of fruit in the stew to cut down of the bitterness that can result, with the most common I saw being prunes stewed along with the beef. Since you’ve already cooked it, maybe try separating out the solids, then stewing some prunes / prune puree in the liquid, and then re-adding the meat and veggies.
Is bone broth eaten hot or cold?
It is better to take bone broth hot or warm. The heat is shown to promote proper digestion as it enters the gastrointestinal tract. Also, hot beverages are shown to relax better than cold ones.
How do you get rid of bitter flavor in broth?
The best way to reduce or get rid of bitter flavor in broth is to add sugar and acid to offset the bitterness. Adding sugar and acid doesn’t just mask the bitter flavor; it actually changes the chemistry within the broth! Add apples!
Does vegetable broth taste bitter?
Brassica or cabbage family trimmings (e.g. broccoli or cauliflower stems and leaves) are also rumored to make vegetable broth taste bitter. However, we use small amounts of them in broth quite often and don’t think they cause any issues – especially compared to the other “bitter ingredients” on this list!