Parmesan Broth

Parmesan Broth
Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
2¾ hours
Rating
4(585)
Notes
Read community notes

Parmesan broth boosts the flavor of everything it touches. More robust than meat- or vegetable-based stocks, this kitchen staple summons the complex essence of aged cheese to serve as a liquid foundation for simmered beans, brothy soups and braised vegetables. This recipe relies on leftover Parmesan rinds, which can be collected over time and stored in the freezer, or bought at some supermarket cheese counters and most specialty cheese shops. If refrigerating the broth for later use, break up the solidified fats with the back of a spoon, or warm to redistribute before using.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 9 cups
  • 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1large (skin-on) yellow onion, quartered from tip to tip
  • 1whole head garlic, cut in half crosswise
  • ¾pound Parmesan rinds (about 5 large rinds)
  • 15fresh parsley sprigs
  • 8fresh thyme sprigs
  • 2teaspoons whole black peppercorns
  • 2dried bay leaves
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

25 calories; 2 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 42 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat the oil over medium. Add onion quarters and halved garlic, and cook, flat-side down, until the onion and garlic are lightly brown, about 3 minutes. Add Parmesan rinds, parsley, thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves and 12 cups water; bring to a boil.

  2. Step 2

    Once the water comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Partly cover and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent the cheese from sticking to the bottom of the pot, until broth is cloudy and tastes strongly like Parmesan, 2½ hours.

  3. Step 3

    Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing the vegetables and cheese rinds to extract as much liquid as possible. Let cool, then store the broth in the refrigerator up to 1 week or the freezer up to 3 months.

Ratings

4 out of 5
585 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

I save all my rinds and make broth but always wrap the rinds in cheesecloth before adding to the liquid. It saves a lot of clean-up effort as the rinds stick to the pot even if you do stir occasionally and it's a devil to clean. Use the broth in risottos, splitting the amount equally with chicken broth for optimal flavour.

We've been keeping and using Parmesan rinds for years. Using don't go to the trouble of making a separate broth, just throw a couple of rinds into whatever soup you're making.

I chop my rinds into pea-sized pieces and drop them into bean soup. The result is chewy little nuggets, in addition to enhancing the broth.

I've had this problem too but I don't understand why you'd throw the broth in the trash. If you soak the pot for a few days the cheese comes off.

If you use an Instant Pot style pressure cooker for stews, soups, roasts, chillis, and sauces etc., toss a rind in with the lot. OO-MAH-MEE!!

Absolutely no reason why it shouldn't. Just a somewhat sharper flavor.

I’ve seen a lot of broth and stock recipes lately that say you need to simmer everything in a pot for hours on end (even overnight). Not true. Unless you’re going for a mild clear French broth, just take the time to roast the ingredients. More browning more flavor. You not only extract deeper and more complex notes, but you are also save time. I could go off, but just make sure to get color on the onions and garlic (try roasting!) and that will really help aid and bring out the Parmesan flavor.

This is my third time making parmesan broth, and this recipe is by leaps and bounds the best one yet. I used closer to a pound of rinds since that's what was in my freezer stash--and sautéing the veggies definitely added extra flavor. I refrigerated overnight, and then rendered the skimmed solidified fats for some superior scrambled eggs. Looking forward to using this broth in soups and risottos. (BTW, editors, pic shows a red onion when recipe calls for a yellow one.)

the hardened, but edible, exterior of a cheese wedge. Not the wax.

Wrapping the rinds in cheesecloth is brilliant. I added a few dried shiitake mushrooms to up the umami just because they were on hand. The cooking aroma is mouthwatering!

With all due respect to Julia, a strong disclaimer should have been attached to this recipe about the melting cheese. After only 10 minutes on a gentle simmer, the sides and bottom of my Le Creuset pot were pasted with cheese. I immediately took it off the stove and poured the entire contents in the trash. I tried for almost an hour to scrape it off, but it was ruined - as were the wooden spoons and metal tongs I was using. Sorry to be a buzzkill - sure did smell good though.

We mill the rinds in the Vitamix to dust and add it to a variety of dishes to enhance the flavor; nothing gets thrown away.

Will this work with Pecorino Romano cheese rinds?

No substitute since it's the star. Either start eating the real thing or see if you can buy rinds. I'm able to get rinds from my Whole Foods.

No it won't because Pecorino Romano rinds have a black wax on them.

When I make this I tie up the parm rinds, which are generally only about two inches wide as they come from slim pieces from the deli, in cheesecloth and it pretty much eliminates the melted cheese sticking to the pot issue. I also use a smoked black pepper as I think it adds another (subtle) layer to the rich broth.

I'm confused about the yield. Squeezed every drop of liquid from the vegs and cheese rinds and still only got 3 cups.

I followed the recipe exactly. The results though delicious, only made about 5 cups not 9. And my Le Creuset will never forgive me. Different pot next time.

Whole Foods sells rind in their cheese dept. Bravo!

Do I need to scrape off the waxy exterior first? If yes, is that easier to do after the ring is frozen?

Anyone else end up with pretty greasy broth? Is it the olive oil/cheese combo?

Made this with Pecorino Romano rinds and it's great. Couldn't help myself and kept scooping lone garlic cloves out of the broth to smear on some bread. Minimal cheese stuck to the bottom of the pot. I also made a pot of Pasta e Ceci and added the broth to that. So, so good.

This is lovely broth but oddly it wasn't quite salty enough! It was perfect for tortellini in brodo. And with the (brilliant) cheesecloth hack, it was so easy to make and clean up afterward.

Watch how long you toast—this was too long. Any broth if No parm broth. I added spinach. And soy sauce and lemon, no vinegar.

I made the broth in my Instant Pot. One hour, with 15-minute natural release--thanks to tip from another commenter. Worked great. Also put rinds and cheesecloth and had no cheese sticking to pot.

Very good.....used in mushroom & farro soup

Absolutely genius! I used a cheesecloth and it was awesome! After I scooped the big melted cheesecloth mess out - I let it cool - and then scraped ALL that YUMMY Parmesan chunks and threw them back into the broth! OMGYUMMMMMMMY

didnt have much parsley, added some garden celery, not sure if it added much but it made me feel good to use it

After preparing this broth, there was parmesan stuck to the sides and bottom of my Dutch oven, but immediately afterwards I prepared a delicious pasta sauce using chicken broth as one of the ingredients, covered the lid, let it boil a minute or two, removed the lid and the bits of parmesan broke off with a scrape of my wooden spoon!

This is Heavenly! It became the base of every amazing meal and I couldn’t wait to have a new collection of rinds to make it again. I throw veggie scraps from throughout the week (leek tops, onion ends, etc) into the pot and reduce the broth for an additional hour, or longer. So deeply delicious.

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