What is Beef broth

Beef broth a healthful medicine that happens to taste good or you feel it’s more of a full-bodied stock that comes with some bonus health benefits, you’ll still agree that few dishes are as versatile, easy to make and cost-effective. Homemade beef broth’s full body works for most soups and sauces, while its mineral-rich nutrition profile helps your body work.

Beef broths are typically simmered for a very long period of time (often for 8 hours, and sometimes in excess of 24 hours), with the purpose being not only to produce gelatin from collagen-rich joints but also to release a small amount of trace minerals from bones.  At the end of cooking, the bones should smash when pressed lightly between your thumb and forefinger.

Beef Broth Image Gallery

Beef broth

Glass of Beef broth

Packet of Beef broth

Health benefits of Beef broth

Beef broth was appreciated by traditional cultures because it’s packed with nutrients, easy to digest, rich in flavor, and loaded with restorative amino acids. It is chock-full of nutrients including a host of minerals and 17 different amino acids. Both of which are responsible for its rejuvenating effects. With all the nutrients found in beef broth, it makes perfect sense that it delivers some impressive health benefits. Listed below are few of the health benefits of beef broth

1. Improves Weight Loss

Beef broth is very low in calories, and can help you feel full. Thanks to its gelatin content, it also has the benefit of helping you feel more satisfied, which improves your weight loss efforts. Try making your favorite vegetable soup with beef broth in place of water or stock for a healthy, low calorie snack.(1)

2. Heals the Digestive Tract

Beef broth is one of the easiest foods to digest and is traditionally used when recovering from illness, especially digestive problems.  Just think of all the soups that are used as antidotes – in many Asian cultures they have congee, in Jewish culture there’s matzo ball soup, and Americans often turn to the classic chicken noodle.  Diets like the GAPS diet recognized this and put a strong focus on bone broths in order to heal the digestive system, mainly after the digestive lining has been damaged, like in Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis.  High gelatin content of broth is considered mainly healing to wounds along the digestive tract. (2)

3. Repairs Joints

Beef broth when cooked with bones still has a good amount of joint tissue on them that tissue cooks down and dissolves into the broth.  Joint building blocks like gelatin and chondroitin sulfate (which are sold as expensive supplements to treat and prevent osteoarthritis) are readily available in bone broth, easily absorbed by our bodies and are rapidly used to rebuild and repair our connective tissue, which includes joints, tendons and ligaments.(3)

4. Improves Hair, Skin & Nails

Another wonderful effect of gelatin present in beef broth is its ability to strengthen hair, skin and nails.  It is used topically for beauty treatments, but is even more effective when taken internally. (4)

5. Supports Nerve Function

Minerals dissolved in broth are essential for proper nerve function as they are used to conduct electrical signals from cell to cell.  Fats found in the broth are also essential to nerve health since many nerve cells (especially those in your brain and spinal cord) are covered in fat to help their signals travel faster. (5)

6.Reduces inflammation

Inflammation is our body’s natural response to injury, but chronic inflammation can result in many disease conditions, including diabetes and arthritis. Beef broth can bring down inflammation since it has many anti-inflammatory amino acids. Among them, arginine deserves special mention because it is clinically used for treating widespread inflammation.(6)

7. Helps you Sleep and Contributes to a Calm Mind

Not sleeping well or not sleeping enough can lead to countless health conditions, and it can make you feel pretty unpleasant too. Bone broth might be able to help you out. Calcium and magnesium (both present in bone broth) have been found to alleviate insomnia.

Forget about chicken soup for the soul, bone broth is where it’s at. Glycine found in bone broth is often used as a supplement to promote a calm mind and restful sleep. Glycine is found in relatively small amounts in bone broth, so chances are it certainly won’t hurt to test this theory for you.(7)

8. Common Cold & Flu

Beef broth is also a great remedy for acute illnesses such as colds and flu. If you’re fighting a cold, make a warm bone broth soup that’s spicy with plenty of pepper. The spices will release watery fluids in your mouth, throat, and lungs, which will help thin the respiratory mucus so it’s easier to expel. Bone broth also contains a variety of valuable nutrients in a form your body can easily absorb and use — not to mention, it’s also great for when your appetite is weak from being sick.

9. Improves immunity

Beef broth is traditionally given to children and the elderly to build up stamina and increase their resistance to infectious diseases. It is an outstanding tonic to keep you in good health during the flu season. You can add immunity-enhancing herbs like ginger, turmeric and astragalus to the broth to make it even better.

10.Increases male fertility

Osteocalcin is a hormone produced in bone cells. It has regulatory effect on the endocrine system which includes enhancing the function of pancreas as well as testes. It increases the secretion of insulin and the male hormone testosterone. Making beef broth a regular habit may help male fertility and virility.

11. Regulates hormonal imbalances in women

Beef broth is quite wonderful for female reproductive health too, but gelatin plays a major role here. It is known to have a balancing effect on estrogen, down regulating its production whenever necessary. Uterine contractions are controlled by magnesium and calcium, and they prevent painful menstrual cramping.

12. Protects against muscle cramps

Leg cramps are a common complaint of sports persons, but it is not rare among others. Some people experience these painful muscle spasms during and after energetic activities like swimming and running, while others get it during rest at night. Of the many causes of muscle cramps, depletion of minerals such as potassium, magnesium and calcium is the most prevalent.

Being rich in these minerals, especially calcium and magnesium, bone broth is an excellent sports drink to refill the electrolytes lost through perspiration. Drinking a cupful before and after a workout and before bedtime can protect you from painful cramps

13. Blood Cell Production

Bone marrow is where our bodies manufacture red blood cells and white blood cells.  It consists of a high concentration of stem cells, which are starter cells that are proficient of producing several new blood cells.  By cooking down bone marrow you get everything you need to build those new red and white blood cells.  Gelatin in particular helps to regenerate red blood cells (and is used to treat anemia.)

How to Store Bone Broth

Bone broth can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a week.  You can also freeze it in ice cube trays, and transfer the frozen cubes of broth to a reseal able freezer bag where they will keep for 6 months. 

Beef Bone Broth Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 pounds beef soup bones (knuckle, neck, or marrow bones)
• 1 cup water
• 4 medium carrots, cut up
• 3 medium onions, unpeeled and cut up
• 6 stalks celery with leaves, cut up
• 2 tablespoons dried basil or thyme, crushed
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 20 whole black peppercorns
• 16 sprigs fresh parsley
• 4 bay leaves
• 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled and halved
• 18 cups cold water
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place soup bones in a large shallow roasting pan. Roast about 45 minutes or until browned, turning once.
2. Place soup bones in a 10- to 12-quart stockpot. Pour the 1 cup water into the roasting pan and scrape up browned bits; add water mixture to pot. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to boiling; reduce heat to low. Gently simmer, covered, 8 to 12 hours. (For a gentle simmer, you should see tiny bubbles coming to the surface. You will want to monitor cooking so it does not boil. Gentle cooking helps to draw out and develop the flavor of the broth.) Remove soup bones from broth.
3. Scoop out as many vegetables as you can with a slotted spoon. Strain broth through 4 layers of 100-percent-cotton cheesecloth placed in a colander. Discard vegetables and seasonings.
4. If using the broth while hot, skim fat. Or chill broth in a bowl at least 6 hours; lift off fat with a spoon. Place broth in airtight containers. Cover and chill up to 3 days or freeze up to 6 months.
5. If desired, when bones are cool enough to handle, remove meat. Chop meat; discard bones. Place meat in airtight containers. Cover and chill up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.

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