Why Our Grandparents Saved the Bones

Generations ago, the roast was only the beginning. After it was carved, the bones went back into the kitchen. Cooks added water, perhaps a few herbs and vegetables and let time do the work. What was the end of dinner became the beginning of something even more magical…a broth, soup or stew.

Broth represents both ancestral wisdom and a practical part of everyday cooking, helping people draw flavour from bones, stretch meals, and make full use of the animal. In fact, the practice is old enough to appear in one of the earliest collections of written recipes we have.

Around 4,000 years ago, recipes were recorded on clay tablets. The best-known group, now held in Yale’s Babylonian Collection, includes 25 short recipes for stews and broths. One begins with wild pigeon: split the bird, prepare water, add fat. Then come salt, barley cakes, onion, shallot, leek, garlic and herbs soaked in milk. Other recipes call for meat, vegetables, and seasonings such as cumin, coriander, and dill. These are Old Babylonian recipes written in Akkadian; a rare record of cooking knowledge that was usually taught by watching and doing. Researchers believe some of the dishes were palace or temple cuisine, prepared by skilled cooks. Ancient people understood broths as carefully built dishes that began with bones and then layered meat, fat, herbs and aromatics.

The written record goes quiet after that - cooking knowledge moved through households, markets and kitchens, much of it passed on by practice rather than preserved in books. Centuries later, one Victorian journalist and household writer put this practical wisdom into print.

In Victorian Britain, Isabella Beeton recorded the same practical instinct in The Book of Household Management. She advised her readers to make good use of whatever could be saved, including roast-beef bones and mutton shanks for soups and stocks. Her book drew on generations of household cooking and reflected a nose-to-tail approach. That wisdom feels especially relevant today, in an era of peak food waste.

It’s clear that across centuries, cooks understood something simple: bones still have a lot to give. They bring richness to a pot, flavor to a soup and one more meal from an animal already raised and butchered.

When a cook saved “the bones”, they often saved more than bare bones. A carcass has scraps of meat, joints, cartilage, skin and marrow, each bringing unique flavours and nutrients.

What Bones Bring To the Table

Bones, cartilage, tendons, skin and joints bring different nutrients, flavours and qualities to the table. Connective tissues contain collagen. With slow cooking, collagen breaks down into gelatin which gives stock its body and can make it jiggly and set when chilled. That silky texture is a sign that gelatin is present and you’ve done it right. It’s also why a well-made stock can give a sauce or soup a fuller mouthfeel.

Collagen-derived proteins contain amino acids such as glycine, proline and hydroxyproline. These are found in other collagen-rich foods, including skin, tendons, cartilage and connective tissue. The amount that ends up in a cup of broth depends on the cuts used, the cooking method and how concentrated the finished liquid is. Unfortunately, studies have found that commercial bone broths are highly variable in their concentrations of amino acids which validates our recommendation that it’s best to make your own.

Marrow brings something totally different: fat and deep savoury flavour. Roast marrow bones and spread the soft center on sourdough with a sprinkle of salt. Stir marrow into sauces, vegetables, or mashed potatoes for extra richness.

Use oxtails, joints, knuckles and feet when you want a stock with more gelatin. Save roasted poultry carcasses for a lighter stock. A pot built from several kinds of bones and connective tissue can have a richer flavour and texture than one made from bare bones alone.

Bones contain calcium, magnesium and phosphorus that can dissolve into your cooking liquid while making broth. A laboratory study of animal bone broths found that adding acidity and cooking for longer periods of time (greater than 8 hours) increased calcium and magnesium extraction. There’s an Ancestral tip: add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or other vinegar to your pot when boiling your bones.

Broth is very useful in cooking because it carries these flavours and nutrients into other foods. Use it for braises, soups, gravies, and pan sauces. A small amount can make a simple dish taste like it’s been cooking all afternoon. The exact nutrient profile depends on what went into the pot but that variability is part of cooking with real ingredients; a chicken carcass, a beef knuckle, and a fish head each make a different broth.

What The Research Says About Broth

When you’re congested or run down, a warm bowl of soup can be easier to sip and more inviting than a full plate. Research on chicken soup suggests warm liquids may help move nasal mucus, while other lab research points to possible positive effects on inflammation. Bone broth makes a comforting base for a substantial soup with chicken, beef or fish, rice or noodles, vegetables, or egg.

One of the more intriguing lines of bone broth research is happening in the gut. In a 2021 mouse study, researchers tested bovine bone broth in a chemically induced model of ulcerative colitis. Mice given broth before the colitis challenge had less tissue damage and lower levels of several inflammatory signals in the colon than untreated mice. That result gives researchers a reason to investigate how broth’s amino acids and other compounds may interact with the intestinal lining.

A 2025 review from Mayo Clinic surveyed evidence on bone broth components, intestinal barrier function, and inflammatory bowel disease. Broth is being examined as a complex food matrix: gelatin, amino acids, minerals, and other compounds together. The benefits documented for components in bone broth support the enhancement of gut health, alleviate inflammation in the intestinal barrier, improve intestinal barrier function in health and disease states, particularly in inflammatory bowel disease, as well as enhancing nutrient absorption.

A Nourishing Food in Seasons of Need

Across life stages, broth can be useful because it’s easy to eat and makes other nutrient-dense foods easier to serve. After childbirth, during illness, or with poor appetite or difficulties eating, a cup of broth can add warmth and fluid, alongside other whole foods.

Pregnancy can change how much of certain amino acids the body needs. In a controlled study, researchers measured how 17 healthy pregnant women used glycine at different intake levels. The findings suggest that, in late pregnancy, the body may need more glycine than it can make on its own. Bone broth, gelatin, and connective-tissue cuts of meat provide glycine and should be included as part of a nourishing pregnancy diet.

Recovery from illness or wounds can increase the body’s need for energy and protein. A delicious bowl of broth with shredded meat, fish, or eggs can provide a complete protein and make a nourishing meal that supports wound healing and tissue repair. For vulnerable populations like older adults or anyone with a low appetite, soup can be an inviting way to get more nourishment in.

Ancestral Supplements Bone & Marrow is another convenient way to include bovine bone, marrow, and cartilage as a whole-food supplement if you don’t have access to bones or the time to commit to a broth, stock or soup.

How to Make A Good Broth

In professional kitchens, stock is a foundation for soups, sauces, braises, gravies, and even cooking grains. At home, a splash can turn leftovers into soup or give a quick pan sauce the depth of something that cooked all afternoon. Making broth sounds like a project, but most of the time is quiet simmering so the hands-on work is brief.

Homemade broth can taste fresher and fuller than many packaged versions, and you can decide how much salt goes in. Cartons and cubes are useful shortcuts, but their ingredient lists vary. Some use autolyzed yeast extract or hydrolyzed vegetable protein for savory flavor; both contain naturally occurring free glutamate. If a particular food seems to trigger your migraines or digestive symptoms, check its label and follow your clinician’s advice. For a shorter ingredient list and a flavor you can tailor, homemade stock or both gives you full control.

A good broth starts with bones and enough time for their flavour and gelatin to move into the liquid. Use whatever you have: a roasted chicken carcass, beef knuckles, lamb shanks, poultry feet, oxtails, or even fish frames and heads. Combine bones from different meals and freeze them until you have enough for a full pot.

For a basic meat or poultry broth:

1. Roast for a deeper flavor. Spread raw bones or a leftover carcass on a tray and roast at 400°F (200°C) until browned, about 35–50 minutes. Skip this step for a lighter, cleaner-tasting broth.

2. Load the pot. Put the bones in a stockpot and cover with cold water. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar if you like; it can support mineral extraction, though broth remains a modest source of calcium and magnesium.

3. Add aromatics. Onion, carrot, celery, leek, garlic, parsley stems, bay leaf, and peppercorns are a dependable starting point. Keep salt light if you’ll reduce the broth or use it in other recipes.

4. Bring it up slowly. Heat until the surface just begins to tremble, then lower to a gentle simmer. Skim foam early for a clearer broth. A high rolling boil can emulsify fat and impurities into the liquid, making it cloudy.

5. Give it time. Poultry broth often needs at least 3–6 hours; beef and lamb can take longer (up to 12 hours), especially with joints and knuckles. Flavor and body depend on the bones, water, and concentration. A pressure cooker can make a flavorful broth in less time.

6. Strain, cool, and store safely. Strain while hot, then cool in shallow containers and refrigerate within two hours. Keep refrigerated broth for 3–4 days or freeze it. Leave headspace in freezer-safe containers; don’t put hot broth in glass jars that may crack.

For fish stock: use fresh frames and heads with the gills removed, cover with water, add simple aromatics, and simmer gently for about 30 to 45 minutes. Strain promptly.

Taste the finished broth before deciding what it needs. The bones have already done their part and the cook’s job is to give that flavor somewhere to go.

If sourcing bones or making broth isn’t practical, Ancestral Supplements Bone & Marrow offers an easy way to get bovine bone, marrow, and cartilage in whole-food supplement form.

A few simple broth rituals

Add miso for savory depth

Miso is a fermented soybean paste with a rich, savory flavor and a hint of tang. A spoonful gives plain broth a distinctive taste and makes it easy to enjoy fermented foods as part of a gut-supportive diet.

For each cup of hot broth or water, whisk in about 1 tablespoon of miso. Take the pot off the heat, then stir in the miso until smooth.

Add seaweed

Wakame and nori add a briny, savory taste and provide iodine, which the body needs to make thyroid hormones. Use them to flavor soup. If you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a thyroid condition, check with your clinician about your overall iodine intake.

Make egg-drop broth

While broth simmers, slowly drizzle in a beaten egg and stir gently to create soft ribbons. It’s a simple way to make a mug of broth more filling and add protein. 

Sick? Go hot and fragrant.

When you’re congested and feeling run-down, a hot bowl can be comforting. Add garlic, ginger, carrots, and leafy greens, then stir in chicken or egg for protein. A nourishing mix of protein, vitamins, and minerals helps support normal immune function.