From Bones to Broth: Interview with Bone and Company

Bone broths have been prepared in kitchens throughout history.  Bone marrow, the important part of the broth is the densest source of fat soluble vitamins.  When you boil to bones you release this into the broth.

But why has bone broth become so popular?  Spurred by the overwhelming success of the Paleo Diet, the nutrient dense superfood has benefits for all populations and is even linked to gut health and healing in alternative circles. Decide for yourself if this is a trend or something you want to incorporate into your daily routine by checking out this interview from Bone & Co. co-founder, Kimberly Martin.

Nut ‘n Berries:  What exactly is bone broth?

Bone & Co:  Bone broth is slow cooked at a low simmer, typically between 18 – 24 hours.  Conventional broth is cooked for a relatively short period of time, usually between 1 and 4 hours.  This extra long cooking method is the defining characteristic of bone broth, since the slow simmer process is credited for pulling extra nutrients, minerals and collagen from the bones, all in a form the body can easily absorb.  Without this long simmer, you can’t consider your broth true bone broth. Here at Bone & Co, we cook our bone broth for a full 24 hours.

Nuts ‘n Berries: How did you get started with making bone broth to sell?

Bone & Co:   We’ve always been health conscious, with an interest in eating locally grown and produced food.  I started making bone broth a few years ago after becoming dissatisfied with the taste of the organic broths available to me at most grocery stores, and it soon became a part of our weekly diet.  Around that time, my husband noticed the leaky gut symptoms he’d been suffering from had started to subside.  The integrative doctor he’d been seeing for his symptoms believed that our bone broth habit was a major contributor to his success.  After that experience, he became passionate about sharing bone broth with others.

Nuts ‘n Berries: What’s the difference between your bone broth and the packaged kind you buy at Costco?

Bone & Co:  Our bone broth is made using 100% grass-fed beef and pastured chicken from local farms, organic vegetables and herbs, and no added salt.  It is slow simmered for 24 hours to leach the maximum amount of nutrients, gelatin, and collagen from the bones.  Broths found on the shelf at most big box grocery stores are cooked for a short period of time, and may contain caramel coloring, MSG and other artificial ingredients.  Oh, and our broth happens to taste really good too. (We agree!)

Nuts ‘n Berries: How important are ingredients and the source of the bones?

Bone & Co:  Very important.  The defining feature of bone broth is the gel – does it change from a liquid to a gelatinous state when chilled?  The best bone broth will gel when chilled, which indicates a high gelatin content.  We have found that bones from both conventionally raised and organic animals produce an inferior gel and taste in bone broth, presumably because these animals are not raised eating their natural diets.  Only pastured chickens and 100% grass-fed beef produce broth that meets our quality standards.

Nuts ‘n Berries: What else should the first time bone broth user know?

Bone & Co:  Bone broth is incredibly versatile and easy to incorporate into most diets.  It can be easily added to soups, recipes or can be consumed as a hot beverage. There are many fermented foods that do a great job at supporting gut health, but not everyone has a taste for their strong flavors.   We believe the simplest way to support and sustain a healthy gut is by consuming nourishing bone broth.

Stop by and visit Bone & Co at our Fall Festival on Monday, September 26th from 5-8pm!