Beef stock and broth are staples of home cooking. They're used as a backbone for soups and stews, a fundamental part of gravy, and can even be transformed into a demi-glace. While delicious beef stock and broth can be made at home with only water, beef bones, aromatics, and some patience, the vast majority of Americans opt to buy store-bought beef stocks and broths to save time.
However, no two products are the same, with flavor, quality, and nutritional value all varying greatly from brand to brand. In this article, we focus on the latter, revealing 10 of the unhealthiest store-bought beef stocks and broths so you can make an informed choice when shopping. We have chosen to predominantly focus on each product's sodium content as a measure of how unhealthy it is.
We decided to do so for two reasons. Firstly, it seemed like the logical choice given that many stocks and broths contain astronomical levels of sodium. Secondly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlight that the vast majority of Americans consume around 1,000 milligrams more sodium than the recommended daily intake.
As such, nearly every American stands to benefit from identifying products that are high in sodium. Aside from sodium content, we also took into account whether the products contained sugars or harmful additives and if they presented an absence of micronutrients. Safe to say, many of these products are far unhealthier than they initially seem.
1. Emeril's Organic Beef Stock Emeril Lagasse.
