If you are used to cooking with stock cubes, be careful: these products are (much) too rich in salt. Advice from the dietitian.
Are you used to cooking your spaghetti with a stock cube? Do you always add a pinch of dehydrated chicken stock when you cook a sauce? Your slow-cooked dishes can’t do without a plate of vegetable stock? Warning: this cooking reflex could be harmful to your health…
“The main problem with dehydrated broths (whether beef, poultry or vegetable) is their salt content.” explains Nathalie Négro, dietitian-nutritionist.
Thus, as noted by ANSES (in his Ciqual table), a “pot-au-feu” type stock cube contains approximately 48 g of salt per 100 g. Since a cube weighs around 10 g, adding broth to your simmered dish means adding around 5 g of salt. As a reminder, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends not exceeding 5 g of salt… per day!
What about “low salt” or “reduced salt” stock cubes that you can sometimes find in supermarkets? “It’s marketingsays the dietician-nutritionist. When these products claim “- 25% salt”, it is in relation to other products in the same category. Clearly, even (a little) less salty, these stock cubes remain catastrophic for your health!“
The specialist’s advice? “Always divide the quantity of broth recommended on the packet by two, it will be more than enough!“So, instead of putting 1 whole stock cube in your pasta cooking water, stick to 1/2 cube… and your blood pressure will thank you.
What can you replace stock cubes with?
If you suffer from high blood pressure or if you have cardiovascular risk factors (overweight, obesity, cholesterol, diabetes, etc.), it is better to avoid broth cubes! Instead, make your own tasty, long-lasting broths. Nathalie Négro’s recipes:
“Cook your vegetables in a large volume of lightly salted water with aromatics (thyme, parsley, basil, rosemary, cloves, nutmeg, etc.). Once the vegetables are cooked, do not throw away the cooking water: let it cool to room temperature then filter it and transfer it to an ice cube tray. Very rich in minerals (and particularly potassium), this naturally tasty broth can simply be defrosted when you need it.“
“When you prepare a roast chicken, do not throw away the carcass: cook it in a large volume of lightly salted water with aromatics (a bouquet garni, for example). Let it boil for 20 to 30 minutes then filter using a strainer and transfer the liquid to an ice cube tray. Same principle as for homemade vegetable stock: defrost a cube of stock each time it is necessary…“
Thanks to Nathalie Négro, dietician-nutritionist and head of the Nutritional Center of Brides-les-Bains thermal baths.