It's that time of year: soup season! I know I prefer to make my own broth whenever I can, starting with the Thanksgiving turkey and then creating new broth each time I roast a chicken or have a standing rib roast with bones.
Sometimes, though, it makes sense to simply buy broth. When I go to my local grocery store, I often see lots of different options. Do I want regular chicken broth, or do I want to spring for the chicken bone broth, for example?
I had the opportunity to receive complimentary broth from Kettle and Fire, who graciously sent me a few different types of bone broth to use and review. I thought it would be a great idea to compare their bone broth with regular broth and provide with the detailed Kettle and Fire Bone Broth Review. I will be cooking with regular broth and Kettle and Fire to see if it makes a difference. Let's explore!
Jump to:
- What Is Bone Broth?
- Kettle and Fire Bone Broth: What Makes It Different?
- My Testing Process: Chicken Bone Broth vs Regular Chicken Broth
- Thoughts Comparing Kettle and Fire Bone Broth With Regular Bone Broth
- Thoughts Comparing Kettle and Fire Bone Broth With Homemade Bone Broth
- Kettle and Fire Bone Broth Review: The Other Flavors Available
- The Final Verdict: Is Kettle and Fire Bone Broth Worth It?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Bone Broth?
Bone broth is made by simmering chicken, turkey, or beef bones, herbs, and vegetables, often with the addition of organic apple cider vinegar, in water for many hours until the collagen and nutrients from the bones leach into the broth. The vinegar helps draw a lot of those nutrients and collagen into the broth.
You might simmer your bone broth for as long as 36 hours. I usually simmer mine for about 12 hours, simply because I don't generally like to leave it overnight. With that being said, I have done it in the crock pot overnight before.
When the broth is almost done, you'll be able to pinch the softened bones between your fingers and feel them crush or even disintegrate easily.
If you are making it yourself, we have great recipes for Instant Pot Beef Bone Broth and Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth
You can tell if you've made a strong chicken, turkey, or beef bone broth by straining it, chilling it in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then taking it out. If it has the consistency of a Jello square, you've gotten lots of collagen, and therefore nutrients, out of that bone.
Kettle and Fire Bone Broth: What Makes It Different?
When I went to the grocery store to check out the Kettle and Fire bone broth, I noticed a distinct price difference. I go to Publix, which is a premium grocery store, and I noticed that while Progresso broth was $2.79, a comparably sized box of Kettle and Fire bone broth was $11.49.
I checked the Walmart website and none of the stores near me carries Kettle and Fire bone broth, so those are the prices I'm working with in my assessment.
So, what makes this brand of bone broth different?
First, the ingredients are all organic. They include chicken bone broth made with organic chicken bones, along with various organic vegetables and herbs, including organic celery, organic peppers, organic onion, organic garlic, organic tomato puree, parsley, thyme, and basil.
When I checked the ingredients on the box of Progresso, I noticed that not only were none of them organic but they also were very limited. The box contained only chicken broth, salt, carrot puree, and "natural flavors," which I'm not sure exactly what that referred to.
When I poured them each into a glass to compare, you can see how much richer and darker the Kettle and Fire bone broth is. I'll go into the flavor notes below, so keep reading!
My Testing Process: Chicken Bone Broth vs Regular Chicken Broth
After the visual inspection, I decided to make the same kind of soup twice at the same time. For one, I used Progresso chicken bone broth. (I actually used salt-free because I prefer to do this and then add my own salt, but many people prefer using reduced-sodium broth for soups.)
For the other, I made my recipe using Kettle and Fire chicken bone broth.
I chose a recipe I make often, which includes some Indian seasonings such as curry powder, garam masala, and cumin.
I seasoned some chicken thighs with my spices, then browned on both sides for a few minutes. Once those were almost cooked through, I removed them and added green peppers, onion, mushrooms, and garlic.
Then I stirred in the broth (in two separate saucepans) and the chicken to finish cooking. Before serving, I added coconut milk to each batch, and I topped our bowls with scallions.
Thoughts Comparing Kettle and Fire Bone Broth With Regular Bone Broth
The bone broth was, as I expected, much stronger and more complex. While normally I would season soup pretty heavily with herbs such as organic rosemary, organic parsley, organic thyme, and other spices, I wanted to keep a light hand other than the previously mentioned spices plus salt and black pepper.
The Kettle and fire bone broth was delicious and well-seasoned, and we could taste the vegetables that influenced the flavor profile. With that being said, my son is not a fan of carrots, and he couldn't taste any specific carrot flavor in either broth, which was a benefit for him.
One note I have is that this is not a salty-tasting product, which I found to be a pleasant surprise. The reason I usually buy salt-free broths is that commercial soups, bone broths, and similar products often taste way too salty to me.
I was happy to see that the sodium content of the Kettle and Fire chicken bone broth was moderate, at 620 mg for a 16-ounce container, or just over 300 mg per cup. It didn't taste too salty, and in fact, I did add more salt to the soup. For reference, regular Progresso chicken broth (not the salt-free variety) has 790 mg of sodium per cup.
Altogether, I found the flavor of the bone broth to be strong and pleasing, not too salty. In comparison, the regular broth tasted a bit bland (even with the addition of extra salt). Keep in mind that it wasn't bone broth, though, just regular broth.
Thoughts Comparing Kettle and Fire Bone Broth With Homemade Bone Broth
I like to make bone broths for the health benefits. I've noticed that if someone in my family is sick and I make soup with homemade bone broth, it makes them feel better. Whether it's a placebo, I don't know, but even Health.com says that bone broths contain electrolytes, contain high-quality protein, and are good for the joints and youthful skin.
Is Kettle and Fire bone broth as good as homemade bone broth? I would say it's comparable.
You can tinker with the flavors in your own homemade chicken or beef bone broth by simmering the bones longer, adding more vegetables (like organic carrots, organic onions, or organic green pepper), adding mushrooms, and changing up the spices. So, if you like your broth a certain way, you can create the flavor profile you prefer.
The thing about bone broth is that it takes a long time. So, if you have bones at your disposal as well as a handful of other organic ingredients, and you have at least 12 hours to simmer your broth, I encourage you to go for it! If not, though, or if you or your family are sick and don't want to spend the time making bone broth, then I'd say the shelf stable bone broth from Kettle and Fire would be a close substitute.
Kettle and Fire Bone Broth Review: The Other Flavors Available
While I used the classic chicken bone broth to make my soup, there are other Kettle and Fire products available, as well.
Classic beef bone broth is made from grass fed beef bones. It might be great for a hearty beef stew or French onion soup.
Mushroom chicken bone broth is chicken bone broth with a variety of mushrooms. This would be perfect for mushroom bisque.
Finally, turmeric ginger chicken bone broth is a flavorful blend of the ingredients listed in the name. It would serve well as a healthy drink on a cold day.
The Final Verdict: Is Kettle and Fire Bone Broth Worth It?
As someone who cooks a lot of bone broth soup, I would say that yes, Kettle and Fire bone broth is worth the extra money. The amount of time, energy, and ingredients it takes to make a delicious bone broth at home would more than surpass the cost of the boxed broth.
In addition, while it's quite a bit more expensive than typical broth, it doesn't contain any artificial flavors, it tastes much stronger, and it even looks richer and more delicious.
Depending on the type of food you're making, you might consider using the less expensive broth. For example, while you would probably want to choose bone broth for soups and risotto, you might use a cheaper broth or stock when making plain white rice to serve alongside a meal. You could also experiment with other brands to see which regular broth tasted best to you.
But if you're making soup, whether it's a simple chicken soup, a beef copycat recipe from your favorite restaurant, or something more complex like a consomme, I would recommend looking for a high-quality bone broth such as the ones made by Kettle and Fire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. In addition, it is a good accompaniment to intermittent fasting and is paleo friendly. It also contains no gluten and would fit in well with any diet based on whole foods.
The only real downside would be if the brand you chose contained a lot of sodium. If you're making it yourself, you can control this easily. Kettle and Fire bone broth contains a moderate amount of sodium, and it didn't taste too salty to me. Other brands and recipes might contain more, though, so be aware of this.
Remember that making bone broth takes a lot of time and effort. Also, bone broth tends to include a lot of high-quality ingredients like grass fed beef, organic vegetables, amino acids, and other healthy foods. All of this can add up to a higher price, but I have found it to be worth the cost.
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