Vegetable Broth Fail

I attempted to make my first batch of vegetable broth using the scraps I had been hoarding saving in my freezer. I was so excited to do this and even more excited to make more room in my freezer. That Ziploc got pretty big once it was packed! My excitement stepped up to another level when I realized one full Ziploc bag held the exact right amount of veggies I needed to fill the crock pot. I did not need to add anything else to the pot. I only added 3 ribs of celery I had in my fridge as to not let them go to waste. I probably should have added a bay leave or two though it really didn't matter. My broth turned out horrible. It smelled wonderful, but tasted way too acidic. My mistake was clear to me as soon as I tasted it.

I figured vegetable broth really could be "grown from the earth" broth. Figuring they would just add some sweet flavor and some extra nutrients, I tossed apple cores and lemon wedges into the bag along with celery, onion, pepper, leek, and garlic scraps. The apple cores were not the problem. I have used them successfully in both vegetable and chicken broth. It was the lemons. I completely underestimated the powerful flavor held in a citrus rind. I also lost track of the amount of lemon I had popped in the bag. Not until I was separating the vegetables from the broth did I realize there was probably two whole lemons in the mix. The lemon completely overpowered every other flavor and killed it. I would maybe suggest doing one half quarter of a lemon for a whole batch of broth. Who knows if I will ever try lemon again. It was a sad moment indeed as I poured a whole batch of broth down my drain. Good thing this was made from all leftover scraps, so I was not pouring any extra money down that drain. Luckily I have another Ziploc bag almost full in the freezer, so I won't have to wait too long to be able to make another batch.