I’ve already tried salting it, and of course the flavors are going to be rougher while it’s still piping-hot fresh, but further measures may need to be taken. It may also need diluting:
It probably needs diluting, huh? Any suggestions welcome, including what to do with the stuff if it stays too bitter for soups or stews.
Wowswers, how did you get it that dark, roasting the carrots & celery, or searing/burning the onions prior to cooking? The celery or the onions could contribute bitterness.
Salt isn’t the only way to overcome bitterness. for a stew, add carrots or slow-cooked onions the sweetness helps.
You can also try to overcome it with umami: low-sodium soy sauce, fish sauce, or really flavorful mushrooms (morels).
Worst case: add some white wine and {lemon|vinegar} and use it to poach fish.
Er… “vegetable stock”… yeah.
Delete the fish sauce option.
Add dried konbu seaweed (soak then remove); tons of natural MSG^W umami.
Hard to tell without a taste, but that looks .. scorched.
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Cool a bit down, taste again, and .. if there’s a charcoal/burnt flavor underneath, it’s .. pretty much useless.
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My experience is not with veggie broth, so may not apply – I’ve had the heat up too high under two separate pots of chicken bone stock and, as it reduced, the bones and skin resting on the bottom scorched and ruined the entire stock.
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Mew
I agree, looks like something scorched. And, bitter is hard to fix, no matter how you go about it. It will come through sweet, salty, and sour, as an under-taste, I would say toss and start over. After sauteing everything and adding your liquid, low heat on simmer for the duration and stir occasionally…
Yeah, tossing it was also my wife’s opinion. We just need to stick to onion, carrot, and potato for the stock fixings from now on…
A TOUCH of acid (lemon or lime juice) MAY get rid of some of the bitter [think: Corona w/ lime.]