Grandmother’s bone broth is trending again on social media – we visited a Swiss soup maker in his kitchen
They don’t just help against viruses in winter: bone broths are experiencing a boom in Switzerland. We looked over the shoulder of the manufacturer Jonas Cslovjecsek.
Has found his calling: Jonas Cslovjecsek at work in his broth factory.
Image: Juerg Waldmeier
How that smells! Fresh onions and carrots, leeks and parsley roots – and bones. If you stand in front of the inconspicuous workshop in Welschenrohr in the Thal Nature Park, you’ll get hungry early in the morning because of the wonderful smell that emanates from the fireplace. Inside, Jonas Cslovjecsek, wearing white work clothes and a hygiene cap, stands at the tipping chute, a huge frying pan that holds 1,000 liters. He’s just adding loads of freshly cut onions, turning them carefully onto the cut surface and lining them up. For him, this work is like meditation, “I’m completely focused on it.” That’s important, he says: “The immediate presence goes straight into the court,” the founder of “True Brodo” is convinced.
Almost eight years ago, Jonas Cslovjecsek began making bone broth professionally. At a time when hardly anyone in this country asked about it. However, in New York, where he previously stayed to study music, the enjoyment of “Bone broth” was already a big hype. Italian star chef Marco Canora launched it in 2015 when he sold his homemade bone broth in paper cups through the kitchen window at his restaurant Hearth in New York’s East Village. A cookbook soon followed. When celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Kylie Jenner swore by the power of the broth, there was no stopping it.
This super soup, which is made from boiled bones and cartilage, is supposed to be particularly healthy. The minerals it contains, such as calcium or magnesium, then the amino acids and especially the high collagen content, are said to make the skin and hair shine, strengthen bones, joints and tissue, but also reduce inflammation, soothe the intestinal mucosa and even act against colds Reduce depression. In short: the perfect universal remedy. Of course, our mothers and grandmothers already knew this, as they always said: Drink some chicken broth first! That was her secret weapon for many a problem.
The hay fever brought him to broth
Jonas Cslovjecsek actually came to this for health reasons, as he is not a trained chef, but a drummer. For a long time he suffered from severe hay fever, which increasingly hindered him as a musician. And so he strengthened himself with the Vietnamese soup “Pho”. When he was back in Switzerland, he tried different bone broth recipes. Because his allergy still hadn’t completely disappeared, his wife advised him to do a broth treatment. No sooner said than done – after three weeks the hay fever was gone. Because more and more friends asked for his recipe, he began making bone broth professionally.
That’s why the Bieler with Slavic roots is now increasingly fiddling with kitchen tools instead of playing the drums. He started producing in a small restaurant kitchen in Nidau near Biel, and has been cooking in Welschenrohr for a year now, where he found the necessary space and the right infrastructure. He talks about how he got the giant pans as he scrapes the finished roasted batch of onions from the tilting shaker.
It all sounds a bit adventurous how he converted the discarded containers with a mechanic friend to suit his needs.
He still stands in his factory usually once a week and makes his broths. He is now supported by a small team for the background work. Then his working day starts at 5:30 a.m. First he puts the beef bones with marrow bones, feet and even oxtail in the water, in a ratio of 1 to 1. They then simmer for at least 24 hours.
“I try to get the highest possible concentration into the bone broth,” he says as he skims off the fat on the surface. Then it goes to the cutter, which cuts fresh carrots into small slices. They are heated to 180 degrees and roasted without fat. “I use this to bring roasted aromas into the broth,” explains Cslovjecsek. However, the exact recipe remains a professional secret.
Apart from the spices, Cslovjecsek produces his handmade broths exclusively with Swiss organic products, which is why his four beef and chicken broths bear the Bio Suisse Knospe label. “It has no yeast extract, glutamate or sugar as additives.”
Recipe
zvg
Chicken soup with vegetables
Ingredients for 4 portions
2 tablespoons ghee, clarified butter or coconut oil
2 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped and/or 2 slices of ginger
2 large, diced onions
300 g carrots,
300 g Kohl,
100 g leek (or seasonal vegetables of your choice)
1 handful of chopped fresh parsley,
lovage,
Coriander
2 glasses of True Brodo chicken bouillon
4 chicken breasts or legs (600 g)
6 dl water
2 tablespoons salt (without anti-caking agent)
If you like: shitake, ginger, 1 lime, black pepper or peperoncini
preparation with Chickensboollon
Fry the onions and ginger in the fat for 4 minutes until they soften. Add the garlic, stir well and continue frying for 1 minute. Now add the vegetables and fry everything for 5 minutes. Add True Brodo chicken bouillon, water, chicken, salt, and shitake, bring everything to the boil, then simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes. Add leek or Chinese cabbage for the last 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, season to taste and serve in bowls with parsley or coriander.
Prevent food waste with the broth
Cslovjecsek is not the only one making “bone broth” in Switzerland. “The pandemic has given bone broth a big boost,” says Cslovjecsek.
Jonas Cslovjecsek’s broths are available at truebrodo.ch.
Image: Dirk Weiss
In recent years, other competitors have emerged, such as Swiss Natural Broth and Uelihof. Natalie Kaden from Basel has also been producing the popular bone broth for her company “so’up” since around 2020 and supplies it to private customers. For Kaden, making bone broth not only makes sense because it is healthy, but also because it can prevent food waste. “Otherwise the bones would simply be thrown away.” She roasts the beef bones in the oven and then tosses them with cold water as well as onions, celery and carrots. Add spices and a little vinegar or wine so that the healthy collagen detaches from the bones. “I leave the basic broth relatively neutral so that you can also use it for risotto or other dishes,” says Kaden.
At the “Zum Bäumli” wine bar in St. Gallen, beef broth has been on the menu for ages. The well-known first-floor restaurant on Schmiedgasse relies on tried-and-tested dishes such as tripe, meatloaf or rind stomach. The beef broth is always in great demand, says chef Mathias Egli, also because of the egg pancakes in it. He prepares the soup with a consommé made from beef bone broth and also boils boiled meat in it. “That gives it a particularly good taste.”
Jonas Cslovjecsek is pleased to note that demand continues to grow not only in the cold season, even though his products, which he sells mainly through his online shop, are niche products. Above all, many customers discovered that, in addition to the health aspect, the bone broths are also an enrichment as a luxury food. “They give many dishes the perfect kick.” That’s why the neo-chef wants to focus more on restaurants in the future. He is already working successfully with the delivery service Brister. He would like to share his enthusiasm for the broths as widely as possible: “After all, they are like a hug from the inside, simply soul food – and slow food at that.”
