Scraps may come to mind when you’re piecing together a vegetable stock—whatever is left on the cutting board is often thrown in a pot and simmered to murky results. But while writing my book Mastering Stocks and Broths, I found a more precise approach made for better stock. Removing moisture from vegetables before simmering made them far more impactful. Roasting, for example, intensifies mushrooms’ earthy flavor. Dehydrating brings out a pungent sweetness in winter squash. Aging and fermenting, as in black garlic, lends umami and tamarind-like complexity. Try the unique flavor of these stocks in soups and sauces.