Drink to your health (literally) with Caldo's broth options

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Lexington’s fitness nuts can raise their glasses to a new health craze coming out of Warehouse Block – except it’s nothing new, actually. Offering broth by the cup or by the quart, the new concept Caldo features just what their grandmother probably ordered.

“Our grandmother was right,” said Caldo owner Allison Davis. “Doctors are becoming more educated about food again and realizing what’s good for us. Grandmother told us to drink chicken soup when we were sick for a reason. The body absorbs the nutrients better from broth than it does solid food. What’s old is new again.”

The newness factor is what Davis is hoping central Kentuckians will latch onto with her new business. Owner of the successful business Wild Thyme on Chinoe Road, which offers cooking classes, catering options, event space and more, she hopes Caldo on North Ashland will be as “wildly” popular.

The concept came out of a weekly meal program that Davis started a couple years ago.

“The weekly meals are gluten free, grain free, refined sugar free, soy free, Paleo inspired, and that’s where the bone broth started to come into play,” said Davis, telling the story of how Caldo came to be. “We started doing that in the summer of 2014, and then in January 2015 broth was the buzz on ‘Good Morning America.’ It was the new food word of the year, so we saw that as an opportunity to jump on it before someone else did.”

With clients already requesting bone broth as part of their weekly healthy meal packages, Davis knew she was on to something, and now customers can stop by Caldo, which is inside the North Ashland wellness center Centered, to get hot, savory broth in a cup to go – just like they would their coffee.

“The biggest [benefit of broth] is getting those essential amino acids from the bones, and it being a natural source,” Davis explained. “Because we have cooked it over a two- to three-day day period, we’ve been able to pull a lot of those nutrients from the marrow itself and the bones, and then the vegetables and the minerals”

Davis and her team spent time researching broth, learning how to clarify it, and how to get a smooth gelatinous quality from the bones.

“Through trial and error we’ve got our recipes pretty tweaked to the flavor we love,” she said. “The fish sauce is a big deal. It’s one of their [our] key ingredients, and brings a little more umami to the broth overall.”

Caldo offers beef, chicken and miso broths, with extra add-ins like lemon, ginger, cayenne and turmeric.

The broths’ beginnings are special. Caldo uses pasture-raised, organic, antibiotic-free, 100 percent grass-fed bones sourced exclusively from Pike Valley Farms and Marksbury Farms. No salt is added to the broth, which is slow cooked with the bones and a myriad of vegetables.

Davis said local fitness enthusiasts have been embracing it, although she quipped that she’s not up as early as the 5 a.m. crowd that does CrossFit nearby.

“It’s surprising for people who don’t understand what broth is and how you enjoy it, and how savory and flavorful just drinking a cup of hot broth is,” she said.

Bone broth has been used for centuries, and proponents say it provides many health benefits.

“People come in here when they’re sick,” Davis said, adding that broth is popular among people who need to fast before medical procedures.

Caldo sells broth by the cup or the quart and offers a host of other products such as salads, smoothies, granola and soup.

“There is a benefit from every single ingredient on the menu,” Davis said. “And we can accommodate all types of specialty dietary restrictions. Everything is carefully selected, and you can come in and learn about it and why it benefits you.”

Caldo also carries locally sourced probiotic products such as Kentucky Kombucha and Alive & Wild sauerkraut.

Davis said she hopes to be able to expand the Caldo broth into a convenient weekly delivery service soon. cc

Caldo

309 N. Ashland Ave.

Suite 180

Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Sat. 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

www.drinkcaldo.com

(859) 252-6817

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