Back to 'OXO' cubes - not in our household (Do they contain actual
meat - which would be a valid reason for us to avoid?). I suppose there's got to be a veggie version of Oxo somewhere, but for stock we generally use
'Marigold Swiss Veg. Bouillon' - available in most supermarkets - which comes in powder form so the crumbliness isn't an issue. And it works pretty well in soup etc.
Another 'plus' for us is that it doesn't list
MSG in the ingredients. Does Oxo? There's long been a cloud of suspicion over MSG, though I believe the present-day consensus amongst the experts is that it's harmless - in reasonable quantities at least. Do others agree - or do you avoid the stuff, like we do?
Once or twice in France we've had no option than to buy
Bouillon in cube form, and then - yes - they sometimes don't crumble very well. I can't remember which brands. Also most of them do contain the dreaded MSG...
I suppose, if we were really that dedicated, we ought to make our own stock by boiling fish bones or whatever. Although I fancy myself as a fairly decent cook, that'd really be a Bone Too Far......