Day Two: Stocks

What we did: Made Stocks.

Today, we made stocks with John Vyhnanek. Stocks are the foundation of cooking. They are the basis for most, if not all, soups, are necessary for many classic sauces, and generally flavor much of what we eat. A good (or bad) stock can make or break a dish. French food could not exist without stocks (at least not classic French food).

What is a stock? Basically a stock is a flavored liquid made from simmering bones, vegetables and other aromatics (pepper, thyme, parsley, etc.) in water. The type of stock you are making will determine the aromatics and how long you simmer the stock. In general, the thicker and denser the bones, the longer the stock needs to simmer (beef stock takes longer than chicken stock takes longer than fish stock.)

How does a stock differ from a broth? A stock is made from bones and is simmered for an extended period of time. A broth is made from bones and meat and is simmered for as long as it takes to cook the meat.

With a broth, the resultant liquid is used as a base for a soup and the cooked meat is often added back into the broth. So, for example, Vietnamese pho is made from cooking a whole chicken in enough water to cover it, along with other aromatics (blackened onion, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, etc.) When the chicken is cooked, it is removed and the broth is strained and serves as the basis of the soup. The chicken meat has flavored the broth, but can also then be used in the soup.

With a stock, the bones, and any meat that might be on those bones, will be so cooked out after being simmered for 3-6 hours that there will be no flavor left. But that is sort of the point. The idea is to leach the flavor out of the ingredients into the stock and use the stock as a base for other dishes. Simmering the bones for so long also serves to break down the gelatins which produces a thicker liquid.

Today we made three types of stock: brown stock (made from a combination of roasted beef and veal bones) , white or chicken stock and fish stock.

I realized at the end of the day, that somehow my entire contribution to the stock was washing a bunch of chicken bones and cutting some mushrooms. Not sure how this happened, but I need to get more involved.

The Single Coolest Thing I Learned: How to rapidly cool down a hot stock using an ice bath and why it is important to do so (prevents rampant bacterial growth).

Kitchen Term: To do something in the Shoemaker's Way is to do something in your own way or in a manner that is considered to be non-standard.