How to make stocks for soups and sauces
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The advance preparation and freezing of stocks, soups and sauces is a valuable aid to kitchen economy; vegetables can be preserved in a useful form when they are cheap, stock can be kept safely, and much time can be saved in the final preparation of cheap meals. Read about such dishes: stock and bouillon, thick soups, basic sauces, meat sauce, tomato sauce and puree, fruit sauces.
Stocks and soups
All stock and soup for freezing should be cooled quickly, and all surplus fat should be removed as this separates during storage. Pack in watertight containers allowing 1/2 inch headspace for wide-topped containers and 3/4 inch headspace for narrow-topped containers.
Soup may also be stored in blocks if freezer space is limited. These blocks should be prepared by freezing the liquid in loaf tins or freezer boxes lined with foil, the solid blocks being wrapped in foil for storage.
Sauces
Sweet and savoury sauces may be frozen, either in a basic form such as white sauce to be used later with other ingredients, or in complete form ready for immediate use. Mayonnaise and custard sauces do not freeze well; the ingredients freeze at different rates and give unsatisfactory results.
Sauces may be stored in ice cube form, or in ‘bricks’, using the same method as for stock and soups.
Stock and bouillon
Preparation and packing Prepare stock or bouillon from meat, poultry, bones and/or vegetables. Strain, cool and remove fat. To save freezer space, concentrate until liquid is reduced by half. Pack in brick or ice cube form, or in containers leaving 1 inch head-space.
Thawing and serving Heat gently over direct heat and use as required.
Storage time 1 month.
Thick soups
Preparation and packing Prepare soup to basic recipes, but use cornflour if a thickening agent is required. Porridge oats may be used for meat soups. But rice flour gives a glutinous result. Do not add rice, pasta, barley or potatoes. Milk and cream are better added when soup is reheated.
Pack in brick form, or in containers, leaving 1 inch headspace.
Thawing and serving Heat in a double boiler if curdling is likely to occur, otherwise over direct heat, stirring well for smoothness.
Storage time 2 months.
Special notes Soup tends to thicken during storage. It is better to season after thawing.
Basic sauces (White and Brown)
Preparation and packing Basic sauces such as White Sauce and Brown Sauce can be frozen in their simplest form, to be finished when thawed, or may have flavouring additions made before freezing.
Cornflour should be used instead of flour when thickening is required to avoid curdling on reheating. Sauces of this type are best packed into waxed or rigid plastic containers in 1/2-pint and 1-pint quantities.
Thawing and serving Reheat in a double boiler, stirring well for smoothness, and make required additions.
Storage time 1 month.
Meat sauce
Preparation and packing Sauces for serving with pasta, such as Spaghetti Sauce containing meat, freeze very well. After cooking, cool thoroughly, pack into containers in useable quantities.
Thawing and serving Heat gently in a double boiler, adjusting seasonings.
Storage time 1 month.
Tomato sauce and puree
Preparation and packing Tomato Sauce and concentrated puree are best frozen in small waxed or rigid plastic containers, or in ice cube trays, each cube being wrapped in foil for storage.
Thawing and serving Heat gently in a double boiler, stirring well. Small cubes of sauce or puree can be put into soups or stews while still frozen and gently stirred to blend into other ingredients.
Storage time 12 months.
Fruit sauces
Preparation and packing Fruit sauces can be made from sieved fresh fruit, or fruit stewed in a little water, sieved and sweetened to taste. Sauces can also be made from fruit juice, sweetened and thickened with cornflour. These should be packed into small containers or ice cube trays, the cubes being wrapped in foil for storage.
Thawing and serving Thaw in the container in the refrigerator for 2 hours, to serve cold. Alternatively, heat in double boiler, stirring gently.
Learn about these 3 bases and how to come up with your own unique creations using them.
Module 6: Basic Techniques & Modern Conveniences Introduction
Stocks, soups and sauces are the foundation of many types of cuisines across the world. Here’s a basic introduction to these three dish bases.
Stocks
Stocks are rich, flavourful liquids used as a base for soups, sauces and other dishes. Usually produced by simmering meat, fish or poultry flesh and bones, vegetables and seasoning with liquid, there are several types of stocks:
- Brown stock – Beef or veal bones in lightly oiled roasting pan and browned in an oven.
- White stock – Simmered and un-browned veal or beef bones, to provide more delicate flavours.
- Chicken stock – Sometimes referred to as white stock, it is prepared by simmering chicken bones with mirepoix and seasonings.
- Fish stock – Uses bones, heads, skin and trimmings from lean, white deep-sea fish.
Soups
Soups should be prepared with high quality ingredients, using the right techniques. Gelatine from boiled bones provide the “body”, but thickening agents such as meat, fish, poultry or vegetables can serve as alternatives. There are 2 categories of soups:
1. Clear soups
Clear soups are simple, and have no solid ingredients. Some examples are:
- Broth – A flavour-packed liquid that is a by-product of simmered meat or vegetables.
- Vegetable soup – Made from clear seasoned stock or broth with 1 or 2 types of vegetables.
- Consomme – A rich, flavourful stock or broth made perfectly clear and transparent.
2. Thick soups
Thick soups are opaque and thickened by adding a thickening agent such as roux with a combination of one or more pureed ingredients to provide a heavier consistency to create:
- Cream soups – Liquid thickened with roux or other thickening agents with milk or cream.
- Purees – Naturally thickened by one or more pureed ingredients or based on starchy ingredients.
- Chowders – Hearty American soups made from fish, shellfish or vegetables.
- Potage – Thick hearty soups usually comprising of meats or vegetables cooked in a liquid until they form a thick mixture.
Sauces
Sauces increase flavour and palatability, or enhance the appearance, nutritional value and moisture to food. Enhance the finished product with the following sauce thickeners:
- Slack/brown roux – Prepare by using more fat than flour to thicken demi-glace sauces.
- Lean/white roux – Made with more flour than fat and blended with milk to create béchamel sauce or blended with meat stock to create velouté.
- Egg – Uses the whole egg as the whites hold moisture loosely for a creamy consistency and the yolk provides more thickening power.
- Starch – Uses starch made from waxy maize, corn, potato, rice or arrowroot. Gelatinisation occurs in hot water to create a thickener.
Types of sauces
- Brown sauce – Prepared with mirepoix, fat and flour to create a tan-coloured sauce.
- Velouté sauce – Prepared from white stock and blonde roux for use as a base for cream soups and vegetarian sauces.
- Béchamel sauce – Prepared with a mixture of flour, butter and milk from a meat base.
- Cream sauce – Prepared with rich cream or milk base to produce a white sauce.
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks, sauces and soups
Due to the repetition of many of the elements in the core cookery units we have combined eight (8) units of competency into an 11 chapter learner guide. The units included in this volume are;
- SITHCCC005 – Prepare dishes using basic methods of cookery
- SITHCCC006 – Prepare appetisers and salads
- SITHCCC007 – Prepare stocks, sauces and soups
- SITHCCC008 – Prepare vegetable, fruit, egg and farinaceous dishes
- SITHCCC012 – Prepare poultry dishes
- SITHCCC013 – Prepare seafood dishes
- SITHCCC014 – Prepare meat dishes
- SITHCCC019 – Produce cakes, pastries and breads
Learning outcomes
In this chapter / unit you will learn how to;
- Select and use cookery methods for stocks, sauces and soups
- Use flavouring and clarifying agents according to standard recipes
- Make appropriate derivations from basic sauces, both hot and cold
- Use thickening agents and convenience products appropriately
- Follow standard recipes and make food quality adjustments within scope of responsibility
Introduction
Stocks soups and sauces are often called the chef’s building blocks because they form the base for many dishes. The stock, soup or sauce you prepare will only be as good as the ingredients used to make them. There are various types of stocks that will be discussed in this unit as well as a range of different classifications of soups and sauce varieties.
STOCKS
A stock is a flavoured liquid prepared or extracted from a related food or product. It is used to provide the base for many food products such as soups, bisques, consommés, broths, basic demi-glaze and a variety of different glazes, as well as a wide variety of sauces. So making stock is an essential skill to learn as it is the foundation of so many soups and sauces, stews, braises and casseroles.
A basic stock will include the following ingredients:
- Mirepoix (rough cut vegetables, i.e. Carrots, celery, onion and leek)
- Bouquet garni (herbs)
- Bones (washed, uncooked for white stocks or oven browned for brown stocks)
- Water (always cold to start)
Whilst there are many different types of stocks that can be produced there are a number of main stocks that are commonly used for commercial cookery. These include:
White Stock – (Fonds Blanc):
- Beef – simmered for approximately 8 hours
- Chicken – simmered for 4-6 hours
- Fish – simmered for 20 minutes only
- Vegetable – simmered 2 hours
Brown Stock – (Fonds brun):
- Beef, lamb or veal – browned bones (roasted in the oven first) add vegetables and then simmer for approximately 6-8 hours
Other Stocks include:
- Pork stock – used in Asian cookery
- Shellfish stock – used in making a seafood bisque
- Vegetable stock
- Asian master stock
- Game stocks – venison, kangaroo or duck are the most common
- Stock syrup (gomme syrup) – prepared by reducing sugar and water and used in sweet making and some cocktails
- Pre-prepared
- Liquid stock – beef, chicken , vegetable
- Stock cubes – beef, chicken, vegetable
- Stock powder – beef, chicken, vegetable
The methods of preparing for most stocks are similar and they will only differ in flavour variance by the use of different herbs or vegetables and/or proteins.
To prepare a good stock you should remember to: … continued in learner guide ….
SAUCES
A sauce is a seasoned, flavoured, usually thickened liquid. Foods like stews are cooked in the sauce, while other sauces will be used to coat cooked meats. Sauces act as a flavour contrast and digestive aid. They add moisture, flavour, increase palatability and digestibility of food, while adding to eye appeal. The flavour of sauce should not overpower the flavour of the meat.
Many sauces will call for the use of bones, trimmings or off-cuts to make a stock base for the sauce (derivative sauces or gravies). These can be thickened with a suitable roux or starch. Some will be flavoured with vegetables, fruits or herbs.
Sauces might be based on béchamel, veloute, demi glaze, tomato, jus lie, fruit or berry confitures.
Stocks and fruit jellies can be added to reduced stocks or sauces to produce glazes. Glazes add flavour to food, protect its quality, preserve texture and enhance appearance. They can be sweet or savour. A correctly made glaze will be reasonably dark, but clear, and should have no impurities.
Sauces are generally reduced until they reach a light coating consistency.
Alternately warm emulsion sauces might be used. These are oil or butter-based sauces, emulsified with egg yolks.... continued in learner guide ….
SOUPS
Usually served at the beginning of a meal a soup can be made with a variety of ingredients. Soup can be a light snack or a hearty meal and can be served cold but is mainly served hot.
Making soup uses many of the same fundamental disciplines of cooking as stocks and sauces require: chopping, sweating, clarifying, sieving, puréeing, the preparation of meat, fish and vegetables etc. Soups can be thick, clear or bouillons style, chowders, bread-based soups, cold soups and broths. Thick soups are generally more straightforward to prepare than clear types, and far more forgiving in terms of the leeway available regarding quantity and types of ingredients, how those ingredients are prepared and for how long they are cooked.
Examples of Common Soups and the Classifications
- Puree (Lentil, Pumpkin soup)
- Broth (Minestrone, French Onion)
- Cream (Cream of Chicken)
- Clear (Consommé )
- Velouté (Chicken soup)
- Bisque (Lobster bisque)
- Cold (Gazpacho, Cream of Avocado)
- Miscellaneous (Mulligatawny)
A good soup relies on the building of flavours. A crèmes and coulis process is a short and simple one, but you have the opportunity at each stage to add depth to the finished product. The following describes a method for making what might be viewed as a generic thick soup, taking elements from both the crème and coulis styles .. continued in learner guide ….
The Spruce / Zorica Lakonic
It’s easy to think of stock as just another recipe. “Add this, this, and this to the pot, simmer for this long and you’re done.” And it’s certainly possible to prepare a decent stock using this approach.
But given that stock is the basis for so many dishes, from sauces to soups and stews, it’s important to understand the purpose of each ingredient and the properties each one brings to the stock. Some ingredients increase the body of the stock, while others help to clarify it. Some additions create more intense flavor, others add color.
White Stock vs. Brown Stock
Stocks are divided into two categories: White stocks are used as the base for velouté sauce and various derivative sauces like allemande and suprême sauces. Brown stocks are used for making demi-glace and its derivatives, such as bordelaise and sauce Robert.
Note that beef or veal bones can be used for either white or brown stocks: When making white stock, the bones are blanched first, or quickly boiled, then drained and rinsed, before simmering.
For brown stock, the bones are roasted before simmering, and some sort of tomato product is usually added. The roasting and tomato product give the brown stock its darker color.
Bones for Making Stock
Bones contain collagen, which when simmered forms gelatin. The more gelatin there is in the stock, the more body it will have. When chilled, a good stock should actually solidify.
Types of bones that are naturally high in cartilage include:
- So-called “knucklebones”, found in the large joints
- Bones of younger animals, such as veal bones
Cold Water for Clearer Stock
Certain proteins, most notably albumin, will only dissolve in cold water—and albumin helps clarify a stock. Therefore, starting a stock with cold water helps release the albumin, producing a clearer stock.
Because much of the process of making stock comes down to removing impurities, it is best to use filtered water whenever possible. If you don’t have a home water filtration system, an activated charcoal pitcher is fine.
Mirepoix: Aromatic Vegetables for Stock
Mirepoix (pronounced “MEER-pwah”) is a combination of chopped carrots, celery, and onions used to add flavor and aroma to stocks. The usual proportions (by weight) for making mirepoix are:
- 50% onions
- 25% carrots
- 25% celery
The Role of Acid in Making Stock
Acid helps to break down the cartilage and other connective tissues in bones, thus accelerating the formation of gelatin. The acid products used are generally one or another of the following:
- Tomato: Brown stocks use some sort of tomato product, usually tomato paste, which also adds color and flavor to the stock.
- Wine: White stock and chicken stock sometimes use white wine, and fish stock almost always does.
One thing to remember is that acid reacts with aluminum cookware, so use a stainless steel stockpot for making stock.
Flavorings and Aromatics
Small amounts of herbs, spices, and additional aromatics (above and beyond the mirepoix) can be added to stock, using one of two methods:
- Sachet d’epices: A small cheesecloth sack of dried and fresh herbs and spices.
- Bouquet garni: A bundle of herbs and aromatics tied with cooking twine.
Both the sachet and the bouquet garni are tied to a length of cooking twine and added to the stockpot to simmer; the other end of the twine can be tied to the handle of the stockpot, making the sachet or bouquet garni easy to retrieve.
Seasoning Stock
Because stock is often further reduced—like when making demi-glace, for instance—salting the stock would make the resulting demi-glace much too salty. It’s better to make a habit of seasoning your sauces just before serving rather than salting your stock.
Freezing Stock
Some containers that work well for storing stock in the freezer:
Improve the depth of flavour in your soups and sauces with this essential kitchen skill.
Kristen Eppich Updated October 17, 2019
Photo, Erik Putz.
There’s something so comforting and nostalgic about a steaming bowl of homemade soup. It’s both lovely to eat, and lovely to make. Many of us rely on a pre-made stock for our soups, which is a perfectly acceptable substitution—both convenient, and (depending on the brand) satisfactory in taste. However, if you want to take your soup to the next level, it’s time to make some homemade stock.
Homemade, high-quality stocks are the foundation for sauces, soups and many other dishes in restaurant kitchens. While we don’t need our home kitchens to keep up with restaurant standards, this ridiculously easy process will improve the flavour of your cooking immensely.
The most useful stocks to make are chicken, beef, fish and vegetable stock. It’s also a good idea to make it in large batches—it freezes beautifully and then you always have it on hand. Your stock should consist of 100 percent water, 50 percent bones and 10 percent vegetables. In other words, 6 L of water would need about 2.5 kg (6 lbs) bones and 454 g (1 lb) vegetables*.
*Fish stock is the exception. It cooks very quickly so less water is required. Fish stocks need half the amount of vegetables to 4 L water ad 2.5 kg bones. Often a cup of white wine is added to fish stock for flavour.
What you need
The first component in a flavourful stock is bones (or vegetables, if making veggie stock). Next is aromatic vegetables — typically onions, carrots and celery. The ratio of vegetables should be: two parts onion to one part celery and one part carrot. Finally, a stock requires seasoning, which comes in the form of herbs and spices (you do not salt a stock!). Dried spices and herbs are suitable, but should be used in their whole form (not ground). Use herbs such as thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns and parsley. Depending on your stock you may also opt for garlic, but you will taste it in the final product so be sure your final dish will suit the garlic flavour. Herbs and spices can be tied in a cheesecloth sachet, making them easier to retrieve after cooking, or they can be removed once your stock is strained.
How to make chicken stock and beef stock
Cover the bones with fresh, cold water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Skim off any residue that has risen to the top. Add vegetables and seasonings. Keep the simmer low to prevent any residue that rises to the top from boiling back into your stock. Skim and add more water as needed to keep the bones covered. Remove pot from heat and let cool. Strain. Admittedly, this is not technically the “chef-y” way to do it, but I’ve found the best method is to chill your stock and let the fat solidify at the top. The residual fat will rise to the top and form a solid film, making it easy to remove. Then you are left with a flavourful, clean stock that is free of fat.
Cut the bones into smaller pieces (4 inches or so)
This helps extract the most flavour and gelatine from the bones. If you’re not in the mood, throw them in whole—life is short.
Keep vegetables the same size
Vegetables should be cut in a size proportional to the cook time of the stock. You want the flavour extracted from the vegetables, but don’t need them turning to mush or it will interfere with the clarity of your stock. Beef stocks should be cooked for 6 to 8 hours, so vegetables can go in whole, or halved. Chicken stocks are cooked for 3 to 4 hours, so vegetables should be cut into 2-in. pieces. Fish stocks cook very quickly, so in order to get the most flavour they should be coarsely diced.
How to make vegetable stock
Vegetable stock generally consists of vegetables, herbs and spices and water. (Wine is also sometimes added.) Below are a few more tips to help you choose your base ingredients.
Avoid strongly flavoured vegetables
Depending on the vegetables you use, the flavour of your stock can vary greatly—so be careful with what you choose. Using ingredients like fennel, cauliflower or cabbage will result in a stock predominantly flavoured with those vegetables. If you are looking for a relatively neutral flavour, opt for onions, celery and carrots.
Avoid starchy vegetables (like potatoes)
They will turn your stock cloudy. Also important: consider the colour or the vegetable you are selecting for stock. If the vegetable tends to leech a lot of colour (say, beets), your finished product will be that colour.
Keep your vegetables small
They should be cut relatively small as vegetable stock generally simmers for only 45 minutes. (The ratios for vegetable stock are the same as fish stock.)
Originally published October 2nd, 2015. Updated October 2019.
Are you confused about the differences between stock, broth, bouillon, and soup? If so, you’re not alone.
There’s not much agreement, even among chefs. Some say stock and broth are the same. Some say the only difference is that broth has seasoning, which stock has none.
Broth Versus Bouillon, Soup, and Stock
Let’s start by saying that broth and bouillon are synonymous and that if broth is served as a dish in itself, then it’s soup (especially if other vegetables, meats, grains, and seasonings are added).
That leaves us with stock versus broth. If you’re a home cook wondering if you can substitute stock for broth in a recipe, there’s really no major difference. Just watch the salt, because a product labeled “broth” may be seasoned whereas one labeled “stock” may not be seasoned. Read the label and be sure to taste-test before adding your own seasonings to your dish.
What Classical Chefs Think
If you’re a classical French chef (or aspiring to be one) and using classic recipes, then there’s a distinction between broth and stock that you should consider. Professional organizations such as the Culinary Institute of America and the French Culinary Institute believe that the distinction between broth and stock is the use of bones versus meat.
A classic or traditional stock is made from bones plus a few vegetables (usually aromatic vegetables like onion, carrots, and celery) with no seasoning. The bones may be roasted for additional flavor. When cooking stock, the aim is to get the collagen from the connective tissues, which makes a stock thick, and even gelatinous when cool. The body that the collagen gives to stock is its defining characteristic. A stock is not thought of as a finished product but as a base for other things such as sauces and soup.
A traditional broth, on the other hand, is the liquid in which meat has been cooked. It has basically the same vegetables as stock, but it is usually seasoned. A broth may be served as-is, in which case it is then officially a soup. Consommé is an example.
One way of looking at it is that stocks stay in the kitchen but broths may go to the table. When it comes to vegetarian varieties, “vegetable stock” is exactly the same as “vegetable broth” since vegetables have no bones.
Uses for Home Cooking
Practically, in many kitchens, there may be little disparity. Stocks or broths may be seasoned or unseasoned, bones with meat still attached may be used to make either.
Again, for the home cook, what it boils down to is that stock, broth, and bouillon are interchangeable. They’re the foundation of soups, sauces, and many other tasty dishes. Have fun making your own homemade variations and experiment with store-bought brands. Once you’ve found your personal favorites, you won’t need to focus on their differences—all you’ll need to do is cook!
Roux (“roo”) is a thickening agent for soups and sauces, with roots dating back more than 300 years in French cuisine. Here’s how to make it, step-by-step.
A classic thickening agent for soups and sauces, roux (pronounced “roo”) gives dishes silky-smooth body and a nutty flavor. It’s an essential building block of dishes that range from macaroni and cheese to gumbo. How to make a roux is something every cook should know, and easier than you might think. Let’s do some roux!
Roux is made by cooking equal parts flour and fat together until the raw flavor of the flour cooks out and the roux has achieved the desired color. Butter is the most commonly used fat, but you can also make roux with oil, bacon grease, or other rendered fats.
There are four varieties of roux: white, blond, brown, and dark brown. The different colors are a result of how long the roux is cooked; white is cooked for the shortest time, while dark brown cooks the longest. White and blond roux are the most common, used to thicken sauces, soups, and chowders. Brown and dark brown roux have more flavor, but less thickening power than white or blond roux. Dark roux are primarily used in Cajun and Creole dishes, most notably gumbo and jambalaya.
If you’re cooking and storing a batch of roux for future use, use clarified butter as it will harden when refrigerated, trapping the flour in suspension. This suspension helps to prevent lumps when the roux is whisked into a sauce or soup. Having a well-made roux on hand will make it easy to use this marvelous thickener in everyday cooking.
How to Make Roux
Roux takes just a few minutes to make. Whether you are making just enough for a single dish, or a batch to divide and freeze for later, the proportions of ingredients are the same: 1 part oil or fat and 1 part all-purpose flour, by weight. If you have a kitchen scale, this is easy to measure. If you do not have a kitchen scale, use measuring cups or spoons to measure 1 part oil or fat and 1-3/4 parts all-purpose flour.
We’ll explain how to make a small batch.
Begin by heating 2 tablespoons oil or fat in a saucepan over medium heat until a pinch of flour sprinkled into the oil will just begin to bubble.
19th Sep 2020 10:00 – 15:00
at The Woodspeen
Buy Stocks, Sauces and Soups Tickets
Event Details
In The Woodspeen kitchen we consider the secret to a great sauce, gravy or soup is in the stock. Stocks form the foundation of all great kitchens and add a depth of flavour to your dishes, this course teaches you to understand the importance of stock and how it can impact in your cooking. Once you have a great stock, fresh soups, sauces and risottos are quick and easy to make.
- Arrive at 9.45am for tea and coffee and course introduction
- During the morning we will be comparing fresh vs shop bought stock and we will be making mushroom nage, vegetable nage, fish stock and chicken stock
- Light lunch
- The afternoon is all about making great sauces
- Course comes to a close at 3pm for questions and answers
To take home. Sauces and stocks made on the day and course recipes and notes.
Spaces for this course are subject to minimum number of participants.
What is the Handling Charge for?
To ensure tickets are delivered safely and securely and to keep the price as low as possible for you, the ticket buyer, The Woodspeen generally uses our E-ticket system unless otherwise stated.
For this service we charge a small Handling Fee to cover the debit/credit card processing fees, customer services, processing and distribution of tickets and our secure server costs. We always try to keep these costs to an absolute minimum. If you feel at any time that our prices are not fair or competitive we’d be happy to hear from you.
Delivery
If you have ordered physical paper tickets there is a further Delivery cost added to cover the delivery of your order through the Royal Mail network.
We always endeavour to keep these costs as low as possible to merely cover the costs of postage. We only charge you one Delivery cost per order so if there is a big group of you recommend purchasing larger amounts in one order.
When you purchase tickets through The Woodspeen, the full face value of the ticket is shown. This price is the price set by the event promoter and we pay this full amount to the promoter without any deductions.
Stocks:
Stocks are widely available in concentrated crystal, cube and powder forms. As with traditionally made stocks, these may form the basis of many products, including sauces, soups and stews, and the basic principles outlined will still apply. However, convenience type stocks are often very concentrated in nature and should not be used in the belief that they will improve the quality of the final product. In fact the result will inevitably.be a distortion of the flavor of the dish to which it has been added. Moreover, such stocks cannot be effectively reduced and so should be avoided when making sauces, soups and stews which involve the process of reduction in their preparation.
The same criteria used to assess fresh stocks may also be used to assess those made from convenience forms, although it should always be remembered that the latter is a quite different product made in a completely different way and so can never be exactly the same.
Sauces:
Most, if not all, of the sauces outlined on pawas.com are available as convenience products in powder, canned, frozen or boil-in-the bag form. The foundation sauces in convenience form may be used to make the same wide range of extension sauces as fresh foundation sauces by adding the appropriate reductions of wine or vinegar and by finishing with suitable herbs and garnishes. Cream or yolks of eggs may also be added as a liaison, although it must be remembered that the sauce should not be allowed to boil once it has been added. Knobs of butter may also be added to give a mellow effect to the sauce as with fresh sauces.
The guiding principle that a sauce should complement rather than clash with the food it accompanies applies no matter whether a fresh or convenience sauce is used. The same criteria for assessing flavor, consistency, color and so on of fresh sauces also apply to convenience products.
Any kind of info would be helpful.
7 Answers
A stock is a finished broth composed of a main flavor with background flavors and spices. Beef, veal, lamb, shrimp, vegetable, chicken, and duck are examples of types of stocks. Stocks can be used to make soup, sauces, marinades, assist in roasting, glazing, cooking potatoes, poaching fish, making pate, bread stuffing, ground meat dishes like meatballs, and flavor rice pilaf’s or cous cous.
A soup is a finished liquid based course served as part of or as a meal. It can have cut garnishes or not, stock or not, or be thickened or not, served hot or cold. They may or may not have dairy products.
A sauce is a liquid accompaniment to a entree, appetizer, salad, side dish or dessert. Sauces can be made with or without a stock, thickened, reduced, pureed, or emulsified. They may or may not contain dairy products. A sauce could be served both hot and cold
depending on what sauce it is and what it is used with.
I don’t know how much help this is, but I’ve made all three from scratch.
When I make stock, I cook down a bunch of root vegetables (carrots, parsnips) and onions and garlic and a bunch of soup bones and ten quarts of water for six hours. I put the whole pot on a silicon cutting board and throw it in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning I cut off the thick layer of fat that has risen to the top. Then I divide the liquid into as many half-gallon freezer bags as it will fill. From these bags I make soups later one (especially mushroom beef barley, my favorite).
One can’t really make soup without stock, and one can’t really have good stock without twenty-four hours of investment. One can always cheat and buy stock at the grocery store in the bouillon section, but it’s nowhere near as good as homemade, and one can tell when stock is homemade because there’s little fat floaties and veggie floaties in the stock and every molecule of the stuff is flavorful.
Sauces can be made with stock, but sauces can also be made without stock. One can make a cheese sauce using no vegetables and no animal ingredients (except milk, of course).
In short, I can make a sauce in a half hour with little prep, I can make a soup in an hour with stock I’ve pulled from the freezer, but if I want stock — the real deal — it’s going to take me a good thirty hours to make stock if I do it right.
The best way to think of stock is as a step above bouillon and a step below soup. And sauces are in another ballpark altogether. One can make sauce from stock, but one cannot make stock from soup.
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A white chicken stock
A brown beef stock
It is skimmed of fat regularly
It is simmered gently
It is boiled rapidly
A bunch of edible flowers
A garnish that has lots of aroma
A bundle of herbs used to add flavour
Reduced to 10 % it’s original volume
Reduced to 20 % it’s original volume
Reduced to 30 % it’s original volume
A warm emulsion sauce
A cold emulsion sauce
A compound butter sauce
Covered with a cartouche, room temperature, labelled and dated
Covered with a cartouche, cool room 1 to 4 degrees celsius, frozen -18 to -24 degrees celsius, labelled and dated
Not covered, bottom shelf of cool room 1 to 4 degrees celsius, dated and labelled
Broth, cream, puree, consomme
Vegetable, meat, seafood, chowder
Vegetable, broths, chowder, puree
Shellfish, chicken stock, vegetables and herbs
Fish bones, tomatoes, vegetables and herbs
Shellfish, fish stock, vegetables and herbs
Storing food appropriately in a commercial kitchen is imperative to reducing the risk of food poisoning. Apprentice chefs will be shown throughout their apprenticeship where to store certain food to ensure its longevity and to minimise risk, this includes soups and sauces.
There are numerous soups and sauces and specific sauces and soups required to be stored in a designated area dependent on its ingredients, liquidity and or consistency.
Cold emulsion sauces (a mixture of two liquids that would ordinarily not mix), for example, are to be stored in covered containers and placed in the cold room; however they are not to be frozen as oil-based products do not freeze well. In addition, before placing in the cold room, garnishes must be strained out of the sauce to ensure proper storage.
For soup storage, when you are producing large quantities of soup in a commercial kitchen, it is important before storing in the fridge or freezer to separate the soup into smaller portions. For example, 20 litres of soup should be separated into four smaller non-absorbent covered containers; this will ensure that the soup will freeze or cool quickly. In addition, it ensures that it is easily stored and does not take up as much valuable space in the cold room.
To ensure that you are storing food appropriately within a commercial kitchen, it is advised to have a list of the appropriate ways to store specific products, for example: dairy, fruit and vegetables, dry ingredients, eggs, meat, fish and poultry. This ensures that there is minimal risk for food poisoning, food cools rapidly, uses minimal space in the storage areas, and increases shelf life of the product.
It’s all well and good using siphons for foams and micro-herbs to garnish your dishes, but if you haven’t mastered the basics you’ll struggle to get the best flavour out of your food. See if you know how to whip up these classic sauces and soups.
Great British Chefs is a team of passionate food lovers dedicated to bringing you the latest food stories, news and reviews.
Great British Chefs is a team of passionate food lovers dedicated to bringing you the latest food stories, news and reviews.
It might be the perfectly cooked piece of meat or homemade sourdough bread that attracts the oohs and aahs at a restaurant, but more often than not we’re most impressed by the way chefs can get so much flavour into seemingly simple elements on the plate. While at home we might fret over which seasonal vegetables to serve with our pigeon starter or how best to present a bowl of stew, professional chefs are focusing on how to intensify the sauce for their veal or make the carrot and ginger really sing in their soup.
With all the recipes and ingredients available to us today, it’s important to occasionally take a step back and make sure we’ve got a grasp of the basics. Without mastering these, it doesn’t matter how good we are at plating up or how many different types of paprika you’ve used in your main course. Here are five soups and sauces that should be in the repertoire of any accomplished home cook.
1. French onion soup
Onions tend to play a background role in most dishes but in this classical French soup they’re put centre stage, allowing their deep sweetness to shine through. While it might seem a bit simple from the outset – a combination of stock, wine, onions and herbs – it’s the way the soup is made that makes it such an important dish. The onions need to be cooked for at least an hour on their own until they turn sticky, dark brown and release all their flavour. Only then can they be simmered in stock and wine, rounded off nicely with herbs and seasonings. This is a dish that separates average cooks from great ones.
2. Espagnole sauce
You might not recognise the name, but this is actually one of Auguste Escoffier’s five ‘mother’ sauces that lay the foundations for all classical French cooking. It all begins with a roux, which is cooked until the butter browns before being topped up with either veal stock or water. Bones, beef trimmings, vegetables such as carrots, onions and celery and herbs are added and the liquid is left to simmer and slowly reduce until thickened, at which point a little tomato purée is added. Espagnole itself is rarely used as is – it’s flavour is incredibly strong and risks overpowering everything else on the plate. Instead, it is used as a basis for all sorts of other sauces such as demi-glace, and combined with red wine, mushrooms or spices to suit different ingredients.
3. Bisque
This rich, creamy soup is so silky and smooth it’s often served like a sauce, so being able to make one from scratch opens up all sorts of culinary doors. While you can make a bisque from all sorts of ingredients, these days the word is usually associated with shellfish, particularly crab, lobster and prawn. Shells actually contain lots and lots of flavour but they’re pretty unpleasant to eat, so French chefs discovered that by roasting them and then simmering in stock, they could extract all this and make a wonderfully aromatic broth. Some would even grind the shells down afterward and use them as a thickener.
The resulting liquid is then thickened with rice, which is either left to simmer and leech out its starch in the soup before being removed, or simply cooked and puréed into the bisque itself. Today, bisque is often made even richer with the addition of cream.
4. Gravy
The French may have their mother sauces, but for most of us a jug of decent gravy will beat a thin jus any day, and making it at home to go alongside your Sunday roast means all those delicious juices won’t be wasted.
It helps if you throw in a few roughly chopped onions, carrots or other root vegetables into your roasting pan before cooking your roast, as they’ll caramelise and add further flavour. Once the meat is removed and resting, put the pan over a medium heat and sprinkle over some flour. Add some wine or alcohol of your choosing then stir constantly, scraping the bottom to make sure all those lovely little bits of caramelised meat and veg are flavouring the liquid. Top up with stock until it’s the right thickness, add whatever herbs and seasonings you like, then strain.
5. Vegetable soup
Probably the most useful recipe in a cook’s repertoire, vegetable soup can make the most of any vegetables in your fridge that you can’t find a use for anywhere else. However, it’s often maligned as a disappointing or ‘needs must’ dish that’s eaten out of duty over anything else. But that’s only because we don’t give it the care and attention it deserves.
A good vegetable soup should taste more intense than the ingredients it’s made from, and requires other ingredients to help bring those flavours to the fore. Roasting your star vegetable can bring out its sweetness, while simply boiling it in stock (either vegetable to keep it meat-free or chicken for a richer flavour) will retain its freshness. Frying onions and garlic in butter is essential, as they are the perfect companion to almost any vegetable, and adding herbs and spices will keep things interesting. Cream can be added for an extra-rich soup, and blending it with a little butter or olive oil will emulsify the ingredients and result in a very silky finish. Finish the soup with something acidic, such as citrus juice or vinegar, to cut through the vegetal flavour, then garnish with something crunchy for a contrast in texture.
Specialized ateliers, basic through advanced levels of pastry and confectionary craft making, plated and boutique style desserts, world delicacies and precise decorating techniques.
basic through advanced levels of pastry and confectionary craft making, plated and boutique style desserts, world delicacies and precise decorating techniques.
advanced levels of pastry and confectionary craft making, plated and boutique style desserts, world delicacies and precise decorating techniques.
pastry and confectionary craft making, plated and boutique style desserts, world delicacies and precise decorating techniques.
confectionary craft making, plated and boutique style desserts, world delicacies and precise decorating techniques.
Specialized ateliers, basic through advanced levels of pastry and confectionary craft making, plated and boutique style desserts, world delicacies and precise decorating techniques.
Specialized ateliers, basic through advanced levels of pastry and confectionary craft making, plated and boutique style desserts, world delicacies and precise decorating techniques.
Introduction to Stocks, Soups & Sauces
Class details are as follows:
- Date August, 20
- Time 10:00 – 15:00
- Fee Rs. 4000 + 18% GST
Book now
Stocks-
- Vegetable Stock
- Chicken Stock
- Seafood Stock
Soups-
Thick Soups-
- Broccoli Soup (lactose & glutenfree)
- Pumpkin soup
Cream Based Soup –
- crème de Mushroom
- Creme de Tomato
Sauces-
- Mushroom Sauce
- Bechamel with Derivative
- Tomato Sauce with derivative
Accompanying With Hard Crust Bread /Foccaccia
Sauces are generally highly perishable as they contain water, proteins and carbohydrates, which favour the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and moulds.
The danger zone for sauces is between 5°C – 60°C. The total time in the danger zone, including cooling and re-heating times, must be less than two hours.
Storage
All sauces, with the exception of the butter based emulsion sauces, should be stored below 4°C and covered. Storage time should be less than one week.
Storage times of frozen sauces should not exceed six months and ideally should be used under three months.
Sauces should be stored in sanitised containers. It is better to use several smaller sealed containers than a single large one. If sauces are to be frozen, then they can be packed in sealed plastic bags under vacuum, or placed in sealed metal or plastic containers.
All containers must be labelled and dated and a record kept separately of what is stored.
As with the storage of stocks, a cartouche may be used to cover sauces although plastic cling wrap and containers with lids are acceptable.
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Fish stock, also called fumé in French, is a magnificent base for making soups, chowders, seafood risotto, and any number of sauces. But you may shy away from making your own stock because it is disproportionately labor- or time-intensive. You are not wrong when it comes to beef, veal, or poultry stock, but fish stock happens to be the exception. Unlike chicken stock or beef stock, fish stock is quick and easy to make; rather than simmering away for hours, requiring continuous skimming and fussing, fish stock takes just 30 minutes on the stovetop. Although certain recipes will use chicken broth instead of fish stock, such as a simple clam chowder, using the fish stock will really enrich the seafood dish and bring a complex level of flavor. Based in French cuisine, fumé is an important ingredient in several French sauces, such as Normandy sauce. It will also contribute a wonderful flavor when poaching fish and is the basis to Spanish Basque seafood stew. 29th Sep 2019 10:00 – 15:00at The Woodspeen Buy Stocks, Sauces and Soups TicketsEvent DetailsIn the Woodspeen kitchen we consider the secret to a great sauce, gravy or soup is the stocks. Stocks form the foundation of all great kitchens and add a depth of flavour to your dishes, this course teaches you to understand the importance of stock and how a sauce can impact your cooking. Once you have a great stock, fresh soups, sauces and risottos are quick and easy to make.
To take home: Woodspeen apron and cooking cloth. Sauces and stocks made on the day and course recipes and notes. Spaces for this course are subject to minimum number of participants. What is the Handling Charge for?To ensure tickets are delivered safely and securely and to keep the price as low as possible for you, the ticket buyer, The Woodspeen generally uses our E-ticket system unless otherwise stated. For this service we charge a small Handling Fee to cover the debit/credit card processing fees, customer services, processing and distribution of tickets and our secure server costs. We always try to keep these costs to an absolute minimum. If you feel at any time that our prices are not fair or competitive we’d be happy to hear from you. DeliveryIf you have ordered physical paper tickets there is a further Delivery cost added to cover the delivery of your order through the Royal Mail network. We always endeavour to keep these costs as low as possible to merely cover the costs of postage. We only charge you one Delivery cost per order so if there is a big group of you recommend purchasing larger amounts in one order. When you purchase tickets through The Woodspeen, the full face value of the ticket is shown. This price is the price set by the event promoter and we pay this full amount to the promoter without any deductions. 11 Days of Feastmas – How to make great turkey stock and soupDecember 26, 2009 by Joel MacCharles This is the end of the 11 days of posts on Feastmas. It’s been a good run but all good things must meet their end – or be reborn through leftovers. I have done a lot of reading in recent years on how to perfect stock. I have been surprised to learn that many of the common practices taught around making stock actually fly in the face of science or the knowledge of professional chefs. The work of Herve This and Harold McGee (both prominent food scientists) has really inspired me to learn a lot more about making a better stock – something I am still actively learning about…. 11 Days of Feastmas – How to make great turkey stock and soupDecember 26, 2009 by Joel MacCharles This is the end of the 11 days of posts on Feastmas. It’s been a good run but all good things must meet their end – or be reborn through leftovers. I have done a lot of reading in recent years on how to perfect stock. I have been surprised to learn that many of the common practices taught around making stock actually fly in the face of science or the knowledge of professional chefs. The work of Herve This and Harold McGee (both prominent food scientists) has really inspired me to learn a lot more about making a better stock – something I am still actively learning about…. Cheap Tuesday Gourmet – Squash Soup in a PanicWe announced the start of a new series of posts last week with a promise to launch today. The full details are here but the premise is simple – creating good, wholesome food at affordable pricing as a means to support and create a dialogue in which we can share how to eat wholesome food at a fraction of a price of fast food alternatives. The terms gourmet and cheap are relative – the term Tuesday is not. I had something else in mind until I discovered at 7pm last night that I didn’t have the ingredients that I thought I did. It was time to scramble – I needed to eat, make something fast, healthy and affordable. We also haven’t done groceries this week so pickings looked thin – imagination was going to be key. I have been buying a lot of squash lately. It is local, seasonal and stores well. You can find squash for as low as $0.50 a pound right now as well. It’s an awesome staple to keep on hand for situations like this. I had bought these weeks ago and they were still plenty good:
How to make your own turkey gravyTime for another step-by-step article. Neighbor Nancy has been providing weekly updates from a community of writers who are sharing how-to articles like these – some are related to cooking, others are from all around your household (her writings relate to getting by on less and is tremendously well-written and a lot of fun). Today’s article follows some advice on how to create your own turkey gravy. My father is the master of turkey – moist, succulent and full of flavor. These photos are from his Easter dinner – it was about a 12-15 pound Turkey. Your quiz results This is not an accurate result, because you did not answer the questions. In order to get an accurate result for “Soups, sauces, stocks – test 1” please go back and answer all the questions. Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. Don’t forget, you can make your own quizzes at GoToQuiz! Thanks For Visiting!Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. “Soups, sauces, stocks – test 1” was created by Maggie Fraser Visitor Comments:You Just Took a Quiz on GoToQuiz.com!GoToQuiz.com is a site that allows visitors to create online quizzes. Create a quiz yourself. We’ve got an easy interface that’s far more intuitive than similar sites you may have seen. GoToQuiz.com means better quizzes! Try our latest: Political Spectrum Quiz, see how much of a liberal, conservative, neo-con, etc. you are! See Our Best Quizzes hand-selected by a GoToQuiz editor. Don’t miss the other great quizzes we have here. There are so many to choose from, and you can paste them to your blog or share on social networks. Go to our home page. Don’t Miss: Trending QuizzesWe’re Testing!This quiz is testing out a new look, and if you notice any visual bugs please report them! DescriptionThis section is from the book “The Art Of Cookery Made Easy And Refined”, by John Mollard. Also available from Amazon: The Art of Cookery Made Easy and Refined. Beef Stock (Or Brotll)CUT chuck beef into pieces, put it into a pot, set it on the fire, with a sufficient quantity of water to cover it. When it boils skim it clean; add a bunch of parsley and thyme, cleaned carrots, leeks, onions, turnips, celery, and a little salt. Let the meat boil till tender, skim off the fat, then strain it through a fine hair sieve. Veal Stock (Or Brotll For Soups)Take a leg of veal and some lean ham, cut them into pieces, put them into a pan with a quart of water, some peeled carrots, turnips, onions, leeks, and celery; draw them down till nearly tender, but of no colour; then add a sufficient quantity of beef stock to cover the ingredients, boil all together one hour, skim it free from fat, and strain it. Some game drawn down with it will make it excellent. N. B. I have directed the veal stock not to be drawn down to a colour, as in that state it will answer two purposes; first, for white soups; and, secondly, as it might be coloured with a bright liquid to any height, which will be directed for gravy soups. It frequently happens, likewise, that, if not strictly attended to, it will burn. Consume, Or The Essence Of MeatReduce veal stock to a good consistence, but be careful not to let it colour. Cullis, Or A Thick GravyTake slices of ham, veal, celery, carrots, turnips, onions, leeks, a small bunch of sweet herbs, some allspice, black pepper, mace, a piece of lemon-peel, and two bay leaves; put them into a pan with a quart of water, and draw them down till of a light brown colour, but be careful not to let it burn; then add to it a sufficient quantity of beef stock to cover it. When it boils, skim it very clean from fat, and thicken it with flom; and water, or flour and butter passed. Let it boil gently three quarters of an hour; season it to the palate with cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and salt; strain it through a tamis cloth or sieve, and add a little liquid of colour, which may be made as in the following receipt. Liquid Of Colour For Sauces, EtcPut a quarter of a pound of the best brown sugar into a frying pan very clean from grease, and half a gill of water; set it over a gentle fire, stirring it with a wooden spoon till it is thoroughly burnt and of a good bright colour, then add half a pint of water; when it boils skim it and strain it. Put it by for use in a vessel close covered. BenshamelleTake white veal, lean ham, turnips, celery, onions cut in pieces, a blade of mace, a little whole white pepper; sweat them down till three parts tender, then add to it with beef stock. Let it boil, skim it clean, and thicken with flour and water, or flour and butter passed; add to it a sufficient quantity of cream to make it quite white. Let it simmer gently half an hour, and strain it through a tarn is cloth. N. B. Let it be of the thickness of light batter, How To Make A Passing Of Flour And Butter For Cullis Or BenshamellePut fresh butter into a stewpan over a fire, when it is melted add a sufficient quantity of sifted flour to make it into a paste, and mix them together with a whisk over a very slow fire for ten minutes. Course OverviewNo training providers have entered fees on My Skills for this course. Please contact individual training providers directly to compare course fees. No training providers have entered durations on My Skills for this course. Please contact individual training providers directly to compare course durations. A guide to durations can be found at Australian Qualifications Framework . This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to prepare various stocks, sauces and soups following standard recipes. It requires the ability to select and prepare ingredients, and to use relevant equipment and cookery and food storage methods. The unit applies to cooks working in hospitality and catering organisations. This could include restaurants, educational institutions, health establishments, defence forces, cafeterias, kiosks, cafes, residential caterers, in flight and other transport caterers, and event and function caterers. It applies to individuals who work with very little independence and under close supervision and guidance of more senior chefs. They follow predefined organisational procedures and report any discrepancies to a higher level staff member for action. No occupational licensing, certification or specific legislative requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication. Want to see Training Providers who offer this course? Financial AssistanceThe federal, state and territory governments provide financial incentives and support for vocational education and training students to help them gain the skills required to secure and maintain rewarding and sustainable employment. There are programs for all kinds of students; apprentices and trainees, new job starters, those re-entering the workforce, retraining for a new job or upgrading their skills for an existing job. Subsidised TrainingState and territory governments dedicate funds to reduce or, in some cases, fully cover tuition fees for VET students who wish to study certain courses. VET Student LoansCertain courses are eligible for a VET Student Loan from the Australian Government to assist students with paying tuition fees. The initial debt amount (including the loan fee, if applicable) plus indexation must be paid back once the loan recipient starts earning over a certain amount. The compulsory repayment threshold for the 2019-20 income year is $45,881. Apprenticeships and TraineeshipsAustralian Apprenticeships can provide a pathway to a career change for people looking to re-enter the workforce and for people who are currently working. Australian Apprenticeships combine work with training in a national recognised qualification. Unfortunately, this qualification is not currently available as an Australian Apprenticeship or Traineeship. Top Chef University – Stocks, Soups, Sauces & Salads Top Chef University – Stocks, Soups, Sauces & SaladsHI-SPEED DOWNLOAD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
