Have you ever wondered the difference between stocks and broths? Can you tell which is stock and which is broth in the picture? Keep reading and see if you can figure it out. Recently when I was making Italian Wedding Soup I was wondering the difference (not that I haven’t wondered this before but now I have wondered to the point of actually finding out the answer). The recipe recommends homemade chicken stock and I didn’t have any or have I ever made any. I had a box of broth already and purchased a box of stock.
I actually picked the brand of stock based on an article in Real Simple magazine rating it the best all-around. Although the article’s title just mentions chicken broth and doesn’t say if they tested both in each category some winners were broth and others were stock.
Anyway..after some research here’s what I found out:
Short Version: Chicken stock tends to be made more from bony parts, whereas chicken broth is made more out of meat. Chicken stock tends to have a fuller mouth feel and richer flavor, due to the gelatin released by long-simmering bones.
Long Version: The basic differences between a broth and a stock lies in its “properties”. For example, a chicken broth will react differently when deglazing a sauté pan than a chicken stock. The reason for this is that the chicken stock will contain more gelée (gelée=gelatine=dissolved cartilage) than chicken broth and will bind up the pan drippings into a pan sauce as the stock is reduced, replacing the alternative of cream or butter to aid in this process. The type of chicken parts used in the pot and the amount of extraction of gelée depends on the length of reduction. These are the key factors to consider in determining whether you are making chicken stock or chicken broth.
Chicken broth is usually made with chicken meat and chicken parts, with a high flesh to bone ratio. Whole chicken or assorted parts can be used. Fryers and roasters, both readily available at your local supermarket, do not produce satisfactory results. Stewing hens produce the best broth and are often available in the poultry section in your market. For the more adventuresome, you may be able to locate someone who has a small flock of laying hens that are past their prime for egg production. Purchase one or two of them to slaughter and dress yourself. The reduction time for chicken broth at sea level is about 3 hours.
Chicken stock is made mostly of chicken parts that have a very low flesh to bone ratio. Backs, necks and breast bones produce the best stock. These boney parts are also readily available at your local supermarket, either in the case or by special order. It is also advantageous to buy whole chickens and cut them up yourself for other recipes. You can then freeze backbones, wing tips, and other parts not used in your original recipe until you are ready to make your stock. To achieve the maximum extraction of gelée from the chicken bones the reduction time at sea level is 6 hours. Water, vegetables, herbs, and salt are ingredients that are common to both stock and broth
These are just the basics that I found. There are tons of actual recipes out there to get you(and me) started.
So now do you know which is which in the picture?
I tasted both of these and the broth really just tasted like salt and the stock had a nice full flavor to it. Not that I would recommend actually just drinking either one of these on their own. As you can see I got the cheapest broth available so I am not sure if another brand would have more flavor or not. The stock I got was one of the more expensive brands except for the organic kinds so that might have also made a difference. The write-up in Real Simple said that this stock would be great in every kind of dish from a soup to stuffing, sounds like a winner to me! Hope this helps anyone who was wondering about this but hadn’t actually found the answer yet, you just did! And if you already knew the difference..well I guess I kept you reading!
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