Skip to main content
Main

Fish Stock

A clear fish stock made from fish trimmings, water, onions, celery, leeks, bay leaf, thyme, salt, peppercorns, and white wine.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 10 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Leek and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 360 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓

Fish Stock

Time30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Wash the fish trimmings.

  2. Drain and mash the trimmings with the back of a large spoon.

  3. Place the fish in a stockpot and add the water.

  4. Bring the liquid to a simmer.

  5. Simmer for 5 minutes, skimming off any scum.

Simmer and strain

  1. Add the vegetables and seasonings.

  2. Partially cover the pot.

  3. Simmer for 30 minutes, skimming the surface every 10 minutes.

  4. Remove the pot from the heat.

  5. Remove the fish and vegetables with a spider or slotted spoon.

  6. Strain the stock through a sieve lined with a double layer of dampened cheesecloth.

  7. Cool the stock to room temperature.

  8. Refrigerate for 2–3 days, or freeze for longer.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

295Calories
22 gProtein
13 gFat
15 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Salmon100g cooked208
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Leek + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together360 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  2. Celery + thymetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,193 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Celery + leektop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,093 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Onion + leektop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,326 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl butyrate (apple, fruity).

  5. Onion + thymetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,171 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Fish trimmings
Provide the main flavor and gelatin-rich body of the stock as they simmer.
Onions
Add sweetness and aromatic depth to the stock.
Celery
Adds subtle savory, aromatic flavor to the stock.
Dry white wine
Adds acidity and brightness that lift the flavor of the stock.

The step that matters

Skimming the scum and surface. Foam and impurities rise as the liquid heats; removing them keeps the stock clear and prevents off, bitter flavors from being reincorporated as it simmers.

Swap the celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, onion, leek, thyme, white wine):

  1. Marjoramfits better
  2. Garlicfits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, onion, leek, thyme, white wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Fried FishFried Fish120 recipesCream of Celery SoupCream of Celery Soup113 recipesFish CroquettesFish Croquettes81 recipesScalloped CodScalloped Cod69 recipes