Bouillons and Consommes
Ingredients
Directions
Clarify the stock
Add the slightly beaten egg white and shell to the cold stock.
Heat the stock gradually over the stove, stirring constantly.
Cook until the egg white is coagulated and the sediment is trapped in the egg albumen.
Strain and store
Strain the stock through fine muslin without squeezing the cloth.
Set the strained stock in a cool place for up to 48 hours.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Egg white
- Coagulates as it heats, trapping sediment and clouding particles so they can be strained out clear.
- Egg shell
- Adds calcium-rich surface area that helps bind fine particles into the coagulated raft.
- Cold stock
- Serves as the clear liquid base that the clarifying raft filters and clears.
The step that matters
Heating the stock gradually while stirring constantly. Stirring keeps the egg white dispersed so it cooks evenly into a raft, and gentle heating lets the albumen coagulate and trap sediment rather than scrambling or clouding the stock.
“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.
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