Clear Soup, or Consomme
Ingredients
Directions
Clarify the stock
Mix the egg white and washed eggshell into the cold stock and beat well.
Place the mixture over the fire and stir constantly until it boils.
Stop stirring and let it boil until a clear liquid appears below the scum.
Strain and serve
Strain the soup through a cloth to remove the scum.
Remove all fat from the top of the soup before serving.
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
- Stock
- Forms the clear liquid base that the consommé is made from.
- Egg white
- Coagulates as it heats, trapping fine particles so they can be strained out for clarity.
The step that matters
Stop stirring once the mixture boils. Stirring after the raft forms breaks up the coagulated egg white, so particles stay suspended and the liquid turns cloudy instead of clear.
“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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