To Clarify Soup Stock
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the stock
Remove all fat from the stock.
Add the whites and crushed shells of as many eggs as there are quarts of stock.
Beat and stir until it boils for 2 minutes.
Clarify and strain
Keep it hot without simmering for 15 minutes to allow the albumen to coagulate and entangle solid particles.
Add 1 cup of cold water and let it stand for 5 minutes.
Strain through a fine cloth over a strainer.
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
- Whites of eggs
- Albumen coagulates as it heats, trapping solid particles so the stock becomes clear.
- Crushed eggshells
- Shell fragments add surface area that helps gather fine particles into the forming raft.
The step that matters
Keep it hot without simmering. Boiling or vigorous simmering breaks up the coagulating egg white raft and pushes particles back into the stock, leaving it cloudy.
“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
Vegetable Soup350 recipes
Raspberry Vinegar214 recipes
Brown Coffee with Egg175 recipes
Blackberry Cordial129 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.