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Stock for Soups

A basic stock made by simmering meat or bones with water, salt, and optional vegetables for at least six hours.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Stock for Soups

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Place the meat or bones in a stock pot and cover with cold water.

  2. Break the bones and cut the meat into smaller pieces to expose more surface area.

Simmer

  1. Bring to a boil, then skim off any scum that rises to the surface.

  2. Add vegetables if using, then reduce heat to a simmer.

  3. Cover the pot and let it simmer gently for at least 6 hours.

Strain

  1. Strain the stock and discard solids.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

Meat or bones
Release gelatin, collagen and flavor into the water during long simmering, giving body to the stock.
Cold water
Acts as the solvent that slowly extracts flavor and gelatin from the bones and meat.
Vegetables
Add aromatic flavor and sweetness to the stock as they cook.

The step that matters

Skim off the scum after boiling. Scum is coagulated protein and impurities that rise when the liquid first heats. Removing it keeps the stock clear and clean-tasting rather than cloudy or greasy.

“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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