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Fish Stocks

A liquid made by simmering fish bones, trimmings, shells, and aromatics in water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Whiting and lobster work together. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 73 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Fish Stocks

Ingredients

Directions

Make the stock

  1. Place the fish bones, trimmings, lobster shells, shrimp heads and tails in a pan.

  2. Add lemon juice, sliced onions, herbs, peppercorns, and salt.

  3. Cover with cold water, using 1 quart for each pound of fish bones.

  4. Simmer gently for about 1 hour, skimming when it comes to a boil.

Strain and clarify

  1. Strain the stock for fish sauces or bisques.

  2. Remove fat from the strained stock.

  3. Clarify the stock with the whites and shells of 4 eggs per quart of stock.

Brown stock variation

  1. Fry onions and herbs in a little butter for 15 minutes for clear brown fish soups.

  2. Add well-dried fish bones and fry together.

  3. Cover with cold water and finish like the clear fish stock.

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

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. Whiting + lobstertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together73 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Lobster + shrimptop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together403 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  3. Fish + shrimptop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together252 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Shrimp + oniontop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,437 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Fish + lemontop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,889 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Fish bones
Provide the gelatin and savory flavor that give the stock body and depth.
Lobster shells
Add sweet, rich shellfish aroma and color to the stock.
Shrimp heads and tails
Contribute shellfish flavor and aroma to the stock.
Egg whites and shells
Attract cloudy particles during clarifying so the stock becomes clear.
Onions
Add sweetness and aromatic depth as the stock simmers.

The step that matters

Skimming the stock as it comes to a boil. Impurities and proteins rise to the surface as the liquid heats. Removing them keeps the stock clean and clear instead of cloudy or bitter. Simmering gently rather than boiling also prevents emulsified fat and particles from clouding the liquid.

“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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