# What is the difference between broth, stock and consomme?



## dcgator (Oct 23, 2011)

I'm confused. Seems they are all the same???


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## TATTRAT (Oct 23, 2011)

Stock, and broth can be interchangeable, imo.

Consumme is a stock that has had time to simmer away, strain out the solids, skim off the fat, and then chilled. Mix in a raft and bring up to temp(almost a real light simmer), making sure not to boil. . .the raft of mirepoix and egg white capture any solids/left over bits/anu npurities, leaving you a virtually crystal clear broth. The raft floats from the top and can carefully be removed, though a true consumme pot has a spicket on the bottom to drain out the consumme. . .the same effect can be had with patience, cheesecloth, and a china cap too, just takes a lot of patience.

at this point, a broth and a consumme can be the same, lol.


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## CWS4322 (Oct 23, 2011)

I have the bones from the lamb I picked up for sausage slow roasting in the oven--I added rosemary, mint, bay, onion, garlic, red wine. Any thing else? I browned the bones first...it is tasting very "lamby" at the moment, but it has, IMO, about 8 hours to go at 250.


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## Zhizara (Oct 24, 2011)

Well, I've kind of picked up that some people here distinguish broth from stock by whether or not the bones are cooked in it.  

I can make a broth by boiling a chicken thigh.  

It starts to be a stock after I strip the meat from the bone, and throw the bone back in the broth and let it boil awhile longer.

Some people brown bones in the oven.  I'll let them explain the procedure.

For instance:  I made pork stock today.  I had already braised the pork shoulder.  I stripped the meat from the bone and packaged for the freezer, keeping out a portion for pork taco meat.

I kept the original braising liquid, returned the bone (with meat) to the pot.  

I let it cook for another hour or so, and took the meat loaded bone out to cool.

I stripped the meat from the bone, set it aside, and returned the bone to the pot.

I let it cook another hour or so, then poured off some of the stock for the freezer.

I poured 1/2 bag of 15 bean mixture into the pot and along with the pork shoulder bones, got things bubbling again.  According to the directions, I added a can of diced stewed tomatoes, and the packet of "HamBone" seasoning that came with the pkg. of beans.

I returned the "bone meat" to the mix and had myself a bowlful.

Mmmmmmm.

Well, you asked!


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## CWS4322 (Oct 24, 2011)

I brown the bones (beef, pork, or lamb) on the stove top. Then I put the bones in a roaster, add some water/wine, a bit of vinegar, carrot, celery, bay, S&P. I then roast the bones in the oven for 8-12 hours at 250. Strain, chill, remove the fat. Stock is "jelly" and brown--such a rich beef/pork/lamb flavor...with lamb, I add rosemary and lots of mint. For turkey or chicken, I take the roasted chicken/turkey, remove as much meat as possible from the carcass, crack the big bones, add water, carrot, celery, bay, S&P, a teaball of pickling spices, and grated fennel, pop the roaster back in the oven (pan drippings in the roaster), and let that cook for 6-8 hours at 250, strain, chill, take off the fat, and then that is what goes into soup, or in the freezer for another time. I don't clarify it--although I might start doing that since I have a surplus of eggs...from my hens...I won't say how FRESH those eggs are (oops). I guess that would qualify as consumme. I can't be bothered to cook chicken, etc., on the stove anymore for broth, I prefer the depth of flavor of stock. I was sold on the beef stock in the oven after the first time I made it--the house smells so good while it is cooking! I also make it without any seasoning--equally as good. Reminds me, probably time to strain the lamb stock I was cooking overnight...


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## Zhizara (Oct 24, 2011)

CWS4322 said:


> I brown the bones (beef, pork, or lamb) on the  stove top. Then I put the bones in a roaster, add some water/wine, a bit  of vinegar, carrot, celery, bay, S&P. I then roast the bones in the  oven for 8-12 hours at 250. Strain, chill, remove the fat. Stock is  "jelly" and brown--such a rich beef/pork/lamb flavor...with lamb, I add  rosemary and lots of mint. For turkey or chicken, I take the roasted  chicken/turkey, remove as much meat as possible from the carcass, crack  the big bones, add water, carrot, celery, bay, S&P, a teaball of  pickling spices, and grated fennel, pop the roaster back in the oven  (pan drippings in the roaster), and let that cook for 6-8 hours at 250,  strain, chill, take off the fat, and then that is what goes into soup,  or in the freezer for another time. I don't clarify it--although I might  start doing that since I have a surplus of eggs...from my hens...I  won't say how FRESH those eggs are (oops). I guess that would qualify as  consumme. I can't be bothered to cook chicken, etc., on the stove  anymore for broth, I prefer the depth of flavor of stock. I was sold on  the beef stock in the oven after the first time I made it--the house  smells so good while it is cooking! I also make it without any  seasoning--equally as good. Reminds me, probably time to strain the lamb  stock I was cooking overnight...



Okay, my first question is what do eggs have to do with clarifying?  

I got a really rich brown jelly from braising the pork shoulder.  Since I put the bones back in I'd call it stock.   I haven't tried roasting the bones.  It seems they're always boiling in the pot.

What's consumme?  I have a general idea, but where do you draw the line?  Is consumme more jelly like?


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## no mayonnaise (Oct 24, 2011)

Stock you remove the solids, broth you add meat from the animal that you used for making the stock back into the stock with some veggies.

Consomme is easy, you can do the egg white thing but... you just mix some gelatin into any flavored liquid, pour in a wide pan, and freeze solid.  Cut into chunks while frozen and let thaw in the refrigerator wrapped in a couple layers of cheese cloth over a bowl to catch the liquid.  Takes a few days but it can't leave the 'frige.  The liquid in the bowl is consomme, you can make it from any flavored liquid, such as ketchup.  Even coffee, or bacon, or cheese.

The egg whites, or gelatin, filter out all of the stuff in a stock.  A consomme is a stock that has been filtered to be very clear.  It's the difference between a nice clear soup or a cloudy one.  The egg whites float to the surface of the stock while it cooks and form a raft, and the convection action of the water forces the stock to flow through the matrix of proteins, which act as a filter, catching all the stuff that causes the stock to be colored.  The gelatin method dose something similar, by pulling the solid material from the stock into the gelatin.  The gelatin doesn't melt in the frige, but the stock does so it goes through the cheesecloth, that's why you can't remove it from the frige until it's all melted.


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## Zhizara (Oct 24, 2011)

Hi, No Mayo (love your avatar BTW)  

Now I'm really confused.  I took broth to mean the juice from boiling meat.  I sometimes add the meat back in to make a soup, but usually, I cook the meat until the desired doneness, then remove it from the liquid.  I keep the meat for use elsewhere, and add the bones back to continue making stock.

I try to return at least one 2 Cup container to the freezer.  

I like to give my broth/stock as much chance as possible to get richer, more inhanced.  I love to make beans from a yummy stock.  

What do you use your stock for?


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## jennyema (Oct 24, 2011)

Technically...

BROTH is made from simmering meat in water.

STOCK is made from simmering bones ( and usually meat or meat scraps).  

It's as simple as that.

The difference us the use of bones.  Bones make for stock's fuller, richer end product.

CONSOMME is clarified broth or stock.  It's clarified using a "raft" of ground meat mixed with egg whites and sometimes chopped tomatoes.  The raft attracts proteins and other impurities in the liquid and thus renders it clear.  Egg is used as a binder to hold the raft together.


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## velochic (Oct 24, 2011)

jennyema said:


> Technically...
> 
> BROTH is made from simmering meat in water.
> 
> ...



Exactly.  This is the difference.  Spot on!!  Any other explanation is inaccurate supposition.


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## CWS4322 (Oct 24, 2011)

When you roast the bones, the marrow is what makes the gelatin, so when you chill it to remove the fat, the "underpart" (the stock) is gelatin, not liquid. I used to make "stock" on the stove top and always found it lacking in flavor. A friend who is a chef told me to brown the bones and then roast them in the oven...the difference in the richness re: the flavor was amazing (She also told me to remove all the meat off the turkey/chicken carcass and put the bones back in the roaster pan, but to crack the big bones). She also said if I wanted to make a rich stock from poultry without having roasted the bird, to buy wings or backs, save the chicken bones from other meals, brown the wings and backs, and then put those and the pan drippings (the bones, wings, backs) in the roaster. She also recommended the pickling spice and fennel. It really makes a difference re: poultry stock. If I must say so myself, the stock I now make is very rich in flavor and I don't have to cheat and add boullion to up the flavor. The lamb stock is chilling in the fridge now--I can hardly wait to make Scotch Broth!


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Oct 24, 2011)

From Food Dictionary

broth

brawth,broth
noun
1.
thin soup of concentrated meat or fish stock.
2.
water that has been boiled with meat, fish, vegetables, or barley.

Stock
1. A liquid or broth in which meat, fish, bones, or vegetables have been simmered for a longtime


From Epicurious Dictionary:

stock
In the most basic terms, stock is the strained liquid that is the result of cooking vegetables, meat or fish and other seasoning ingredients in water. A brown stock is made by browning bones, vegetables and other ingredients before they're cooked in the liquid. Most soups begin with a stock of some kind, and many sauces are based on REDUCED stocks. 
© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst. 

 broth
A liquid resulting from cooking vegetables, meat or fish in water. The term is sometimes used synonymously with bouillon . 
© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst


From Miriam Webster Online Dictionary;

broth

noun\ˈbrȯth\
pluralbroths \ˈbrȯths, ˈbrȯthz\
Definition of BROTH

1
: liquid in which meat, fish, cereal grains, or vegetables have been cooked : stock <chicken broth>
2
: a fluid culture medium 
See broth defined for English-language learners »
See broth defined for kids »
Origin of BROTH

Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German brod broth, Old English brēowan to brew — more at brew
First Known Use: before 12th century

10
a: liquid in which meat, fish, or vegetables have been simmered that is used as a basis for soup, gravy, or sauce 

From the above listed definitions, it becomes clear that stock and broth can be used interchangeably. The main difference appears to be what the flavored liquid will be used for. That is, broth is the final product, or one step from being a soup. Stock is the flavored liquid used as a starting point for making consume, soup, or various small sauces. I believe brown stock would be used, for instance, for making Sauce Espaniole, or for making demi-glace, or various gravies.

That’s my take on what the definitions from respected sources tell me. Of course, more concise definitions may be found outside the limited sources I used.

Tip: Did you know that ground beef can be used to make wonderful stock? Simply place the ground beef into a pot'pan that can be covered. Season, then brown the meat on one side, as if you were cooking a burger. Flip in and brown the other side. Break up the meat and cover the pan. Let the pan simmer over mediuim-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Pour off the liquid. Finish browning the ground beef and use it for your meal. Place the liquid into the fridge and let sit overnight. The fat will have risen to the top and hardened, making it easy to remove. Throw away the hardened fat. The remaining aspic tastes like the drippings from a perfectly cooked beef roast and can be used to make gravies, sauces, soups, etc.

What has happened is that the water from the meat was trapped by the lid, instead of evaporating into the air. It condenses and drips back into the pan, where it dissolves the fond that usually develops on a cooking surface when cooking meat. Also, the collagen from the connecting tissue (that's ground up into the meat) has been dissolved, giving you the rich gel that we call an aspic.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## dcgator (Oct 24, 2011)

Wow
Thanks for the detailed answer!

So if I want to make simple soup with pastina can I use stock or will it be too bland?


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## Andy M. (Oct 24, 2011)

dcgator said:


> Wow
> Thanks for the detailed answer!
> 
> So if I want to make simple soup with pastina can I use stock or will it be too bland?




You shouldn't expect any stock or broth to provide any flavor other than the meat flavor it was made from.  If you don't want bland soup, you should expect to season it.


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## jennyema (Oct 24, 2011)

dcgator said:


> Wow
> Thanks for the detailed answer!
> 
> So if I want to make simple soup with pastina can I use stock or will it be too bland?


 
The difference from a technical standpoint is, in fact, the use of bones.  Colloquially, they are used interchangeably.

The use of bones makes stock a richer and more substantial liquid than broth and thus ioften preferred for soups.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Oct 24, 2011)

jennyema said:


> The difference from a technical standpoint is, in fact, the use of bones. Colloquially, they are used interchangeably.
> 
> The use of bones makes stock a richer and more substantial liquid than broth and thus ioften preferred for soups.


 
The use of bones allows the water, and some mildly acidic ingredient, such as celery, to leach minerals, nutrients, and collagen from the bone, the bone marrow, and any connecting tissue or cartillage attached to the bone.  This makes, as Andy M correctly stated, a richer liquid with a more luxurious mouth feel, added flavor, and higher ntrient content.

This liquid is usually made in large amounts, with the resultant prodiuct devided into usable batches, and either frozen, or canned for later use.  Stock is something that you "stock" your pantry with.  Again, it is a starting point for many cooking applications.  And yes, Like Andy M stated, you need to enhance the stock to come up with good soups, sauces, or whatever.

Example; Italian Wedding soup would start with a good beef stock, with added tomato, veggies, pasta, and maybe some garlic and oregano.

 A great stir fry might consist of the stir-fried veggies, and meat, sauced with a combination of chicken stock, a touch of sugar, some soy sauce, a little sesame oil, and cornstarch used to thicken it.

For a great primer on how to use stocks, look up the mother sauces.  Some of them, and many of their derivitive sauces, use some type of stock in their ingredient list.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## CWS4322 (Oct 25, 2011)

GW--I''ve always made Italian Wedding Soup using a chicken stock. I don't think I've ever seen a recipe using beef stock--would you please share your recipe? I love It. Wedding Soup and the German variation, Hochzeitsuppe (both of which generally use chicken stock, but I guess there's no reason one couldn't use one or the other or even veggie stock). Curious to see if this is another variation of this type of soup.

I was told stock was made from bones, roasted, no salt, limited seasonings by from friend who went to chef school--the no salt is because it is intended to be used as a base for something else. I don't usually make big enough batches--I know what I'm going to do with the stock, most of the time. So I guess mine's "meatless" broth--although, the marrow bones often have bits of meat on them...Broth is made with the meat...and can include the bones, seasoning. In NA, I think common usage, unless one has been to culinary school, is to use the terms broth and stock interchangeably (and my friend tends to be a bit of a know-it-all when it comes to culinary terms--has to correct you if you interchange stock and broth...for example). A bit of vinegar will leach the nutrients (I think it is mostly the calcium) from the bones if you don't like/add celery.


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