STOCKS AND SAUCES

The word stock comes from the French word, fond, meaning foundation or basic.  In today’s restaurants less emphasis is placed on stocks and sauces because preparing them takes time and time (labor) is expensive, and purchasing meat or bones for stock is also expensive plus customers today often prefer their foods served without sauces to reduce calories and fat.

However even in modern culinary schools and in the finest restaurants, the art of preparing stocks and sauces is still important because they form the basis of many recipes.  For those of us interested in food, we need an understanding of the terminology.  So in review of some basic texts, I’ve jotted down some word definitions to help myself and I hope they will help you also.  

 Stock is prepared by simmering various ingredients in water.

A stock may be defined as a clear, thin, not thickened, liquid flavored by soluble substances extracted from meat, poultry, and fish and their bones and from vegetables and seasonings.*  Meat or bones, cooked in water, are the basis of Stock except for non-meat stocks, where vegetables provide the flavor.

The ingredients used, determine the kind of stock.

Chicken stock  is made from chicken meat or bones.

White stock  is made from beef or veal or the bones.

Brown stock is made from beef or veal or the bones that have been browned.

Fish stock is made from fish or the bones.

Bones may be used more often than meat due to the cost. The flavor of the stock comes from the cartilage and connective tissue in the bones. Connective tissue has collagen in it which converts to gelatin and thickens the liquid. Stock made from bones needs to be simmered for a longer period of time than stock made from meat.  Knuckle bones, neck bones and shank bones are often used.  

Broth is a flavorful liquid that is produced when preparing a meat or poultry recipe. In other words it is a produced as a result of preparing another recipe versus starting with water and meat or bones, for the purpose of making stock. However the broth is flavorful and can certainly be used as a stock.

Mirepoix – is a combination of onions, carrots and celery. Other vegetables may be added.  In addition to meat or bones, the vegetables are very important to produce the flavor.  In Vegetable Stock the vegetables are the flavor.  Tomatoes may be used in a limited amount.  Do not add tomato to a white stock as tomatoes can give the sauce a dark color and even in brown stocks, too much tomato can make the stock cloudy.  Salt and seasonings usually are not added, or added very sparingly, as Stock is not a final dish, it is the basis for other recipes and it is best to add seasoning when combining the ingredients for the final product.

Sauce is a flavorful liquid, usually thickened, used to season, flavor and enhance other foods.*  Preparing and serving sauces today, like stocks, is not as popular again due to the cost and also because individuals are wanting  fewer calories.  A sauce, like a seasoning is to accent and enhance the flavor of the food not to overpower or change the flavor of the food. Sauces are used to provide moisture, flavor, richness, appearance, and appetite appeal to the food item.*

Sauces are composed of the liquid and a thickening agent and added flavoring ingredients. The liquid may be stock, tomato plus stock, milk (for béchamel) or clarified butter (for hollandaise).  Thickening agents can be flour or cornstarch or other starches.

Flavoring ingredients include salt and lemon juice which may be the most common.  However the flavoring added depends on the food to be adorned and ones flavor interest.

Leading Sauce is the liquid + the thickening agent.

Small Sauce is the leading sauce + the additional flavorings.

Reduction is the simmering of a sauce to evaporate some of the liquid. This concentrates  the sauce and makes it more flavorful.

Jus is a lightly reduced stock used as a sauce for roasted meats.

Roux is a cooked mixture of equal parts by weight of fat (usually butter) and flour.

A roux must be cooked long enough so it does not have the starchy taste of flour.

There are three types of Roux:

White roux  is cooked just long enough so it does not have an “uncooked” taste and before the mixture begins to turn color. It is used in white sauces, etc.

Blond roux is cooked just until it begins to turn a blond or pale tan color.  Used also for white sauces.

Brown roux is cooked until it is a light brown and used for brown sauces.

Combining the roux to the stock to make a sauce that is smooth without lumps takes skill mastered after much practice. This is a skill often cited as necessary for a chef.

 

*Gisslen, Wayne, Professional Cooking, John Wiley & Sons, 2007

Tags: sauce, soup, stock | Posted in Food Preparation/cooking