STOCK Flashcards
STOCK
3 PARTS WATER: 2 PARTS BONES
Are stocks le fond de la cuisine?
Yes
Stocks could be described as what?
The extraction, distillation, and concentration of flavor.
The most commonly preparation in the American home.
Stocks
What is the power of ratios?
How possessing one small bit of crystalline information can open up a world of practical applications.
What is one of the most important steps in a stocks creation?
Straining through a cloth to ensure the clearest, cleanest taste possible.
Can stocks be made quickly in small quantities?
Yes
Water is always available on costs a _____ of a cent.
fraction
If you have to use canned “broth,” what should you do?
Enhance it with some onion, carrot and fresh thyme.
If there’s one preparation that separates a good home cook’s food from a great one, it’s _____. It is the ingredient that most distinguishes hoe cooking from restaurant cooking.
stock
Why are stocks infinitely variable?
They can be adjusted to virtually any kind of strength and body depending on your needs.
What will a 1:1 ratio give you?
A very gelatinous stock.
What gives a stock body? How can you tell?
Gelatin gives it body, or a sense of being substantial in the mouth; if stock feels like water in the mouth, it has no body.
Whats the problem with a 1:1 ratio?
Water doesn’t cover all the bones.
Is the 3:2 ratio by volume or weight?
Weight
Can you only use bones in a stock? Explain.
Yes, but without onions and carrots you won’t have nearly the depth, complexity, and sweetness. Without aromatics you can have an unpleasant bony flavor.
Do peppercorns, bay leaf, thyme, and sweet vegetables need to be part of the ratio? Explain.
No, because they are so variable.
How many aromatics should be added to the ratio?
It should be 20% of the meat and bone ratio. 3lbs of water and 2lbs of bones means 1lb should be onion, celery, and carrot.
Are fish and veal bones treated differently for stocks?
Yes
Why are good fresh bones with plenty of connective tissue and meat important?
Tendons and joints are rich sources of gelatin; meat for flavor.
Carrots, celery, onions, peppercorns, and fresh herbs are referred to as what?
aromatics and aromats.
Do peppercorns imparts a lot of flavor?
Only if they’re cracked. Sauté them and crack with the bottom of a sauté pan.
Why do beef and veal bones benefit from blanching or roasting?
Both forms of heat set the exterior protein and get rid of some of the blood and protein that you don’t want in your stock.
Can chicken bones be started raw?
Yes, but the stock should be skimmed as soon as the water is hot and the majority of the impurities have risen to the surface.
How are fish bones prepared for stock?
Often sweated, just until the protein is coagulated and the flesh and bone have become opaque, before water is added.
How should vegetables be prepared for fish stock?
Sweated, cooked until they begin to release moisture, but not cooked so much that they brown.
Can vegetables be browned for a more complex and darker stock?
Yes
Stocks should always be started in what temperature water?
Cold
In most cases, stocks should not ______, they shouldn’t even simmer.
boil
Optimum temp for stocks.
180ºF
Good method to cook stock.
Uncovered pot in a 200ºF oven.
Why is 180ºF the best temp for stocks?
It extracts flavors without emulsifying fat and other impurities into the stock, clouding it and compromising its flavor, though it requires a little more time.
What stocks don’t need to cook for more than an hour?
Fish and vegetable.
For stocks that cook more than an hour, when should you add aromatics? Why?
The last hour so they don’t disintegrate and soak up your valuable stock when you strain them out.
Ratio of onions to carrots in a stock.
2 parts onion: 1 part carrot
What does tomato paste add to a stock?
Acidity, sweetness, flavor, and an appealing browning hue.