white stock

Stock (food)

Stock is a flavoured liquid. It forms the basis of many dishes, particularly soups and sauces. Stock is prepared by simmering various ingredients in water, including some or all of the following: Bones : Veal, beef, and chicken bones are most commonly used. The flavour of the stock comes from the cartilage and connective tissue in the bones. Connective tissue has collagen in it, which gets converted into gelatin that thickens the liquid. Stock made from bones needs to be simmered for longer than stock made from meat (often referred to as broth). Mirepoix: a combination of onions, carrots, celery, and sometimes other vegetables. Often the less desirable parts of the vegetables (such as carrot skins and celery ends) are used since they will not be eaten. Herbs and spices: the herbs and spices used depend on availability and local traditions. In classical cuisine, the use of a bouquet garni (or bundle of herbs) consisting of parsley, bay leaves, a sprig of thyme and possibly other herbs, is common. This is often wrapped in a cheesecloth "bag" and tied with string to make it easier to remove it once the stock is cooked.

Broth is very similar to stock, and often the terms are used interchangeably. Usually, broth refers to finished product while stock is used as an ingredient (thus stock may become broth). Other times, broth is used to refer to a liquid made in the same way as stock but meat is substituted for bones. However, with some stock/broth made from vegetables and some made from both bones and meat, this cannot be considered a hard-and-fast rule.



  • Fish stock is made with fish bones and finely chopped mirepoix. Fish stock should be cooked for 30–45 minutes—cooking any longer spoils the flavour. Concentrated fish stock is called "fish fumet". In Japanese cooking, a fish and kelp stock called dashi is made by briefly (3–5 minutes) cooking skipjack tuna (bonito) flakes called katsuobushi in nearly boiling water.
  • Chicken stock should be cooked for 4–5 hours. Veal stock should be cooked anywhere from 8 hours to overnight.
  • Vegetable stock is made only of vegetables. It is common today.
  • Master stock is a special Chinese stock used primarily for poaching meats, flavoured with soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic and other aromatics.

Preparing stock

A few basic rules are commonly prescribed for preparing stock:

  • The stock ingredients are boiled starting with cold water. This promotes the extraction of protein, which may be sealed in by hot water.



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