I love cooking things from scratch, rather than using tins or jars of sources.
A good stock is an asset when cooking and they are so easy to make. I used to think that you had to boil the bones for hours in order to get the flavour out of them but have discovered that about 30 minutes is usually sufficient (unless you are making glue).
There isn't any hard and fast rule for making stock, just shove the bones, few onions, herbs and root veggies (swede are particularly good) in a thick-bottomed pan, cover with water and boil, and boil.
Depending on the quality of the bones, the stock might look unappetisingly grey. To clear the stock, strain into another pan and add either onion skins or egg shells and boil for another 10 minutes. This is also a great way to make consumme (clear soup). Just strain and you have a nice clear stock.
Occasionally, I don't have time for all that so have to use stock cubes. What's your favourite? I have found that Knorr are best for most things and they have a wide variety - Vegetable, Chicken, Beef, Pork, Lamb, Ham and Fish. They even have a herb one. Failing that, Maggi (Knorr cubes with more spices for Asian dishes) stock cubes are great for curries and chillies. Makes a change from OXOs.
John
A good stock is an asset when cooking and they are so easy to make. I used to think that you had to boil the bones for hours in order to get the flavour out of them but have discovered that about 30 minutes is usually sufficient (unless you are making glue).
There isn't any hard and fast rule for making stock, just shove the bones, few onions, herbs and root veggies (swede are particularly good) in a thick-bottomed pan, cover with water and boil, and boil.
Depending on the quality of the bones, the stock might look unappetisingly grey. To clear the stock, strain into another pan and add either onion skins or egg shells and boil for another 10 minutes. This is also a great way to make consumme (clear soup). Just strain and you have a nice clear stock.
Occasionally, I don't have time for all that so have to use stock cubes. What's your favourite? I have found that Knorr are best for most things and they have a wide variety - Vegetable, Chicken, Beef, Pork, Lamb, Ham and Fish. They even have a herb one. Failing that, Maggi (Knorr cubes with more spices for Asian dishes) stock cubes are great for curries and chillies. Makes a change from OXOs.
John
