English Soup recipes. White stock
The Health Benefits Of Drinking Water
White stock, with its more delicate flavour, is the perfect
base for cream soups and special sauces.
MAKES ABOUT 1.25 L [3 pt]
- 2.25 kg [5 Ib] knuckle of veal, chopped and blanched
- 2 Spanish onions, sliced
- 3 large carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, thickly sliced
- salt
- bouquet garni
- 6 white peppercorns
1. Cut vegetables into chunks. Put in a heavy pan with washed meat or fish bones.
2. Add cold water to the pan and bring to the boil as slowly as possible.
3. When the thick foam forms into a definite scum, remove with a spoon or skimmer.
4. When the scum has stopped rising in large quantities, add herbs and seasonings.
5. Half cover the pan and simmer for as long as specified in the recipe used.
6. Skim and top up with boiling water if the liquid falls below the level of the ingredients.
7. Pour the stock through a colander into a clean bowl or pan. Reserve ingredients.
8. If stock is for immediate use, mop up fat with kitchen paper or a slice of bread.
8a. OR cool stock a little then skim off fat with a skimmer or spoon.
8b. OR leave until completely cold, then scrape off solid fat.
9. Strain de-greased stock through a sieve lined with fine muslim or cheesecloth.
10. Reheat. If the flavoring is weak, boil rapidly to reduce and concentrate flavour. Season to taste.
Variations
- Second white stock: bones used for white stock can be re-used with fresh vegetables and herbs. Add a chicken carcass to bolster flavour.- Cheap white stock: replace fresh veal knuckle with leftover veal, chicken, beef or rabbit bones, or a mixture of all these. Leftover pork, lamb or mutton bones can also be included but they must form only a very small proportion of the total bones if you want to make a general-purpose white stock.