Soup Base , Stock and Gravy Base

[rotuts]

this sort of thing came up on another thread .  and I couldn't find a thread

 

on SoupBase , Stock and Gravy base.

 

do you use these concentrated items ?

 

Ive been using

 

https://www.soupbase.com/Soup-Bases/departments/1/

 

for years.  in the past few years , the lower salt versions :

 

https://www.soupbase.com/Low-Reduced-Sodium-Bases-Gels/products/6/

 

all of these products , including those dry or wet sold in the supermarkets

 

have a lot of salt in them.   Salt is not problem for me now , but might be

 

eventually and it could be for most of us.

 

the lower salt versions allow you to add more ' base ' to get to your '' salt point '

 

the Roasted Chicken and Turkey  I  like a lot.  the Beef  to my taste had too much tomato paste

 

and Id like just beef.     this company has periodic sales , by signing up for their email 

 

you hear about them, .  usual free shipping , or a certain % off.   I keep the jars in the freezer

 

downstairs , and the one's im using tightly sealed in the kitchen Refrig//Freezer.

 

I use a lot fo 4 x iPot'd plain stock  , turkey and chicken , from frozen now

 

made w just turkey or chicken bones , carcass etc and no seasons

 

I add a little of these products to get the seasoning that suits me.

 

I do not work for the company.

 

so .....

 

do you use products like these ?

 

Im always game to looking new products.

 

these , to me , are much better than what ever you can get in a grocery store.

 

Ive had most of them over the years.      the Bacon  is literally to die for.  just a bit

 

its salty !  deduced salt Ham [ an Oxymoron ? ]  is also interesting.

[blue_dolphin]

I'm not sure if this stuff is in the same category, but I use the More Than Gourmet products Glace De Poulet Gold (Roasted Chicken Stock) and Glace De Viande Gold (Reduced Brown Stock) which have been recommended in various eG threads over the years. Since they are 20X concentrates, you can either dilute fully for a stock or less so (or even use directly) when making sauces. 

 

I usually make my own chicken stock starting with uncooked chicken so it's pretty neutral and unsalted.  If a recipe warrants a roasted stock, then I add some of the roasted chicken flavor. 

I rarely have homemade beef stock on hand so I'll use some of my homemade chicken stock and some of the brown stock. 

They make a mushroom flavor that I'd like to try. 

[heidih]

Not a gravy girl. For soups I try to have reduced roasted bone chicken stock on hand. If not I use the ubiquitous on most Mexican restaurant and home cook's shelves: Knorr Caldo con Sabor de Pollo (chicken bouillon) which is a rough powder. I also use it to amp up the stock if needed. I add aromatics to my soups and use dried mushrooms if it makes sense. Out of the Polish ones - dang. I also save pan drippings in the freezer which can add a "je ne sais quoi"  note. Since recipes are never on deck I just play. I do save and freeze flavored poaching liquid from shellfish and fish. 

[ElsieD]

I have used More Than Gourmet and Savory Choice products.  I really liked Savory Choice but I cannot order it directly anymore and the one store that I know that carries it here charges more than I want to pay.  Then I switched to More Than Gourmet and I was very happy with those but I can't order direct from them anymore either and I don't know of a store that carries them here.  @blue_dolphin  The mushroom one is very good.  So now I have to rely on store bought ones and I use Better Than Bouillon, both the chicken and the beef.  I also save chicken bones and when I have enough, I'll make a stock, just the bones and water.  This then gets reduced as much as possible and I portion it out into ice cube trays.  The jellied blobs I then keep in the freezer.

[chileheadmike]

I start my chicken stock with a box of Swanson's chicken broth. It may be overkill but it seems to work well.

 

I use Better Than Bouillon as an enhancement for roast beef gravy.  

[rotuts]

im going to have to look into BTB for the beef.

 

TJ's has some Beef Boxed , ill see how much salt it has in it.

 

salt is the Killer , one way or another.

[ElsieD]

BTB beef  nutritional label:

 

 

[heidih]

I am just not getting the salt thing. Yes straight out of packet  some of the boxed stuff is horrid to the point of mouth puckering but as cooks we have so much latitude to adjust. I rarely use salt in simple form. I adjust with liquid amounts and proportions. Like when people have a soy sauce fear and dump it on rice they cooked with salt and on salt added food.  Same with fish sauce which generally goes into my soups - and I am definitely a soup person. 

[rotuts]

salt is simple :   if you can get something commercially made

 

with less salt , rather than more , for the same eventual flavor

 

then Less is More.  almost all commercial products have huge amounts of salt in them

 

as thats what the consumer has gotten used to.  commercial soups

 

are a standard for way too much salt / can.    no one would currently buy

 

a can of commercial soup , bad , good or outstanding

 

w 50 % less salt in it.   commercial products are sold based on the salt content.

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin 

 

thank you for the MTG tip

 

the BTB may work for some , but it sounds like a SaltLick 

 

just saying.

 

so I hemmed and hawed  , waddles and widdles

 

and decided to try the MTG sample pack.

 

this stuff looks more suitable for a sauce dans le pan

 

than a stock.    some rarefied flavors etc.

 

looking forward to them

[Margaret Pilgrim]

In a pinch or to add a little heft to spup or sauce, I use Knorr Homestyle Gels.    They come 4 or 6 to a box, each one making 3.5 cups.  I often use only a small portion of a gel and simply fold down the "lid" and store in fridge.

[Shelby]

Just received a huge set of all different kinds of stocks to try!  I can't wait to "explore"    

 

 

Lecter was extremely interested in them too!

[heidih]

Should be a fun round of play. Had you read about them?

[btbyrd]

I also keep MTG chicken and beef on hand. They have no added salt and are best suited toward pan sauces or boosting flavor of existing stocks, though they can be diluted down to "soup strength" in a pinch. They are extremely high quality and deliver on higher-end "restaurant taste." If looking for a bullion/broth replacement, MTG is an expensive proposition; Minor's is a better option, though its saltiness works against it for saucework. Minor's is superior to BTB and Knorr products, and they can be used as a seasoning in the manners that Marco Pierre White suggests you use Knorr stuff (i.e., season meat, veg, and stews with bullion paste instead of salt). 

[rotuts]

I also have a box of these

 

im hoping to use them 

 

possibly for stock , but maybe more as an addition

 

for a pan deglaze 

 

MC , not interested at all.

 

I do completely agree w

 

@btbyrd 

 

ill use these as a de-glaze

 

and Minors , w less salt versions

 

for stock , and Gravy

 

and gravy is not a pan reduction Id say.

[gfweb]

59 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Just received a huge set of all different kinds of stocks to try!  I can't wait to "explore"    

 

 

Lecter was extremely interested in them too!

 

tHAT'S THE GOOD STUFF!

[gfweb]

56 minutes ago, btbyrd said:

I also keep MTG chicken and beef on hand. They have no added salt and are best suited toward pan sauces or boosting flavor of existing stocks, though they can be diluted down to "soup strength" in a pinch. They are extremely high quality and deliver on higher-end "restaurant taste." If looking for a bullion/broth replacement, MTG is an expensive proposition; Minor's is a better option, though its saltiness works against it for saucework. Minor's is superior to BTB and Knorr products, and they can be used as a seasoning in the manners that Marco Pierre White suggests you use Knorr stuff (i.e., season meat, veg, and stews with bullion paste instead of salt). 

Knorr is way too salty for me, and I love salt. MTG and BTB are my choices. Esp MTG.

 

Goya makes powdered bullion packets that I keep handy too.

[ElsieD]

2 hours ago, Shelby said:

Just received a huge set of all different kinds of stocks to try!  I can't wait to "explore"    

 

 

Lecter was extremely interested in them too!

 

You are going to love them.

[Shelby]

I'm overwhelmed with the choices.

[Kim Shook]

5 hours ago, Shelby said:

Just received a huge set of all different kinds of stocks to try!  I can't wait to "explore"    

 

 

Lecter was extremely interested in them too!

This is good stuff.  I really like the low sodium BTB beef and chicken, too.  I use them to 'bolster' things or to take shortcuts.  I really prefer to make my own stock, but - like the name says -BTB is miles better than old fashioned bouillon!

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Last night I tried the More Than Gourmet mushroom and chicken stocks for making sauce allemande:

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/160121-dinner-2020/?do=findComment&comment=2235559

 

The result was far too strong, but that was my stupidity.  The More Than Gourmet products are concentrated.  (And the packaging is hazardous.)

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight's bouillabaisse included More Than Gourmet seafood stock...

 

 

 

Quite excellent.

 

[Shelby]

Dove into the box last night to make a sauce for roasted goose.  I chose the Classic French Demi Glace.  The inside of the package had a good sounding recipe so I followed it.

 

Soften some onion in butter.  Add sliced mushrooms.  Cook until done.  Remove from pan.  Add some red wine and bring to boil.  Whisk in Demi Glace and a bit of cream.  Add onions and mushrooms back in.  Salt and pepper to taste.  OH was it good.  Had a lot of depth and flavor.  

 

 

 

[Kim Shook]

It looks gorgeous!  And the fungal lumps are big enough that they are easy to avoid. 😄

[Hassouni]

Mystery time:

 

I had 3 chickens in my freezer, and since I'm stuck at home I figured might as well bust out the stockpot. In they went, covered with water, for a very long simmer (about 6-7 hours). Tasting along the way, it was super chickeny and rich. I made about 7-8 quarts, so after straining the solids out I decided to reduce it down to about 5 quarts for easier storage, in a standard sized pot. I then cooled it down in that smaller pot first by putting a ziplock full of ice and water in, and then by floating a stainless steel bowl on top with ice in it, until the liquid was cool enough to put in the fridge. Both the ziplock and the stainless bowl had quite a lot of fat solidify on them, which was then discarded/washed off.

 

This morning, I checked the chilled stock, expecting it to be very solid and gelatinous and it wasn't! Is it possible that some of the "fat" solidified onto the bag or bowl was actually gelatin? And does gelatin rise to the top, able to be skimmed off? If anything, the reduced stock tastes LESS gelatinous than the unreduced stock did when tasted before straining. What's going on?