Stocks and Broths
Stocks and Broths
Stock, meat broth, bone broth, meat stock, broth: the terminology varies, but what, exactly, is stock? What is broth? How are they made? What’s the difference? The answer is: it depends who you ask, and from which historical period. The basic answer is that stocks and broths are the basis of many soups, stews, sauces and gravies. The ingredients and methodology differ somewhat. In their most basic form, stocks and broths are created from bones, meat, vegetables, or a combination of these, and water. The ingredients are simmered until the flavor has been extracted into the water.
Unlike today’s supermarket cuts of boneless beef, through the end of WW2 and beyond, most cuts of meat were delivered to military cooks “bone in”. After trimming the meat, the bones and any remaining meat scraps would be thrown into the stock pot with cold water.* The temperature would be brought to a simmer and maintained for the required time. Scum and fat would be skimmed. The meat and bones would be removed and the stock utilized for soups, stews, sauces and gravies, or cooled for later use. In most military cuisine up to the end of World War 2, the skimmed fat would be saved for other culinary uses.
The chart below lists the ingredients for basic stocks or broths in several armies. It is by no means all-inclusive, and is meant only to give a few examples of the variances. I will post some stock and broth recipes in the near future.
The US Army recipe for stock in 1942 stipulated beef bones and water to cover. That’s it.
* A notable exception to this is the Italian recipe for broth (brodo).
**no amount specified
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