Stock answers

The use of stock pots has been in steady decline for years, but their demise was accelerated hugely with the UK ban on the sale of beef bones in 1997. While some found imaginative ways of circumventing the ban, including importing veal bones from the Continent, it meant that many chefs had to consider using prepared stocks for the first time. And while beef bones are now available again, there is not, according to catering butchers, the same level of demand from chefs as there was in pre-ban days.

For the manufacturers of prepared stocks, the beef-bone ban was not unwelcome. Not only did it lead to a hike in sales of manufactured stocks, but for almost all manufacturers the bone ban had no effect, since they were already sourcing beef extract and beef products from places such as South America and Malaysia, or production of their stocks was not in the UK.

All but eliminated

More downward pressure on making freshly prepared stocks in-house comes from the labour involved and the hygiene risks. Between them, these two factors have all but eliminated fresh stocks from contract catering operations and large-scale banqueting, and prepared stock manufacturers are now targeting the upper end of the restaurant business, where until now freshly made stocks have remained in use.

Nigel Crane was second sous chef at the Dorchester in London before moving into food development, specialising in stock manufacturing. From his company, Essential Cuisine, based in Sandbach in Cheshire, he perceives that prepared stocks are being used even at the highest level of restaurant quality. "While the five-star hotel market is staying with traditional stock-making for their fine-dining restaurants, they are buying in stocks for banqueting," he says. "But they want a very high-quality product." Consequently, there is some interesting development work going on at the premium end of the prepared stocks market.

Chilled liquid stocks are regarded as the closest in taste and quality to stocks made in-house. In this market, Joubère supplies both conventional and organic fresh-chilled stocks and demi-glace, produced from exactly the same ingredients as are used in the preparation of an in-house stock, available in the usual meat, fish and vegetable varieties.

Joubäre stocks come in 2kg packs, are blast-chilled after production and have a shelf-life of 16 days. But they don't come cheap - stocks are £6.30 for a 2kg pack and demi-glace is £9 for 2kg. "Each litre can cost as much as £20 to produce in terms of time, equipment and ingredient, and it's a continual process," explains managing director Alec Cousins.

Chilled liquid stocks aside, prepared stocks usually come in the form of concentrates and powders. The main categories are as follows.

Reduced liquid stocks

These are blends of water, yeasts, flavourings, meat extracts, flavour enhancers, preservatives and salts. They are very thick, but have a pourable consistency. They tend to be made to a price point, so are attractive to a cost-conscious kitchen, but the flavour of the poorer quality examples can be slightly artificial.

Pastes

There are two main types of paste-based stocks. Fat-based stocks are made using a blend of dry powders to which heated hydrogenated vegetable fat is added to create a paste. They are very easy to use, but the fat content can be as high as 30%. There can be a problem with scum build-up when using these stocks, and they tend to have a very high salt content, which can cause problems when making heavy reductions.

Starch-based pastes also have a very high salt content and can sometimes be cloudy owing to the insoluble ground meat content. Again, there is a problem in using them in heavy reductions, but used in recommended dilutions they can be very good.

Powdered stock mixes

Manufacturers buy in powdered ingredients and blend them to form the stock base. There are few raw ingredients that can't be bought as a ground powder - from fennel and white fish for making fish stock powders, to beef and tomato powders for meat stocks and pure vegetable powders for blending a vegetable stock powder. The quality of a powdered stock mix reflects the quality of the ingredients so, as well as mediocre stock powders, there are some very good examples.

Bouillon granules

These are often very cheap stock products which meet a price point in the kitchen. They are sometimes made from hydrolysed vegetable protein (HVP), which is a bit like a dark yeast extract. There have been concerns expressed about possible health risks associated with HVP, which manufacturers are working hard to reduce. Check the label if you are concerned about HVP.

Read the fine print

With any prepared stock, it is important to read the fine print to find out what it contains. In particular, watch for high levels of monosodium glutamate - this is present in many stock bases, but may be declared as "flavour enhancer".

If you want to avoid any genetically modified products, check with the manufacturer, though it is unlikely that stock products sold in the UK will contain GM ingredients.

Making fish stock

The stock that often works less well as a bought-in concentrate is fish stock. According to Robert Thornton, chef at Underscar Manor in the Lake District, this is because of the delicate nature of fish stock. "The flavours of bought-in fish stocks are often too strong," he says.

Thornton has both shellfish and white fish stock recipes. His standard white fish version can form the base of any fish sauce and will freeze well. He says Dover sole makes the best stock, but lemon sole and halibut will substitute. It is vital to wash the bones thoroughly as any trace of blood will discolour the stock.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 20-26 July 2000