That moment I realized my chicken stock was basically just onion water

I was at a little farmers market in Asheville last spring picking up some veggies for a soup, and this old guy behind the poultry stand asked what I was making. I told him about my stock and he just laughed, said I'd been using way too many onions and not enough bones, which explained why my broth had zero body. Ever had someone point out a basic cooking flaw you'd been doing for years and it totally rearranged how you thought about a dish?

3 comments

3 Comments

sanchez.pat5d ago

Huh! Never thought of it that way but you're totally right.

hannahm395d ago

Wait hold on, a mirepoix is 2 parts onion, 1 part celery, 1 part carrot by weight. So unless you were going like 50% carrot you were probably fine. Most home cooks actually underuse carrots in stock because they're scared of it being too sweet. The real stock killer is boiling it instead of a gentle simmer, that makes it cloudy and bitter regardless of your veggie ratios. Also bones are the main character in chicken stock, onion is just a supporting actor. That farmers market guy was right about the bones thing at least.

joseph_ellis855d ago

About six months ago I was at a cooking class in Portland and the instructor told me I was using way too much carrot in my mirepoix, totally wrecking the balance of my stocks. That single comment made me question everything I thought I knew about soup bases. It's wild how one person just saying something simple can change your whole approach to a dish you've been making for years.