- Use the best quality ingredients, organic/local produce; pasture raised/organic animal products. Vegetable scraps are great as long as they are fresh and not rotting.
- Cook stocks, broths and soups at a gentle simmer, just long enough to develop a good consistency and flavor. Beef bone stocks 24- 72 hours, Chicken stock 6-24 hours, Vegetable based stocks- 45 minutes – 2 hours.
- Skim of excess scum or foam that accumulates on top of stock during cooking process to retain the best flavor and appearance.
- Taste soup and stock throughout the cooking process. Overcooking can lead to a dull, flat taste, mushy ingredients and loss of nutrition.
Preparing Homemade Stocks
Homemade stocks for producing your final soup require a little extra time, but can be easily made in advance. Follow these important handling precautions to ensure the final product is safe and free from harmful bacteria contamination.
Keep products out of the “Danger Zone”, (temperature range from 40-140 degrees). This range of temperature is particularly hospitable to a variety of bacteria and allows them to grow rapidly.
- When finished preparing stocks and soups, place them in a clean container, out of the pot they were cooked in.
- Metal is the best selection for a cooling container, because it is a good conductor of heat.
- Place the entire container of stock/soup in a cold water bath, with enough water to come up to the level of hot liquid in the container.
- Stir the stock/soup in the container as it cools to help speed up the cooling process.
- Once the entire container of soup/stock is cooled it can then be placed in smaller, plastic or other storage containers to be stored in the refrigerator or frozen for future use. Cool stock/soup to at least 45 degrees.
- Clearly, wrap, label and date containers before storing.