What's The Difference Between Stock and Broth? | McCormick (2024)

FAQs

What's The Difference Between Stock and Broth? | McCormick? ›

The main difference between stock and broth starts with the primary ingredient. Stock is generally made from bones, and broth is generally made from flesh.

As a result, stock is usually a healthier product, delivering a richer mouth feel and deeper flavor than broth. Stock is a versatile culinary tool that can deliver taste to any number of dishes. Darker in color and more concentrated in flavor than broth, it's ideal for use in soups, rice, sauces and more.

Stock and Broth Substitutes

In most cases, stock and broth are interchangeable. If you're in the soup aisle and can't remember whether the recipe called for stock or broth, either will do for making soup, gravy, or a flavorful pot of rice or grains. Keep in mind that stock is unseasoned, and broth is seasoned.

Stock is thicker than broth due to the viscosity from collagen, it also contains more calories, fat, protein, vitamins and minerals than you will find in broth. Over the past few years, stock has gained popularity as a sipping drink, commonly known as bone broth, due to the rise of the Paleo, Whole30 and keto diets.

'Stock' and 'broth' both refer to liquid that has been simmered slowly with meat and veggies. The distinction between the two can generally be made based on whether bones and seasoning are also added to the liquid.

For a clear stock, never let it boil and never stir it. Avoid adding salt if reducing the stock later. Concentrate the flavors by simmering the stock further after straining.

Broth contains about half the calories per cup (237 ml) that stock does. One cup of chicken broth provides 38 calories, while one cup of stock contains 86 calories. Stock contains slightly more carbs, fat and protein than broth, though it's also significantly higher in vitamins and minerals.

Information. Chicken broth can be refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen (for best quality) for 2-3 months.

Chicken stock can be simmered for as little as 1 hour or up to 8 hours. Most often, you'll see recipes call for somewhere in between, about 3 to 4 hours. The longer the stock simmers, the more concentrated its flavor.

A good broth is the secret to the very best soup, such as chicken soup and beef and barley, while a rich stock is the foundation for superior braises, stews and sauces, including French classics like demi-glace and sauce Espagnole, as well as the very best turkey gravy.

Why did my chicken broth turn to gel? ›

When you simmer a fresh chicken — complete with bones, skin, and meat — you extract the collagen from the bones. This collagen in the bones is what is causing your soup to gel. It's completely natural, and it only happens in rich, well-made chicken stock.

Um, as you're cooking with stock, the the vegetable, the vegetables will release the nutrients and the flavor into the water and what you're left, um, what you're left to it is just kind of a mushy vegetable. It doesn't have a lot of taste.

Fill with water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to the lowest simmer my stove burner will maintain, and leave it to simmer all night long. In the morning, I'll strain the stock and let it cool, and toss all the used bits in the trash.

And the Winner Is..

Stock! Whether homemade or store-bought it has more protein and usually less sodium per serving as compared to broth. Plus, the flavor is just better which means you'll start with something tastier and will hopefully use less salt to taste at the end.

Stock has a richer, deeper flavor and mouthfeel, making it better at adding body to a dish, whereas broth might be a better choice when you want to let other flavors to shine.

If your chicken noodle soup recipe calls for chicken broth but you only have chicken bouillon on hand, no need to worry. Chicken broth will likely give your dish a deeper flavor, but using chicken bouillon instead won't make a huge difference in the overall taste.

Compared with broth, stock contains more carbohydrates and fat, as well as more vitamins and minerals. It may help with improved sleep, weight loss, joint protection, and gut health.

There are two key differences between how soup broth and bone broth taste: Soup stock is often very flavorful and in many cases, salty. Bone broth is often more bland and does not taste salty. Soup stock is a thin liquid; bone broth has an oily texture and feels thicker in the mouth.

Since no bones are used, broths lack the nutritional punch and gelatin quality compared to stock. But what they lack in nutritional quality, they more than make up for in taste.

You can use either stock or broth for keeping dressing moist or as a basis for gravy, but a strong flavor will give you better results.