How to make stock from scratch (and why it matters)

To make stock, put bones or vegetables in a large pot and cover them with cold water. Bring it slowly to a bare simmer, skim off the foam, add a few aromatics and cook uncovered, without stirring or boiling, until the liquid tastes rich. That is 2–3 hours for chicken, 4–6 for roasted beef bones, 45 minutes for vegetables and only 20–25 for fish. Strain, cool quickly and refrigerate. Homemade stock gives soup body, depth and a flavour that is yours, and it is almost entirely unattended time.

Why homemade stock matters

Shop-bought stock is fine, and there is no shame in using it. But homemade stock does three things a cube cannot.

• Body. Bones, joints and skin release gelatine as they simmer. It gives the stock a light, mouth-coating richness and makes it wobble when chilled. That texture is what makes a simple broth feel substantial.
• Clean flavour. It tastes of chicken, beef or vegetables rather than of salt, yeast extract and dried herbs.
• Control of salt. Unsalted stock can be reduced, concentrated and seasoned at the end. Salty stock cannot be rescued once reduced.

In soups where the broth is the dish, such as Italian tortellini in brodo, Greek avgolemono or a Japanese miso soup, the difference is obvious from the first spoonful.

Stock or broth?

The words are used loosely, and many cooks treat them as the same thing. In kitchen usage, stock usually means an unseasoned liquid made mainly from bones, valued for its body and meant as an ingredient. Broth is more often made with meat, lightly seasoned and good enough to drink on its own. The method is the same, so don't worry about the label.

The basic method, step by step

1. Start cold. Put the bones in the pot and cover with cold water, roughly 1 kg of bones to 2.5–3 litres of water. As the water warms slowly, proteins rise to the surface as foam you can lift off, rather than clouding the liquid.
2. Heat slowly to a bare simmer. Allow 20–30 minutes to get there. You want an occasional lazy bubble, not a rolling boil. Hard boiling emulsifies fat into the liquid and turns it cloudy and greasy.
3. Skim. For the first 20–30 minutes, lift off the grey foam with a ladle or a large spoon. After that, skim now and then.
4. Add aromatics. Roughly chopped onion, carrot and celery, a bay leaf, some parsley stalks and a few peppercorns. About a third as much vegetable as bones, by weight, is plenty. Add no salt.
5. Leave it alone. Cook uncovered and don't stir, which muddies the stock. If the bones poke out, top up with a little hot water.
6. Strain gently. Ladle the stock through a fine sieve, lined with muslin or a clean cloth if you want it very clear. Don't press the solids, which pushes cloudiness through.
7. Cool fast, then de-fat. Chill as described below. Once cold, the fat sets on top and lifts off in one piece.

The five stocks worth knowing

These are the basic stocks that open Soups of the World, and they underpin most of the recipes in the book. Once you can make them, soups like Tortellini in Brodo and Stracciatella alla Romana become simple, because the stock does most of the work, and a crystal-clear Consommé becomes a realistic weekend project. Other books have their own takes too, such as the Vegetable Stock from Scratch in The Vegetarian Kitchen.

Cooling and storing stock safely

A large, warm pot of stock is an ideal place for bacteria to grow, so this part matters more than anything above.

• Cool it quickly. Never leave the pot on the hob or counter overnight. Divide the strained stock into smaller, shallow containers, or stand the pot in a sink of iced water and stir it now and then.
• Refrigerate within the usual window. Get it into the fridge as soon as it has stopped steaming, and in any case within about two hours of cooking.
• Use within a few days. Keep it covered and use it within three days, or follow your local food-safety guidance if it is stricter.
• Freeze the rest. Stock freezes very well for around three months. Freeze some in ice-cube trays for when you need just a splash.
• Reheat until boiling. Whether it comes from the fridge or the freezer, bring stock to a full boil before you use it.

Common mistakes

• Boiling it hard. This gives a cloudy, greasy stock. The one deliberate exception is milky ramen broths like tonkotsu, where hard boiling is the point.
• Salting early. If you reduce the stock or use it in a sauce later, the salt concentrates. Season the dish, not the stock.
• Using the wrong vegetables. Cabbage, broccoli and other brassicas turn sulphurous. Too much carrot makes it sweet. Strong herbs such as rosemary take over.
• Over-cooking fish stock. After about 25 minutes the bones start to give off bitter, gluey flavours.
• Too much water. Bones should be covered by only a few centimetres. Drowning them gives a thin, watery stock.
• Using lean bones only. For body, include wings, necks, backs or a trotter, which are rich in connective tissue.

Shortcuts that still work

A pressure cooker makes a good chicken stock in around an hour at pressure. Leftover roast chicken carcasses make excellent stock, especially if you save them in the freezer until you have two or three. On days when there is no homemade stock, a good low-salt shop-bought stock with a Parmesan rind, a splash of soy or a strip of lemon peel will lift a quick soup.

Want to put your first batch to use? Try avgolemono, where a good chicken stock really shows, or browse the 15 soups every cook should know.

Questions people ask

Why is my stock cloudy?

Usually because it boiled rather than simmered, wasn't skimmed early on, or the solids were pressed when straining. Cloudy stock is still perfectly good for thick soups and stews. It only matters for clear broths.

Should I roast the bones first?

Roast them for a brown stock with a deeper, rounder flavour and darker colour, as for beef stock and French onion soup. Leave them unroasted for a pale, delicate stock for chicken soups, avgolemono and risotto.

Why didn't my stock set to a jelly in the fridge?

There wasn't enough gelatine, either because the bones were lean or because there was too much water. It will still taste good. Next time, add wings, feet or a split trotter and use less water.

Can I use the same bones twice?

You can make a weaker "second" stock from them, which is useful for cooking grains or pulses. Most of the flavour and gelatine goes into the first batch, though, so don't expect the same result.