Recommended chicken stock brand?

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+1 for Swanson in this poll.
Progresso makes pretty good canned soups for when I've only got two minutes for lunch. I enjoy having a stock pot simmering, but can't eat all the chicken meat to keep up with my liquid needs. I was recently introduced to Pacific Natural organic free-range chicken stock in cartons from Whole Foods. Very tasty and deep, but I'll probably stick to my habit of Swanson.
 
For a dry product, I use Orrington Farms. All dry I've found are salty, so use it first, before seasoning. I actually use in in place of salt in some foods. Both Swanson and Knorr have new (new to my area stores) products out that are concentrated. Beef is my big problem; for some reason I don't like canned beef stock (or any canned beef; to me it tastes like the can, very metallic) so I've bought one of each and tried the "Flavor boost" (Swanson) this week when making Spanish rice and was quite pleased with it.

Yes, of course it is better if you make it from scratch. One way to make poultry stock more flavorful is to put sage, thyme, bay, garlic, onion, carrot, celery in it. Then, after straining, put on a simmer and leaving it uncovered, let it reduce. Yeah, a lot of trouble. I don't have freezer space either, so while I do it quite often, I sometimes wonder if it is worth the trouble. Oh, yes, it is more flavorful if you bake the bird before stewing it. If I was gainfully employed, I wouldn't take the time, and I did it a lot more often when I had a secondary freezer.

There's another brand I like that is in a jar and is in paste form (not as convenient, as it has to be refrigerated after opening). Can't think of the name right now, will try to remember to research.
 
Aw, thanks Dawg. Better than boullion is the paste brand I was looking for! Has anyone tried the Penzey's?
 
Some of the taste test winners:

Swanson's Cooking Stock (NOT their standard chicken broth)

Kitchen Basics

Glace de Poulet Gold (gelatinized - I use and like some of their products - pricey but good)

College Inn

Health Valley

Swanson's Natural Goodness

Swanson's Certified Organic

Better Than Bullion Chicken Base (I keep this one around, too)

Campbell's Chicken Stock

So the finally word on canned chicken stock is, "Meh! Who knows?" But premium versions do get their share of the taste test winning spots.
 
Glace de Poulet Gold I have never purchased, but I do buy their beef/veal product when I can find it. As you said, pricey, but for a special dish, worth it.
 
I've not made chicken stock before, but I used some Swanson chicken stock that I thought had an almost sugary sweetness to it.

Swanson Chicken Stock Ingredients:

INGREDIENTS

CHICKEN BROTH, SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, DEXTROSE, YEAST EXTRACT, CHICKEN FLAVOR, FLAVORING, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, CHICKEN FAT, HYDROLYZED SOY PROTEIN, CHICKEN BROTH POWDER.

Just tastes a bit sweet to me. Does homemade stock have sweetness added to it?
 
Swanson Chicken Stock Ingredients:

INGREDIENTS

CHICKEN BROTH, SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, DEXTROSE, YEAST EXTRACT, CHICKEN FLAVOR, FLAVORING, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, CHICKEN FAT, HYDROLYZED SOY PROTEIN, CHICKEN BROTH POWDER.

Just tastes a bit sweet to me. Does homemade stock have sweetness added to it?

Celery adds sweetness to homemade stock, as do carrots and onions. But it's not a sugary sweet flavor. It's more complex.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
Swanson Chicken Stock Ingredients:

INGREDIENTS

CHICKEN BROTH, SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, DEXTROSE, YEAST EXTRACT, CHICKEN FLAVOR, FLAVORING, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, CHICKEN FAT, HYDROLYZED SOY PROTEIN, CHICKEN BROTH POWDER.

Just tastes a bit sweet to me. Does homemade stock have sweetness added to it?

Swanson's Chicken Broth, not stock, does not have any sweeteners or MSG, etc. Here are the ingredients for their low sodium chicken broth - I'm reading it right from the can:
"INGREDIENTS: Chicken Stock, contains less then 2% of salt flavoring, yeast extract, carrot juice concentrate, celery juice concentrate, onion juice concentrate."
 
Swanson's Chicken Broth, not stock, does not have any sweeteners or MSG, etc. Here are the ingredients for their low sodium chicken broth - I'm reading it right from the can:
"INGREDIENTS: Chicken Stock, contains less then 2% of salt flavoring, yeast extract, carrot juice concentrate, celery juice concentrate, onion juice concentrate."

Thanks merstar. Up until now I've used only Swanson's BROTH not the stock, only because the "stock" is more expensive and I like the flavor of the broth. I'll continue to use it now because the content of the broth is superior to the stock. So much for the "hype" of the Swanson Stock being better somehow. :rolleyes:
 
While we're talking about ingredients, which is really part of the discussion of how well a canned stock approximates homemade, does anyone use yeast extract in their homemade? I haven't. Or is the yeast extract an attempt to emulate the flavor in homemade that comes from long roasting and so not needed in homemade? I haven't used yeast extract for anything, so I'm trying to get an idea of what it does in something like this.
 
...I haven't used yeast extract for anything, so I'm trying to get an idea of what it does in something like this.


I can't offer specifics, but I'd say 'they' add it in an attempt to make theirs as good as ours. Homemade doesn't need it because it already has the taste they're trying to duplicate.
 
I have jars of Better Than Bouillon, all the flavors I can find. They are for those times I need a quick one cup of broth, usually along with some rice for a fast soup. But since I discovered Miso, they have kind of gotten forgotten.

I buy Pacific brand Organic Chicken Broth to keep on hand when I'm not up to making my own stock/broth.
 
While we're talking about ingredients, which is really part of the discussion of how well a canned stock approximates homemade, does anyone use yeast extract in their homemade? I haven't. Or is the yeast extract an attempt to emulate the flavor in homemade that comes from long roasting and so not needed in homemade? I haven't used yeast extract for anything, so I'm trying to get an idea of what it does in something like this.

I don't know if it is the case, but I think that the yeast extract adds a bit of umami.
 
I thought I would have a look at packaged stock while I was shopping today. Well, the stuff at the regular grocery store was completely unappealing and the stuff at the health food store cost about $5/litre :eek: and they had salt. I'll stick to making my own.
 
Swanson's Chicken Broth, not stock, does not have any sweeteners or MSG, etc. Here are the ingredients for their low sodium chicken broth - I'm reading it right from the can:
"INGREDIENTS: Chicken Stock, contains less then 2% of salt flavoring, yeast extract, carrot juice concentrate, celery juice concentrate, onion juice concentrate."

Sorry about the mistake, I listed broth ingredients not stock. My bad.

It was Swanson stock that I used for my lamb curry (I always used water before) and it tasted a bit different.

Chief Longwind clued me in as to why it might have tasted a tiny bit sweet in my lamb curry. "Celery adds sweetness to homemade stock, as do carrots and onions. But it's not a sugary sweet flavor. It's more complex".

Thanks.
 
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