Reducing stocks question

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skilletlicker

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When my stocks are reducing a skin or crust forms on the top. It seems like no matter how often you skim it off, it reforms, so I just occasionally stir it back into the stock. I'm not talking about the foamy stuff that surfaces early on.

I'm thinking these are proteins that can't be absorbed into the water due to saturation, a concept I don't understand yet.

Anybody know what I'm talking about?
 
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You're saying that your stock is already complete, you're just reducing the finished product to concentrate the liquid, correct?

If that's so, then don't worry about the skin that forms. You can remove it if you wish.

A raft is different. It's used to clarify a stock to make a consomme.
 
Ah yes....thank you IC. :)

My mind, my mind. Where did I leave my mind? Some how I missed "Reducing" stock.
 
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ironchef said:
You're saying that your stock is already complete, you're just reducing the finished product to concentrate the liquid, correct?

If that's so, then don't worry about the skin that forms. You can remove it if you wish.

A raft is different. It's used to clarify a stock to make a consomme.
Gracias amigo.
 
Once there is no longer any rising scum and I'm just reducing, I will stir the "skin" that forms atop the stock back into it. I always pour the reduced stock through a mesh sieve afterwords though, just in case part of the skin doesn't dissolve. This can happen when making demiglace.
 
Not only do I not skim the skin, I don't skim the scum either. Although scum looks disgusting and adds a certain amount of cloudiness to the final stock, it has zero impact on flavor. I've even collected a large amount of scum, reduced it and then tasted it- reduced scum tastes like stock.

The exact same proteins that form scum leech out of meat while roasting and end up in fond. If I don't skim fond/fond based sauces/gravies, I'm sure as heck not wasting my time diligently skimming stock.
 
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