CWS4322
Chef Extraordinaire
Charlie,
If you have extracted flavor from simmering bones in water, you have made stock.
But these days, the terms are nearly interchangeable
Stock is something that I've been striving to perfect for the past couple of years. I think there are certain things one should know how to make (and strive to perfect): ceasar salad, spaghetti sauce, stock, chili, lefse, bread and chocolate chip cookies. (Okay, lefse only if your ancestors came from Norway <g>).
I have to say, my beef stock is better than Swanson's <g>. And the last batch of chicken stock I made was darned good...The nice thing about making your own is can make it so there is no additional sodium. When you look at the sodium content re: processed soups and broth, it is high. I often do "freezer meals" for my elderly parents who, out of necessity, eat a lot of processed food. I am shocked at how much sodium my heart-patient parents consume each day in processed foods.
Anyway, back to the last batch of chicken stock. I had roasted a chicken. I took the bones and what was in the bottom of the roaster, broke the larger bones (they are a lot harder to break then you would think--used the vice), tossed the bones back in the roaster, added some additional water, and let everything cook at 250 for about 8 hours. I did add a fresh bay leaf and a couple of stocks of celery. Dark, chickeny stock. It is more time consuming than stove top. I toss everything except the stock away. I chill the stock to remove any fat and then I'm ready to make soup. And do check to make sure there is still liquid in the roaster <g>.
For beef stock, I brown the marrow bones first on the stove top, and then toss them with water into the roaster. Sometimes I add a bit of vinegar (supposedly vinegar helps pull calcium out of the bones), sometimes not. The stock is ready when the bones are "tea coloured." I love the smell of beef stock...I wake up throughout the night and tiptoe down to take a peek...Again, I toss the bones, give the dogs the marrow, and save any meat that came off the bones for Beef Barley Soup. The problem I have is that I want to drink the stock as is--when I'm supposed to "save it" for stews, etc. It is more time consuming (I start the stock the night before, put the stock in the fridge, take off the fat in the afternoon, and then I can start my soup or stew). And, do check to make sure the roaster doesn't "cook dry."
I don't make broth very often. I prefer my homemade stock.