Hello foodies,
So this quest is really turning out well as the second attempt has made drastic strides in flavor! I knew the frozen ingredients and dried herbs would affect the quality and flavor but this is tasted like 500% better! Yes no kidding! I’ve been making a nice risotto with the stocks as a kind of measure given those nice little rice grains soak up all that stocky goodness. Although i should probably start a risotto quest as well, my so-so risotto sky rocketed in likability. Here are the ingredients and reflections from this attempt. Oh and I followed the same “tips” as last time.
Ingredients:
- carrots (without skin)
- onions
- 1 bunch celery stalk
- 1 head garlic
- 2 corn cobs
- 1/2 pack white mushrooms
- fresh basil
- fresh thyme
- fresh oregano
- fresh tarragon
- salt
Reflections:
I didn’t realize it but I actually put in less of the items from last time, so I guess I made 2 differences with this batch. Regardless the freshness was the KEY in terms of flavor of the stock. I have also been stressing the limits of the 4 days in the fridge rule for “fresh” I’m finding in my fridge it’ll last about 5 to 6. I don’t recommend this to everyone so in just reheat the stock on the 4th day to get 3 more days out of it and accomplish a nice make 1 day use all week base! Next attempt will be to add the same original ingredients and also see if I can’t strain it in some cheesecloth/coffee filters.
Hello foodies,
Today I am announcing my quest to develop the perfect vegetable stock. I’ve been reading a book lately (book recommendation coming once I finish) that mentioned you aren’t much of a chef if you can’t make a good stock.
I completely agree with this remark and realized that my stocks were just so-so. I’ve begun researching various basics on vegetable stocks and have started focusing on a few factors. My plan/goal is to hone in the stock within a month, so I’m giving myself 4 tries at getting it right. I guess over time I can continue to work on it but I’ll post the great recipe after the 4 attempts. So far these are the items to look out for in creating a great vegetable stock.
- Do not cook for more than an hour.
- “Boil” your vegetables in the stock pot before adding water (this usually means to let your onions get translucent in some oil, I used 1 tablespoon).
- Once you’ve added your water watch for the stock temperature to reach up between 170 and 180, then turn that heat down to maintain it. You should never boil or simmer from what I’ve heard, although I’ve noticed a lot of recipes would like you to go back up to a boil after adding the water.
- Make sure mushrooms are in the stock, they give it more depth.
- Strain after the hour of cooking and let to cool to room temperature before going into the fridge or freezer.
Ingredients in today’s stock are as follows:
- carrots (with skin)
- onions
- celery
- “fresh” rosemary
- garlic
- tomatoes
- corn kernels
- mushrooms
- wood-ear (Asian fungus)
- bay leaves
- dried basil
- dried thyme
- dried oregano
- dried parsley
- peppercorns
Reflections:
First I know it was silly but I actually made all these vegetables up and froze them about a month ago. They don’t do bad in that condition but really to get to a perfect stock, this is unacceptable so next time they will all be fresh. The same thing goes for my herbs as they were all dried and not fresh. So the stock is way better now that I focused on the list of requirements above, however, the real test will come with fresh ingredients. Week 2 should knock my socks off I hope