How to make soup-er duper broth

Both stock and broth are starting points for many soups and the possibilities to use it are endless. Here's how to make your own.

Broths are usually a byproduct of boiling vegetables, meat, fish or poultry simmered in water. When you're making a stock, on the other hand, you generally boil down bones, aromatic vegetables and spices for hours. Both stock and broth are starting points for many soups and the possibilities to use it are endless.

Use as large a pot as possible; the ingredients must be able to float.

• For a simple meat broth, you need about 400 grams (14 ounces) beef or poultry, two carrots, two leek stalks, one onion and one stalk of celery, plus salt, pepper and one bay leaf.
• Cover the washed vegetables, spices and meat with cold water, about 1.5 litres (1 1/2 quarts). (Starting with cold water makes a more substantial broth.)
• Bring the broth to a boil. Insert a spoon between the pot and the lid to let the steam out.
• Simmer all ingredients for 30 to 40 minutes.
• While cooking broth or stock you'll notice foam from congealed protein forming on the surface. Skim it off regularly, along with excess fat.
• When the cooking is done, remove the meat and carefully pour the contents of the pot through a strainer into a second pot or container, if you are storing it.

• Cook noodles, barley or rice separately and add to the soup later — otherwise, your soup will turn unappetizingly cloudy.
• Spices such as bay leaves, cloves and star anise are best placed in a tea bell or a spice bag and hung in the pot while cooking; that way, you won't have to fish them out after.
• If you want to eat the meat cooked in your broth, such as boiled beef or chicken, make sure the water is boiling before adding it.
• A little cognac or a dash of vinegar in the cooking water makes for particularly tender boiled meat.
• Remove fat from broths by skimming it off or absorbing it with a paper towel. You can also let your broth cool, then remove any solidified fat from the top with a spoon.
• Clarify a finished broth by boiling a beaten egg white in it. The egg white absorbs suspended solids as it congeals — just remove it before serving. Another method of clarifying broths is to strain them through a fine sieve or a piece of cheesecloth.
• Salt broths lightly, at least at first, since they become more concentrated as liquid evaporates. You're better off carefully adding spices and seasoning at the end.
• Use only whole peppercorns in most soups; ground pepper starts to taste bitter after cooking for a long time.
• Broths usually keep in the refrigerator for two to three days and can last up to three months in the freezer.

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