If you’re like most people, you probably buy your chicken or beef stock at the grocery store, and it’s the kind that comes in a can or a box. You know the famous brands that are so prevalent on our grocery shelves. And there is nothing inherently wrong with those products. However, they don’t taste like the high-quality stock that comes from the homemade variety, and they typically have a very high sodium content. And we all know the low-sodium types often taste like little more than water. But who has the time to make homemade stock?
What you probably don’t know is that there is an outstanding answer to this challenge – it’s called glace. From the French word, glacé (which means glazed or to have a glossy surface), glace is a 20x reduction of stock, usually with a bit of added wine and a touch of gelatin. The result? A very dense, solid that is packed with the flavors of the original stock, ready to reconstitute in whatever quantity you need. But here are the best parts!
There is absolutely no added salt. So you control exactly how much sodium you want in your broth or final dish.
You can reconstitute it in hot water at whatever concentration you want, for a thin regular broth or a very richly flavored stock.
A 16-oz tub of glace will keep for about 6 months in your fridge, ready to use when you need it.
This means that you have at your instant disposal the absolute best stock you can possibly find for cooking other than made fresh from scratch!
So how do you use it? It’s pretty easy, and I show you how in the video. To fully reconstitute to a classic broth, it’s a ratio of 1:20 (glace to water). This translates into a little less than a Tbsp of glace to 1 cup of water. I tend to like a slightly stronger flavor so will do a generous Tbsp per cup of water. Once the glace is dissolved fully (done best with very hot or boiling water), you have stock ready to use in your favorite soup, stew, risotto or whatever.
Now where can you buy it? I personally prefer the More than Gourmet brand, which I can find in my local grocery store in small sizes, but typically buy on Amazon in the 16-oz tubs, which again I can keep in my fridge for up to 6 months. I always keep both the beef glace (Glace de Viande) and the chicken (Glace de Poulet) on hand. You’ll find they also offer fish stock, lamb, duck, vegetable and many others in the same form.
Give it a try…It’s delicious, and I can almost guarantee you, you’ll never buy canned or boxed stock again.
Bon appetit!
Good to know Whit! I have tried a lot of chicken stocks and broths and have yet to find one that’s homemade so I appreciate you sharing this tip (and for coming into Tradecraft yesterday)!
-Kim