After reading our post, you will be able to give your food a lot of good and distinct flavor – and show off a little with your knowledge to your friends.
What is bouillon?
Bouillon is a flavor enhancer made by boiling water with ingredients like fish, meat, vegetables, and/or herbs. Use bouillon as a flavorful liquid in sauces, stews, or for braising. A good beef bouillon can also be eaten as a soup.
Most people are probably familiar with bouillon from supermarket shelves, where it is available in the form of cubes and soluble powder. It’s the easy and quick solution, and a bouillon cube can have a very intense flavor, but it often comes with E-numbers, some fat, and a lot of salt.
If you make your own bouillon instead, you know 100% what’s in it, and you can tailor it to your own preferred taste. It might require a bit of planning and preparation to go the extra mile with bouillon, but you will be rewarded with great flavor! When you cook bouillon, make plenty. That way, you can always have some bouillon ready in the freezer.
What is stock?
Stock, like bouillon, is a flavor enhancer. The method of preparation is also almost the same. However, in a stock, the bones are also boiled with it. This primarily gives a different consistency to the stock, making it slightly thicker than bouillon. This is due to the natural gelatin found in bones and marrow.
You can, for example, make a good chicken stock by freezing the next 4-5 chicken carcasses left over after dinner. Boil them with some vegetables and herbs, and you’ll get a flavorful liquid.
By roasting the bones and possibly shells (from shellfish) first, your stock will have both a darker color and a more intense flavor, which you can use in sauces.
What is braising?
Braising is a method for cooking meat, among other things. Especially cuts like pork cheeks, brisket, and lamb shanks benefit from being braised. Sear the meat lightly and place it in a pot or roasting pan with a little liquid, then braise it at medium to medium-high temperature for a longer period. Gradually add more liquid so it doesn’t dry out. As mentioned, you can use water – possibly with vegetables and herbs or other flavorings. You can also use bouillon, stock, beer, or wine.
The best part about braising is almost the leftover liquid, which you can make into a delicious concentrated and flavorful sauce. And, of course, the tender, juicy meat!
What is the Maillard reaction?
It may sound like a trick from the world of molecular gastronomy, but the Maillard reaction is simply what results in a crust – for example, the browned or charred exterior of a piece of meat that has been on the pan or grill. But also the skin on the chicken or the fat edge on a roast is affected by the Maillard reaction when the subject is roasting in the oven.
Heating is the cause of the Maillard reaction, which briefly occurs between amino acids and sugars. The process itself is very chemical, but for the cook, it’s about the result: The flavors and aromas that the Maillard reaction releases. And it makes a world of difference to the final result.
Why is it called the Maillard reaction? The reaction is named after the French chemist Louis-Camille Maillard, who studied the process more closely in 1912. However, the process has existed ever since people first began roasting/grilling.
If you want to read more about terms in the kitchen, take a look at our Cooking Dictionary here.