Stocks Soups and Sauces

What is a stock?

Stock is a flavourful liquid made by simmering bones, meat, vegetables, and seasonings in water. It’s used as a base for soups, sauces, stews, risottos, and gravies.

Key Ingredients

• Bones – chicken, beef, fish
• Vegetables – onion, carrot, celery
• Herbs – bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns
• Water – enough to cover ingredients

How to Make Them

1. Combine ingredients in a pot
2. Simmer gently for 2–6 hours
3. Skim off any foam or impurities
4. Strain and cool before storing

Stocks should be strained and then chilled ASAP (one tip is to pour it in to a tray to increase the surface are so it cools quickly) as they can be very susceptible to bacteria growth so you need to get them refrigerated to 5°C as soon as you can.

Stocks are very suitable to freezing - I personally use ice cube trays to freeze stock and put the cubes in clearly labelled bags so you can use as little or as much as required without any waste.

Stock vs Broth vs Bouillon

Type	Made From	Texture	Use
Stock	Bones + veg	Rich	Sauces, soups
Broth	Meat + veg	Light	Sipping, light soups
Bouillon	Powder/cube	Instant	Quick flavouring

What is a Glaze?

A glaze is a stock that has been reduced until it is thick and syrupy and is used to enhance the flavour of sauces and to 'finish off dishes to give them a shine and to add a depth of flavour.

Soups

There are many different types of soups and they all have different textures and viscosity. 

Broth

A soup made from stock so it's light and sippable such as Minestrone.

Cream

Nice and simple meaning to this one, simply a soup that has been finished with cream!  Cream of chicken and cream of mushroom are just two delicious examples of a cream soup.  A puree based soup is also nice with a dash of cream and (as I've said countless times in my recipes) it can take a soup to another level of deliciousness!

Purée

I love a good puréed soup (especially if you add a bit of cream) such a heart-warming texture and packed full of flavour.  A hand blender or a food mixer is required to make a puréed soup.

Velouté

This is a light French style of soup made from stock and thickened with a roux (flour and butter).

Consommé

A clear, un-thickened soup with a strong flavour.

Vichyssoise

Vichyssoise is a chilled, creamy French-style soup made from puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and stock, traditionally served cold and garnished with chives.

Bisque

A bisque is a smooth, creamy, and richly flavored French soup, traditionally made from shellfish such as lobster, crab, shrimp, or crayfish, and thickened with cream or rice.

Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse is a traditional Provençal fish soup (or stew) from Marseille, France, made with a variety of Mediterranean fish, shellfish, and aromatic herbs, simmered in a saffron-infused broth

Chowder

Originating in the USA a chowder is a type of thick, hearty soup or stew, usually made with milk or cream, potatoes, and often seafood or vegetables.

Potage

A potage is a French term for a thick soup, usually made by simmering vegetables, grains, and sometimes meat or fish until they form a hearty, smooth mixture.

Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a traditional Spanish cold soup made primarily from raw blended vegetables, most famously tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and bread.

Soup type	Base / stock	Thickening	Texture	Typical ingredients	Serving
Broth	Meat/vegetables simmered in water	None	Clear, light	Meat, vegetables, herbs	Hot
Cream	Stock or milk	Cream, sometimes roux	Rich, creamy	Vegetables, dairy	Hot
Purée	Stock or water	Natural starch, blended	Smooth, thick	Root veg, pulses, grains	Hot
Velouté	Light stock	Blond roux	Velvety, smooth	Vegetables, sometimes cream	Hot
Consommé	Strong clarified stock	Clarified with egg whites	Crystal-clear	Meat stock, aromatics	Hot or cold
Vichyssoise	Chicken/veg stock	Cream + potato starch	Silky, creamy	Leeks, onions, potatoes, cream	Cold (traditionally)
Bisque	Shellfish stock	Rice or cream	Smooth, velvety	Lobster, crab, shrimp	Hot
Bouillabaisse	Fish stock with saffron	Natural reduction	Rustic, hearty	Fish, shellfish, herbs	Hot
Chowder	Milk/cream base	Roux or potato starch	Chunky, creamy	Seafood, potatoes, corn	Hot
Potage	Stock or water	Natural starch/purée	Thick, rustic	Vegetables, grains, meat/fish	Hot
Gazpacho	Raw veg + bread	Bread + olive oil	Smooth, fresh	Tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, garlic	Cold

Finishing Soups

Coutons

1cm squares cut from sliced bread, fried in vegetable oil or clarified butter makes the best croutons.

Sippets

This is the British version of the French crouton dating back to Medieval and Victorian times.  Not as uniform in shape as a crouton and often toasted in the oven (but can be fried).

Toasted Flutes

A slice of baguette that has been toasted.

Accompaniments

Vegetables (julienne, paysanne or brunoise), fine noodles, rice, herbs and even finely diced chicken are just some examples that can be added to a soup.

Sauces

What is a sauce?  Put simply, a sauce is a thickened liquid (such as stock).  You can thicken with egg yolks, a roux, cornflour, rice, cream or by simply reducing over heat.

Bechamel

This is a white sauce that is one of the French Mother Sauces and is made from butter, flour, and milk, resulting in a smooth, creamy white sauce often flavored with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Velouté

Velouté sauce is another of the classic French Mother Sauces and is made by thickening a light stock with a blond roux, resulting in a smooth, velvety texture.

Espagnole

This is a rich, brown French Mother Sauce made from a dark roux, brown stock (usually beef or veal), mirepoix (carrot, onion, celery), and tomato paste, forming the base for demi-glace and many other classic sauces.

Demi-glace

A classic French brown sauce made by combining equal parts Espagnole sauce and brown stock, then reducing the mixture by half to create a rich, glossy, intensely flavored base.

Gravies

This has to be one of (if not the most) popular sauces in the UK so no explanation is really needed here!  Roast gravies made from the juices of the roasted meat are the best kind of gravies (in my humble opinion) but you can also make a vegetable gravy if you insist!   A gravy should not be viscous - some would say the thicker the better..

Spice-based

Chilli sauces, spicy tomato sauce or a curry sauce etc.

Purée-based

Pureed vegetables (or even fruit) can be used to create a sauce.

Salsa

For me I have always considered a salsa as simply a 'dip' but thinking about it, it's a dipping sauce and the word Salsa is actually Spanish for sauce!  Normally quite chunky in texture and great with fish, meat and poultry.

Butter Based Sauces

Clarified butter

Melted and skimmed butter.

Beurre noisette

Beurre noisette is simply Brown Butter - butter gently cooked until its milk solids turn golden brown, giving it a nutty, hazelnut-like aroma and flavor

Beurre fondu

Beurre fondu is a French butter preparation made by melting butter in water to create a creamy emulsion, lighter and less greasy than plain melted butter.

Compound Butter Sauces

A compound butter sauce is simply butter blended with flavorful ingredients (like herbs, garlic, spices, or citrus) and used as a finishing sauce to enrich meats, fish, vegetables, or breads.

Sauce Thickening

Roux

A roux is creating by mixing a fat and flour and cooked together.  There are several different types of roux; white roux, blond roux, brown roux and continental roux.

White Roux

A white roux is a mixture of flour and fat (usually butter) cooked together just long enough to remove the raw flour taste, but not long enough to brown, resulting in a pale paste used to thicken sauces.

Blond Roux

A blond roux is a mixture of flour and fat (usually butter) cooked together until it develops a light golden color and a slightly nutty aroma, used as a thickener in sauces and soups.

Brown Roux

A brown roux is a mixture of flour and fat (usually butter) cooked together until it develops a deep brown color and a rich, nutty flavor, used as a thickener in darker sauces and stews.

Continental Roux.

A continental roux is a variation of the classic French roux, typically made with margarine or oil instead of butter, and cooked to a pale color. It’s widely used in large‑scale or institutional cooking across Europe because it’s more economical and stable than a butter‑based roux.

Other Thickeners

Beurre Manie

Beurre manié is a classic French thickening agent made by kneading equal parts of softened butter and flour into a smooth paste, then whisking it into hot liquid to thicken sauces or soups.

Egg Yolks

An egg yolk liaison is a classic French technique for enriching and thickening sauces or soups by blending egg yolks with cream, then carefully whisking the mixture into hot liquid.

Sabayon

A light, frothy sauce made by whisking egg yolks with sugar and a liquid (traditionally wine), gently cooked over heat until airy and creamy.

Cornflour (arrowroot or starch can be used as well)

Diluted with water these are a great way of thickening a gravy.

Sauce Flour

A specially milled flour that doesn't require any fat (such as butter) to prevent it from going lumpy.  If you're trying to avoid butter then this is a great thickener to use.