What is difference between chicken broth and chicken stock

A few years after we learned that you could buy soup in a disposable coffee cup for $10, and we're still not sure about the difference between stock and bone broth, especially now that we're making it at home. After several internal debates, we decided to ask the de facto expert on the topic, Marco Canora, chef of Hearth and brodo in New York, to give us the rundown.

Table of Contents Show

Common Mistakes When Making Bone Broth
If you're getting your bones at a farmers' market, remember these tips:
Stock and broth are similar, but they're not exactly the same. Here are the ways they're alike and different.
What's in stock and what's in broth?
What are the texture differences between stock and broth?
But what about vegetable broth and stock?
Can you substitute stock for broth and vice-versa?
Can you buy stock or broth?
Which is better chicken stock or broth?
Which has more flavor stock or broth?

"Bone broth is essentially stock," he admits. The confusion comes from the traditional definition for stock, which is more viscous due to the collagen that seeps out of joints and bones during long-term cooking, and broth, which is thinner and is made with more actual meat (versus meat-stripped bones used for stock). The confusion comes from the fact that the current trend uses the word "broth" even though bone broth is essentially stock. Explains Canora, "Three to five years ago, because of the wellness and paleo trends, stock started being called bone broth. It really short-circuited my brain."

Peden + Munk

So, bone broth—like a really good stock—is defined by its thickness (due to gelatin) and exceptionally long cooking time. Accordingly to BA food director Carla Lalli Music, a chicken, beef, or veal broth only takes between two and four hours to cook. In Canora's cookbook, brodo, a chicken bone broth should take approximately six hours and a beef or lamb bone broth should take anywhere between 16 and 18 hours. Just let it occupy a back-burner of your stove (during waking hours if possible! Safety first!). A bone broth can't really be overcooked, he says, because the point is to break down all of the cartilage until there's a lot of collagen-rich gelatin in that broth. According to bone broth devotees, that collagen—which makes bone broth cool into a more solid beefy Jell-O when you put it in the fridge—is a protein that's supposedly great for your skin, hair, and nails, and promotes a healthy gut.

Courtesy of Brodo: A Bone Broth Cookbook

Making your own bone broth begins with befriending your butcher and asking for soup bones. They'll know what you're talking about—those knobby knuckles (or Canora's favorite part, the neck bones) and other parts of the animal that have enough meat and cartilage to melt into your broth. Just don't use marrow bones. "So many people tell me they made beef bone broth with marrow bones and of course it tastes disgusting, you're boiling a white bone with no meat on it and marrow in the center, which is pure fat," he says.

You'll need a few essential tools: a baking sheet to roast bones on (if you're going for the super dark broth), a large stainless steel stock pot, a fine-mesh sieve to strain out the solids later, and something to skim the fat off the top of the liquid as it's cooking. Canora likes to get the heartiest flavors he can when he's making his own bone broth, so he throws the bones onto a baking sheet and roasts them for about 20 to 30 minutes at 450°F, until they're browned. You could even put your onions and carrots on there too—depends what kind of flavor you're looking to impart into your broth. Then, put the bones and vegetables (onions, carrots, and celery work well—but the possibilities are endless) into your stock pot, and submerge in water by about two to four inches or so. Just make sure that there are a few inches between the top of the liquid and the top of the pot. And don't salt the liquid until the very end.

©Romulo Yanes

Bring the liquid with the bones and vegetables to a boil. This is going to take a while—that's totally normal. Skim the surface and remove the fat pooling at the top every 20 minutes or so until it boils. Once it does, lower the heat until the liquid simmers. Some people suggest covering the pot, but Canora, who doesn't use a slow cooker or pressure cooker because he doesn't like the idea of shortcuts in the kitchen, likes to leave it wide open.

From there, you'll only need to skim the surface a few times between the start of the simmer and when you take it off the stove. When you're ready for that, strain the liquid through the fine-mesh sieve, leaving any solids behind. Don't be shocked by a small yield; you'll get a few quarts for your efforts. Let it cool a little, then divvy it up into storage containers and drink as if it's coffee or tea or whatever else you would normally put in your thermos that isn't casual soup.

Common Mistakes When Making Bone Broth

If you're getting your bones at a farmers' market, remember these tips:

Stock and broth are similar, but they're not exactly the same. Here are the ways they're alike and different.

Photo: John Kernick

Stock and broth are foundational in cooking. From soups and stews to a cooking medium for everything from grains to vegetables, to the basis of sauces and gravies, it is no wonder that many recipes begin with stock or broth in their ingredient list. The two are used nearly interchangeably in print, and in fact, many recipes will call for stock OR broth, which raises the question. What exactly is the difference between stock and broth?

What's in stock and what's in broth?

The main difference between stock and broth starts with the primary ingredient. Stock is generally made from bones, and broth is generally made from flesh. In both cases, they are often supported with aromatic vegetables, but in the case of stock, left unseasoned for maximum flexibility in recipes, whereas broth will usually contain at least salt and pepper. For stock, bones are usually roasted before use for color and flavor, for broth, the meats tend to be used directly from raw. This is why many stocks are darker than broths from the same proteins.

What are the texture differences between stock and broth?

The second difference comes in texture. Because stock is made of bones, it tends to have a slightly thicker consistency, due to the collagen and natural gelatin in the bones, and you will find that good stocks may gel when chilled. This makes stocks wonderful for use in sauces and gravies and stews where the texture can really help with the consistency. Broths have a thinner more watery texture, making them great as the basis for soups where you do not need that thickening.

But what about vegetable broth and stock?

Obviously, this is different for vegetable stocks and broths, where no bones or meat are used in either product. Some companies will add plant-based gelatin to vegetable stock to give it that added thickening, which is a trick you can also do at home if you want to make homemade.

Can you substitute stock for broth and vice-versa?

While you can technically use them for nearly identical applications in cooking, you will want to pay attention to seasoning for your final products. Dishes made with stock will need more aggressive seasoning than those made with broth. If you do not want to make your own, and do not want to have to fill your larder with both options, you can find a happy medium by keeping low-sodium broth in the pantry as your single choice. The only place you really cannot sub broth for stock is in recipes that call for veal stock, which is a reference to a reduced product that is essential for classical sauce work, sometimes called demi-glace.

Can you buy stock or broth?

You can also purchase concentrated stocks and broths to which you add water before you continue with recipes. Stock bases are usually sold as pastes or in liquid form, where broth bases are most commonly sold as powders or in cubes and can be referred to as bouillon. To use either of these in recipes, simply follow the package directions to add water to create the amount of stock or broth called for in your recipe.

Which is better chicken stock or broth?

Which is better chicken stock or broth? Chicken stock is better than broth because it is more concentrated and has a greater depth of flavor for cooking. Chicken stock is also more versatile and can be used in different recipes. Stock, made from chicken bones and other ingredients, is used to make sauces and soups.

Which has more flavor stock or broth?

As a result, stock is usually a healthier product, delivering a richer mouth feel and deeper flavor than broth. Stock is a versatile culinary tool that can deliver taste to any number of dishes. Darker in color and more concentrated in flavor than broth, it's ideal for use in soups, rice, sauces and more.