We’re not talking investment portfolio here. For cooks, the best stock to invest in is the kind you use in the kitchen. Stocks - made from chicken, beef, fish, or vegetables - are the basis for most soups and sauces. Their versatility and flavor enhancing abilities make them one of the most important ingredients in food preparation.

Here’s some information and advice to help you get the most out of this liquid gold:

 

- Stock is made by slowly simmering a mixture of foods and seasonings in water and then straining to separate out the liquid. Broth is simply the water in which meat has been cooked. Bouillon is a formulated product manufactured from concentrated extracts, artificial ingredients, and large amounts of salt.

- Generally, stock has a higher protein and lower sodium value than commercially produced broth or bouillon. This makes it a good choice for people on a doctor recommended diet of clear liquids.

- The best soups, sauces, and gravies start with real stock.

- Use fish stock for elegant seafood sauces and bisques. To modify the fishy flavor, substitute part chicken or vegetable stock.

- Chicken stock and roasted vegetable stock are good for most soup recipes and lighter, delicate sauces. Heartier beef stock is ideal for richer reduction sauces and thick demi-glace glazes, and sauces that require drier or heavier red wines.

- Add 1 cup of stock to water when poaching or braising foods for bigger flavor.

- Use stock as a cooking medium for vegetables and to deglaze pans.

- Give noodles, pasta, potatoes, rice and other grains a boost by using stock in the cooking water or replacing water with stock.

- In recipes calling for beef stock, such as French onion soup, try combining equal portions beef and chicken for a milder, more rounded taste profile.

- It’s always best to start with stocks that have little or no added salt. Season to taste.

- If you’re not preparing your own stock from scratch, choose a brand made with natural, wholesome ingredients that you recognize and understand. Avoid those that include MSG, wheat or corn gluten, soy products, and words like autolyzed or hydrolyzed in the list of ingredients.

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Information provided by Kitchen Basics and Executive Chef and Vice President of Product Development Ed Marlier. More information and recipes at their website.