Consommé

Consommé

mirepoix (carrots, celery, leek), tomatoes, egg whites

Cookbook: Consommé   Media: Consommé

In cooking, a consommé is a type of clear soup made from richly flavoured stock or broth that has been clarified, a process that uses egg whites to remove fat and sediment.^[1]

Consommé has three English pronunciations: traditionally in the UK, the stress is on the middle syllable;^[2] in modern UK English, the stress is on the first; and in the US the stress is on the last.^[3]

Cooking and serving

A consommé is made by adding a mixture of ground meats, together with

.

Consommés are usually served piping hot because they tend to cool down more quickly than other soups and form a gel. They are most often served with garnishes, which vary in complexity from a simple splash of sherry or egg yolk, to cut vegetables, to shaped savoury custards called 'royales'.

A large amount of meat only yields a small amount of consommé; in some recipes, as much as 500 grams (1 lb 2 oz) of meat can go into a single 250-millilitre (9 imp fl oz; 8+1⁄2 US fl oz) serving. This low yield is part of what has traditionally given consommé its refined reputation as an expensive dish.^{[citation needed]}

Other types of consommé such as tomato consommé are traditionally served chilled, which keeps the clearness of the consommé.

Varieties

Double consommé is a consommé made to double strength. There are at least three methods of producing a double consommé, the first of which is doubling the quantity of meat used in the recipe, the second of which is producing a normal strength consommé and reducing it to half its volume,^[5] and the third of which is producing a consommé with all water in the recipe replaced with equal quantities of an already-prepared consommé.^[6] It is often found in other cold-cuisine items, especially those that use aspic, or natural gelatin.

Another common variation is chilled or jellied consommé. They are served cold and thickened naturally by the gelatin extracted from the bones when the original stock is made. The gelatin gives the consommé a gelatinous texture when set to cool. Additional gelatin may be added during the last part of the clarification process to ensure that it sets properly.^[7]

Consommé madrilène is a clear soup that is pure and clean-tasting, typically flavored with tomato, and served chilled.^[8]

Gelatin-filtered "consommé"

In a 2007 New York Times article,^[9] Harold McGee popularized an alternative method for clarifying broths, originating among chefs of the molecular gastronomy movement: gelatin filtration. Gelatin-filtration is a novel method of clarification, relying on some of the properties of a super-saturated solution of gelatin, created by freezing, to remove macroscopic particles that cause cloudiness from a water-based stock. This method is distinct from traditional consommé both in technique and in final product, as gelatin filtration results in a gelatin-free broth, while traditional consommé gives a final product rich in gelatin, with a correspondingly rich mouthfeel.

Freezing a water-based solution converts all bulk water into ice crystals, but water associated with

—in the case of a soup stock, gelatin, fat, and flavor compounds—remains unfrozen to much lower temperatures; in practice, the freezing temperature of this associated water is well below the reach of conventional freezers. Thus, gelatin filtration works by freezing a gelatin-containing, water-based solution and then allowing it to thaw in a mesh strainer at just above the freezing temperature of water. The gelatin and other solutes concentrate in the unfrozen, associated water, and the gelatin forms a stable network through cross-linking, just as it would in a standard gel. This stable network acts as a filter, trapping large particles of fat or protein, while allowing water and smaller, flavor-active compounds to pass. As the bulk water melts, it passes first through the gelatin network and then through the mesh strainer, into a receiving vessel. Because the temperature is kept just above the freezing point, the bulk water melts slowly and, as it is strained into a separate vessel, it is never in contact with the gelatin for long enough to begin dissolving the gelatin network. After all of the bulk water melts, the gelatin network remains in the strainer with the trapped macroscopic particles, and the clarified stock (the bulk water and flavor compounds) is collected in the receiving vessel.

Because gelatin-filtered consommés do not require a creation of an egg-white raft as in traditional consommés, they are less wasteful. The technique is also applicable to a wider range of "stocks": since no heating is required, heat-sensitive materials, such as fruit juices, can be clarified by first adding a small amount of gelatin, then applying gelatin filtration. A number of non-traditional consommés, not based on stock, have been created using this method, including a "pretzel consommé", a "Doritos consommé", a "brown butter consommé", and a "spiced pumpkin consommé".^[10]

Loss of gelatin essential to gelatin filtration results in a consommé with significantly less-rich mouthfeel than a traditional consommé, and also affects the properties of the consommé upon chilling. A traditional consommé gels when chilled, while a gelatin-filtered consommé does not.

History

Clarified broths called consommés have been in use since the Middle Ages, taking many forms from simple soups, to soups made from the meat of a wide variety of less-common animals. The clarification process also historically utilised blood rather than egg whites.

A special type of consommé that was boiled solely with tendons and cartilage without the addition of salt was sweetened, flavoured with fruits and served as dessert. These sweetened consommé creations are essentially the forerunners of present-day gelatin desserts.

See also

• List of French soups and stews
• List of soups
• Broth

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Consommé.