CHICKEN STOCK WITH UMAMI SYNERGY

Stocks create superb synergic umami. Synergic umami means that the substances creating the umami taste come from various umami tasting sources.  In chicken stock you'll get the taste from all the four most important substances. You'll have"free glutamate" from all protein rich ingredients in the pot.

Then you create synergi with inosinate (from chicken),guanylate(from fungi/mushrooms, especially from shiitake mushroom), and adenylate (from tomatoes and pork). The synergic umami taste creates itself while you do something else, and trust me: the synergic reaction will happen when you put all these ingredients into your stockpot and let it simmer for hours. Have tomatoes, mushrooms and chicken and some pork in the pot, tahts all.

Make a japanese dashi, a french demi-glace, a chinese chicken stock or any stock made from protein rich ingredients in the world, and enjoy the savoury taste, the meatlike, brothlike, -the taste of umami.

tomatoes, meat and mushrooms creates umami in the stockpot!

This recipe yields 2 litre/4 quarts and your foolproof check is that your stock is gelatinous when cold in the fridge. The jelly comes from denaturated collagene/tissue in the meat. If your stock is all fluid when cold, it was not cooked long enough.

This stock recipe is without any added salt. So, the taste will be neutral, some would say tasteless, but don't worry, when your soup is  ready, the foundation of the stock will proof its worth. It is like judging a foundation before make-up- you wouldn't do that!

This is what you need for the stock, first make sure you have these umami rich ingredients:

1,5kg/ 4lbs chicken, wings, thighs and carcass (not breasts), preferably free range chicken
20g/ 2/3oz dried shiitake mushrooms
2 tomatoes, preferably sun dried and diced

200-400 g / 7-12 oz pork meat preferably with marrow bone /or neck, bones beeing cut through and in 2 inch parts.

Then you'll need: 
100g/3,5oz onion/ leek or spring onion (sweetness and acidity) shopped in 1 inch slices

60g/ 2oz carrot (sweetness) chopped in 1 iinch slices

60g/ 2oz celery stems or the green leaf  of celeriac (saltiness and flavour)

10-15 crushed  black peppercorns

1-2 wedges of garlic,(aromatic enhancer)  smashed

some (10) parsley stems (slight bitterness)
1dl/ 1/2 cup white wine (acidity: enhances umami process)

3l / 3 qt water

METHOD:

Start with the chicken. Cut of wings. Then remove the breast filets and put aside to be used in your soup or some another dish.  They don't enhance taste in a stockpot. Chop the rest of your chicken in 1-1,5 inch pieces, The thighs in 5 cuts, the wings in 3 cuts. Be sure to penetrate the bones for savoury taste.  Chop the carcass in 1 inch parts. Rinse well under cold, running water. Put in a pot with the chopped pork, and have water  just above the meat, heat  at a very low heat. The slow heating will render your stock with more gelatine (to be denaturated more efficiently). When simmering, keep low heat for 5 minutes and discard water, rub and clean the meat and the stockpot. Once done, you don't have to scum of impurities in the pot more than a few times. If you don't blanche, you will have to scum for hours.
   
While the meat is blanched, rinse and chop the vegetables in 1 inch pieces. Put all vegetables in cold water together with the rinsed meat and heat at slow temperature. Simmer for 4 hours without a lid.  (If you put a lid on, the stock will become cloudy.) Scum if necessary the first half hour.  Scum makes stock cloudy if you don't remove it, keep up the good work now! Another tip, if you have to substitute some water while simmering the stock, use boiling water. A good stock rely on constant small simmering for hours.

If you are in a hurry, cook in the oven over night.  When the stockpot is simmering and scummed, put the pot in the stove overnight on 100-120 degrees/ 200-250 F. Check that the liquid is forming small bubbles before you go to rest, comforted that the umami process works for you.  

When done, set aside and let rest for 10 minutes, then strain through a colander overlaid with a cheesecloth or a poor quality, completely clean cotton towel  ( without recidues of softener or soap). The towel/cheesecloth have to be soaked in cold water before use.  Strain stock through the clothed colander  into a suitable pot and let come to a second boil. Yield should be the same amount as solids in the stockpot, if not, reduce. Cool the stock and put in frigde or freezer or make perfect soup!

The fat on top of  your cooled or frozen stock is gold.  Scrape it of and store cold for  later use.

Further methods:

·     If you're using the stock within three days, (and it should be used fresh) just store in the frigde in a tight compartment. If you want stock for sauces, you can reduce it to 1/3. Reduce on medium heat.  1 litre/2 quarts will give you 3 dl/2,5lbs essence and with these cubes you will create umami magic with any foodstuff and any dish that needs some added savoury taste! 

Ultimately! Nice to know: stock can be frozen for months, but chill first ande remove fat before freezing. Fatty foodstuff in the freezer lasts for 3 months, not longer.  
 

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chicken stock essence, makes any dish more savoury!