What is the Difference Between Broth, Stock, and Consommé?

One of the most common cooking questions concerns the difference between a stock and a broth. Further confusion is added by the addition of consommé. It is often claimed that there is no difference between a stock and a broth, or that a stock is a fancy broth or vice versa. Most professional chefs would disagree. A broth is a clear soup made by simmering meat and vegetables (or just vegetables for a vegetable broth). This, at first glance, seems to be the same as a stock.

ladling consommé into a bowl of carrots and venison — *Ladling consommé into a bowl of carrots, venison, and smoked eggs yolks.*

Difference Between Broth and Stock

Indeed, the terms broth and stock are often used interchangeably, and it is not always clear there is a well-defined difference, but the generally accepted wisdom is that for a stock, bones and vegetables are simmered, rather than meat (excepting, of course, a vegetable stock).

Bones are by far the most important ingredient in a stock, and using bones makes a stock richer and higher in gelatin, which comes from cartilage and connective tissue, than a broth. Although it is richer, it is not necessarily more flavorful.

That is, stocks have a more neutral savory taste than broth, making them more versatile for use as the base of many different sauces or soups.

What is the Difference Between Boiling, Simmering, and Poaching?

Most stocks would be reduced and reinforced in some way before use. ¹ Many chefs have a different take on what on stocks versus broths, but when a specific meat flavor is desired, such as chicken or beef, a broth is preferred.

Or, are there other ways of looking at it?

Apparently so, and they can be more cloudy than the cloudiest stock. Take, for instance, this explanation from Jacob Burton, which seems to do little to clarify the issue, pardon the pun:

…a broth is a stock that hasn’t been strained before serving, while a stock is strained broth used for a secondary purpose like reduction sauces, braising, or…to make a broth. With consommé, you start with a stock, turn it into a broth by adding a raft, which then becomes a stock again once it’s strained, and will then magically turn into a broth once garnished, unless it’s left ungarnished, in which case it remains a stock.You may come across the word boullion, as well, and you are probably familiar with bouillion cubes. Bouillon is really just the French term for broth, but many sources make a distinction, although it is hard to define precisely why. A consommé can be a broth or a stock.

Well, that clears it up! I can’t seem to stop, sorry. Regardless of how muddy his explanation is, Burton demonstrates the making of a consommé like a true professional, and his video appears below. To, perhaps, uncloud the issue, I turn, once again, to the Oxford Companion to Food, by Alan Davidson:

It could be said that broth occupies an intermediate position between stock and soup. A broth (e.g. chicken broth) can be eaten as is, whereas a stock (e.g. chicken stock) would normally be consumed only as an ingredient in something more complex. A soup, on the other hand, would usually be less simple, more ‘finished’, than a broth.

In the last sentence, he is referring to the fact that while you could eat a broth in its basic form (and he mentions the use of broth for ill people, etc.), once you add something to it, or “fancify” it, a broth is usually then called a soup.

Reheating the Entire Pot Instead of a Single Portion of Leftover Chili, Soup, Etc.

Consommé Definition

A consommé is a broth or stock that has been clarified and concentrated, making for a strong-flavored and clear soup that not only has a wonderful, concentrated flavor, but it is also beautiful to look at.

Although many cooks hold that it is the clarification that makes a consommé, it is the concentration that is most important.

The word consommé is a French word that means “perfect” or “to make perfect and complete.” It was first mentioned in late 18th-century cookbooks as a concentrated bouillon used in sauces or potages.

Bouillon is a French way of saying broth, and potage is a word for soups or “cooked in a pot.”¹ ²
Only later in the 19th century were consommés described as perfectly clear, fat-free broths. Escoffier listed over 140 consommés in Le Guide Culinaire.

There are several methods used to make a perfectly clarified consommé, but one effective way is to simmer egg whites and broth along with ground meat, vegetables, and herbs. These are all mixed together to form a clarification raft that is then added to the broth or stock that the consomme is being made from.

The proteins from the egg whites and meat trap the smallest particles from the broth, and the resultant mixture can be strained through a wire mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth. ³ ⁴

In the excellent video below, Jacob Burton demonstrates a chicken consommé. He starts with a very cloudy-looking chicken broth and adds pours it over a clarification raft made from chicken meat, egg whites, and a basic mirepoix. He then adds some seasoning and mixes. For further description, see the link above.