Is there a difference between broth and stock?

Question

Vegetable BTW.

Answer 1

Broth is a cooking down of ingredients (whether vegetables, meat, bones etc...),   to flavor a cooking liquid. For example you could add a selection of vegetables and seasoning to water let it simmer for awhile and if you would add noodles, you would have vegetable noodle soup.  

Stock is a reduction of this broth that becomes more concentrated and is used in the creation of soups and sauces.   For example when I make a Cream of Vegetable soup I will simmer the vegetable down until they have give up all of there flavors, strain out the cooked vegetables and then reduce it further so it has a greater depth of flavor.

Answer 2

Yes, broth is usually thinner than stock and usually doesn't contain any vegetables at all.  Stock always contains what the french would call a 'maripois' or the french trinity of vegetables which includes carrots, celery and onion but which taken out or run through a strainer so that the vegetables are no longer a part of the stock(although tiny bits may show in a stock).  Stock is always or almost contains a rendering if meat, fish or shellfish.  

Hope this helps.

J

Answer 3

In a basic vegetable broth, there are no animal bones or "parts" used whatsoever.....

Usually in a stock, however, bones are boiled down for a very long time with vegetables to form a stock......

Being in the Vegetarian/Vegan section, there are  NO animal products, so the difference between a broth and a vegetable stock is the amount of time that it's simmered, if a short time it would be a broth or vegetable bouillon, if let to reduce to a more concentrated form, it would be considered a vegetable stock.....better suited for soups and vegetable stews.....Enjoy!!

Christopher

Answer 4

broth is more clear and lighter tasting, stock is heartier and thicker with a richer flavor

Answer 5

There is a difference between meat broths and stocks, but even there the terms are used interchangeably these days.  There's no real difference for vegetable broth/stock.  Producers can just pick whichever name they want to use.