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Since it takes up considerable time, you will want to
make sure that the end product lives up to your expectations
and the effort that you put in. So it is wise to buy equipment
that will aid you from the very start.
There are many technicalities
to consider in producing a reasonably good stock and that
is why it is necessary for steel stock pots to be made differently
from other cooking pots. To fully understand this, we must examine the process of stock making itself.
For the best stocks, there is a basic ratio to follow, which is 3 parts of water to every 4 parts of bones.
Hence, steel stock pots must be very big and deep to accommodate these contents and allow them enough room to move about. The water in your steel stock pots should cover the bones by no more than 2 inches before you slowly bring the contents to a simmer.
However, you cannot just grab any big pot you see and make do. This is because the ratio of the width and depth of the pot also plays a big part. |
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Stocks should be made in steel stock pots that are taller than they are wide to minimize evaporation during simmering. Although you want some water to evaporate in order to have
a concentrated flavor, you do not want the evaporation rate
to be so high that you have to top up the water in the pot
and simmer again as that would produce a flat-tasting stock.
As the water heats, blood and fats and other impurities will be released into the water and will coagulate and rise to the surface as scum and foam. This should be removed because it clouds the stock. You may think that they add flavor to the stock.
However, the clearer your stock is, the longer its shelf
life. If possible, you should skim the stock before it actually reaches boiling point. Therefore, your steel stock pots should be wide enough to allow for easy and clean skimming or degreasing.
To strain the stock, use a fine wire-mesh sieve or colander over a metal bowl or another pot and carefully ladle in the stock without disturbing the solid ingredients. In this way, you will not encourage more scum to rise and waste your previous efforts at skimming. This is another reason why your steel stock pots must be large and deep enough.
As you can see, a lot of thought goes into designing a quality stock pot. Now that you know what these are, you can see why it is worth your while to invest in one instead of simply using the largest cooking pot in your kitchen.
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