Enlighten me- Making chicken broth vs. chicken soup

[Anna]

Please enlighten me! I've been wanting to ask this question for quite some time.

 

Recipes for making broth say to cook chicken with veggies and seasoning, take chicken out broth, strain broth through cheesecloth and then add noodles and cut up chicken back to broth before calling it "soup".

 

What is the purpose or necessity of straining the broth? Is there something blechy in the broth that we need to eliminate? Why can't you just cook the chicken as above, skip the straining, add noodles and cut up chicken and eat it as chicken noodle soup? (I really would like to skip the straining:glare:.)

 

OK, then if you absolutely need to strain the broth, is the cheesecloth "one time use only" or do you wash and reuse next time around?

[Chris in VA]

so not a soup expert here, but...

When you cook a chicken with the bones, some of the marrow leaches and gives it a rather grainy appearance. If that doesn't bother you, I see no reason to strain.

Instead of cheesecloth, if you want a quick strain, use a mesh strainer.

And no, I wouldn't reuse cheesecloth--it's going to be a pain to wash out and probably wastes more water than saves cheesecloth, iykwim.

[MamaT]

I use boneless chicken when I make chicken soup and do not strain. That's just how I do it. :001_smile:

[Anna]

Sooooo, am I the only one who views straining chicken broth a useless waste of time? Am I the only one who sees nothing wrong with cooking chicken and veggies 'til done and calling it "a pot of soup" rather than calling it "a pot of broth from which to make soup"?

[Lizzie in Ma]

Sooooo, am I the only one who views straining chicken broth a useless waste of time? Am I the only one who sees nothing wrong with cooking chicken and veggies 'til done and calling it "a pot of soup" rather than calling it "a pot of broth from which to make soup"?

 

Nope, that is pretty much how I do it. But I use whole carrots and onions with the peel for flavor and color so I fish those out and add fresh nice ones. :)

 

BTW ANNA!!!! How I have missed our board fairy!

[Matryoshka]

Sooooo, am I the only one who views straining chicken broth a useless waste of time? Am I the only one who sees nothing wrong with cooking chicken and veggies 'til done and calling it "a pot of soup" rather than calling it "a pot of broth from which to make soup"?

 

I always use a whole chicken, with skin and bones. If I don't strain it, I often get little pieces of skin and tiny bones floating around, even if I pick out the pieces with a slotted spoon. Also, there's a lot of fat - the way to deal with that is either to leave the broth in the fridge overnight and skim it off after it's hardened, or to use a fat separator - I've taken to doing the latter. I just strain through a sieve (not cheesecloth) into a fat separator. The straining itself doesn't take much time at all - what takes me the time at this step is getting every little piece of chicken meat off the carcass.

 

The time has been reduced since I started using a roasted chicken carcass instead of a fresh whole chicken. Much less fat to strain and less meat to pick off.

 

If you use boneless chicken, a lot of the health benefits of broth will be lost, as most of what makes it "broth" rather than "added water" comes from the bones/cartilage. If you're using boneless chicken, there's no reason to strain, I'd think.

[Parrothead]

I have to strain broth because of the yucky the people have already mentioned.

[DarlaS]

When I make chicken stock, it's with the carcass--not a nice little piece of chicken breast. I also simmer it for about 6+ hrs. The veggies are way overdone.

 

I definitely strain it. This is partly because of the bones and mush and partly because I don't make just soup with mine. I use it in place of oil to saute (depending on what I'm cooking) or to cook rice in. If I do make soup, I usually add more water as well. It can end up quite concentrated even with adding water throughout the day.

[Anna]

BTW ANNA!!!! How I have missed our board fairy!

 

Thank you, Lizzie. I often miss being here. The problem is--- I'm no longer a hommeschooler;). Both my kids are in college.

 

Oldest dd is finishing her junior year with a Poli-Sci Degree and she has a TA position, helping with an Honors Humanities class for Freshmen.

 

Youngest dd is finishing her last year for her Associates Degree. She'll be following that up with her last two years at the university for a degree in Exercise Science.

 

Soooo, my homeschool days are pretty much behind me although, youngest dd is diabetic and has bipolar disorder so we still oversee her schooling in a big way. For example, Monday morning she has an appointment with her academic adviser. I go with her each time she meets the adviser because she doesn't always remember everything the adviser tells her.

[HeatherInWI]

(in the SOTW 1 Activity Guide)

 

I strain my broth (but through a stainless steel strainer), because, like others, I use the bones and skin. Then I chill the broth so that I can skim off the fat easily. Then I add veggies and the meat which I've reserved.

Then noodles or rivels. Yum!!! Maybe I'll have to make some chicken soup this weekend!

[My3Boys]

I always use a whole chicken, with skin and bones. If I don't strain it, I often get little pieces of skin and tiny bones floating around, even if I pick out the pieces with a slotted spoon. Also, there's a lot of fat - the way to deal with that is either to leave the broth in the fridge overnight and skim it off after it's hardened, or to use a fat separator - I've taken to doing the latter. I just strain through a sieve (not cheesecloth) into a fat separator. The straining itself doesn't take much time at all - what takes me the time at this step is getting every little piece of chicken meat off the carcass.

 

The time has been reduced since I started using a roasted chicken carcass instead of a fresh whole chicken. Much less fat to strain and less meat to pick off.

 

If you use boneless chicken, a lot of the health benefits of broth will be lost, as most of what makes it "broth" rather than "added water" comes from the bones/cartilage. If you're using boneless chicken, there's no reason to strain, I'd think.

 

Agreeing with this. I always simmer my chicken with some celery, carrots, onion and bay leaves the day before, strain it, and let it sit in the fridge overnight so the fat hardens on the top and I can just lift it out. I debone the chicken the night before too. Throw out the vegetable you simmer with the chicken. They absorb a lot of the fat. I use a metal strainer. You don't need cheesecloth.

 

 

The next day I bring the broth to a boil with fresh cut up carrots and celery, then add in the meat and noodles and cook until noodles are done.

[Chris in VA]

What are rivels, Heather?

[LBS]

I boil and boil, but I do take the larger meat pieces out before it gets too mushy, and skim the yuck and fat after refridgerating.

 

I think that science has no proven the healing properties of homemade stocks, broths and soups, but I believe I read an article that says what good yentas knew all along: boil the bones of the chicken, to chase away the colds and flu.

 

All I'm sure of is that chicken soup with rice heals everything from a snuffy nose to an orthodontic visit here. :laugh:

[hweakland]

The impurities from the chicken rise to the top when you use a whole chicken, it kind of looks like gray scum for lack of a better description.

 

If you want to get the most nutritional bang for your buck simmer the chicken & veg for as long as you can, in the end you will have more gellatin in your broth and thus more nutritional value. It can be very healing.

 

At our house we simmer the chicken from the AM till bedtime, skim, strain and then use the resulting stock to make chicken soup by adding coconut milk, and several herbs such as thyme & cayenne. This particular soup is wonderful for a helping relieve a cold. I also add the thyme when making the stock as well. Rosemary is also delightful with chicken.

 

Blessings,

Hope

[hweakland]

Rivels are an Amish (at least the recipe I have for them is Amish) pasta that is sort of like tiny dumplings.

 

Hope

[Anna]

Where else can you discuss chicken soup on a homeschool board?:lol:

 

Thank you, ladies. And please, anyone else have comments, post them. I will keep on reading your responses.

[Snickerdoodle]

I strain the broth because I often use a kilo of chicken feet to make it.

[spradlin02]

Straining gets out any small unwanted particles, clarifies the stock and improves the aesthetic value and texture. At some level - although I've never bothered to check - it may improve flavor retention.

[joannqn]

I simmer the chicken until it is done and then dump the entire pot into a large colander held over a giant bowl to catch all of the broth. I don't add veggies to my broth, just the chicken. Then I pick off all of the meat, cut up my veggies, and put it all back on the stove. I add herbs/spices and salt to taste and cook until the veggies are nearly done. Then I add in the noodles about 30 minutes before it is done. When the noodles are done, we eat.

 

The last time I made it, I added a step. After I picked all the meat off the bones, I chopped the bones with a butcher's knife and put them back in the broth to boil for a while. I wanted the bones to keep flavoring the meat and the marrow to leech out into the brother. Then I strained the bones out (with a fine colander, not a cheesecloth) and added the meat and veggies to finish the soup like normal.