[awright]

I encountered a first as a food writer tonight. A chef gave me a recipe that started with seafood base. My questions: Where is it available to home cooks? Are there substitutes? Are there caveats for using it?

[phatch]

Find a store that carries "Better than Bouillion". They have some seafood based bases. A Kroger owned store should have some.

You use it like any other base. I can't speak as to quality, probably same as other bases.

Phil

[Suzanne]

It is seafood base that is the substitute. It is a substitute for real seafood stock -- easy enough to make from shrimp, lobster, and/or crab shells, aromatics, and water (plus maybe a little wine and tomato product). Any restaurant that makes fresh food does that, rather than using bases.

Depending on the caliber of the chef it could very well be that "Better than Boullion" is what home cooks should use instead. Or Kitchen Basics Seafood Stock, which is already mixed with water. Even Knorr makes some reasonable stock cubes. However, there are powders and bases used in lesser commercial kitchens that are comparable to the horrible stuff for home cooks -- mostly salt, hydrolized yeast powder, etc., to be avoided by everyone.

[JonK]

We keep LeGout clam base around for non-critical uses, but if the seafood stock is a main component of the recipe, I'd make mine from scratch as it's pretty easy.

[Jock]

A million years ago I used to buy a dehydrated fish stock from Williams-Sonoma and it was called Sea Bags. They stopped selling it and I've never found it since. It was good too. There was nothing in the ingredients list I wouldn't put in my own stock and without the smell of fish in the house all day.
Costco used to sell a chicken base (still do for all I know) but I'm not sure if they sell fish base as well.

Jock