[BamBam7]

I am reading this but I am already stuck on the basic white consommé. I am not sure I understand the technique. Would someone care to put it in layman's terms? It seems that you are to boil the initial ingredients, then strain, then pour the strained broth over the bones (gelatinous bodies?) and simmer another 12? I bought this book to become an expert on stocks, and I am disappointed that I am already lost.

[Suzanne]

What you're describing is called remouillage in French, and means "rewetting." It makes a stronger, more gelatinous stock, but not a clearer one (which is what consommé is).

To make consommé, cold strained (and often, naturally jellied) stock is mixed with ground meat and vegetables, egg whites, and sometimes egg shells. This mixture is heated to a simmer and moved to the side of the burner so that only part of the pot is over direct heat. As the liquid bubbles, the solid ingredients coagulate into a "raft" that acts as a magnet for impurities such as barely visible bits of protein still in the stock.

Chicken consommé would use ground chicken for the ground meat; fish would use fish, and a white consommé, made from veal stock, would use beef or veal. Although frankly, I've never heard of a "white consommé." But then I don't know everything.