Food - Drink
The Quick And Easy Addition To Elevate Boxed Stock
By MATTHEW SPINA
The convenience of boxed stock is its main upside, but almost every recipe and cooking video you come across will implore you to use homemade stock if you want your food to be more flavorful. It’s no secret that boxed stock is usually not as rich or tasty as homemade stock, but there is an easy way to partially bridge this gap.
Additions like mirepoix (carrots, onions, and celery), tomato paste, or mushrooms can upgrade your stock, but garlic is quicker and adds a lot of flavor while keeping the stock neutral-tasting overall. You can simply cleave a head of garlic in half and drop it in a pot of stock to simmer, skin and all, then strain it out once you’re done.
What makes garlic great for upgrading stock is that it enhances other flavors, in addition to adding its own. The pungency of garlic comes from certain chemical compounds found in alliums, and this sharpness wakes up your senses, making you more receptive to other flavors, even those found in a weaker boxed stock.