Vegetable Stock

A meatless stock built on caramelized sugar, which gives colour and a faint sweetness that plain vegetable broth lacks. The printed ingredient list is incomplete, so some judgement is needed.

• The missing quantitiesThe method calls for carrot, onion, celery, turnips and tomatoes, but the ingredient column as printed gives amounts only for sugar, oil, water and bay. Assume roughly 2 lb of vegetables in total for 2 quarts of water: one large onion, two carrots, two stalks of celery, one medium turnip and two tomatoes is a reasonable reading.
• Watch the caramelA tablespoon of dry sugar in a large kettle takes a few minutes to melt, then colours quickly and can turn bitter soon after. Take it to the colour of dark honey, then add the oil at once to stop the cooking.
• Oil and waterFour tablespoons of olive oil is a lot for a clear stock. It will float and can be skimmed off after cooling, or reduced to one or two tablespoons if the stock is destined for a clear soup.
• "Over the fire" and "kettle"A kettle here is a heavy stockpot, not a tea kettle. Direct high heat for the caramel, then medium-low once the water is in.
• Cold water, and whyThe recipe specifies cold water; the usual reasoning is that a slow start gives a cleaner-tasting broth. Bring it up gently and hold it at a bare tremble rather than a rolling boil, which can turn stock cloudy.
• Simmering timeOne hour is generally enough, though the recipe allows one or two. There is little to gain from prolonged simmering, and carrot and turnip can begin to taste flat with extended cooking.
• Season at the endThe recipe seasons early, but the liquid loses volume over an hour or two. Salt lightly at the start and correct after straining.
• Yield and keepingRoughly 6 cups after simmering and straining, depending on how hard it simmers. Refrigerated it keeps three or four days; it freezes well in cup portions.