No. 393

Root Essence

Essence de Racines

Have half a pound each of vegetables such as carrots, onions, turnips, parsnips, parsley root and celery; wash them well, and mince them up very fine, then fry them lightly in three ounces of butter and moisten with a quart and a half of water and half a bottle of white wine; let cook slowly for one hour, remove all the fat and scum, then strain through a napkins or silk sieve.

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For the Modern Kitchen

A meatless vegetable essence meant to be used the way a cook today would use a concentrated vegetable stock: to moisten a braise, thin a sauce, or add depth where water would dilute. The numbers translate cleanly.

Total quantitiesHalf a pound each of six vegetables is three pounds of trimmed roots and stalks, minced fine. Against a quart and a half of water plus half a bottle of wine (about 12 fl oz), that is a very high ratio of solids to liquid, which is the point of an essence.
Fry lightly means sweatThe three ounces of butter is there to draw flavor out without browning. Keep the heat low and stop before any color develops; browned roots give a caramel-sweet stock rather than the clean, sharp one Ranhofer is after.
Parsley rootSometimes sold as Hamburg parsley or petersilienwurzel, common in Eastern European and some farmers' markets. If it is unavailable, use parsnip plus a generous handful of parsley stems rather than substituting more celery.
The wineHalf a bottle of dry white, unoaked. It will not cook off entirely in an hour at a bare simmer, so use something you would drink; the acidity is structural to the finished essence.
Cook slowlyOne hour at a lazy simmer, not a boil. A rolling boil emulsifies the butter into the liquid and clouds it, which defeats the skimming step that follows.
StrainingA napkin or silk sieve means a fine cloth: damp cheesecloth doubled, or a coffee filter if you want it glass-clear. Let it drip rather than pressing the solids, which would push through starch and sediment.
No saltNone is called for anywhere in the recipe. Season at the point of use rather than here.
Yield and keepingThe recipe states no yield; starting from a quart and a half of water plus half a bottle of wine, expect a noticeable reduction after an hour's simmering, absorption by three pounds of vegetables, and straining. Treat it like any unsalted vegetable stock: a few days refrigerated, or frozen in ice-cube trays for use by the spoonful.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Charles Ranhofer's summation of his long tenure as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and its recipe sections work as a parts catalogue: hundreds of stocks, essences, roux and garnishes that the later recipes call for by number. An essence in this system is a strong infusion meant to reinforce flavor, though the quantities here he bbottle of wine and quart and a half of water are ample enough to serve as a cooking liquid, and this one draws on six vegetables rather than a single dominant one. It contains no meat or bones, which made it useful where a veal-based stock would muddy a dish, though it is not strictly lean: it is built on three ounces of butter. The use of parsley root and turnip alongside carrot, onion and celery is broader than the carrot-onion-celery mirepoix common in kitchens now.