Mark Storkamp > wrote:

> Do you make your own stock? Or do you use canned stocks? Making my own
> is something I haven't done yet, but I have memories of my mother
> simmering a large pot for most of the day. If a pressure cooker would
> speed things up a bit, then I'll have to look into that option.

Here is Heston Blumenthal's take on it. (I posted this before.)

Victor

Relieve the pressure
Heston Blumenthal
The Guardian
Saturday February 7, 2004

OK, being awarded three Michelin stars at the Fat Duck is fantastic - a
dream, really - but it's terrifying at the same time. So it's a relief
to get back to the business of cooking. I'm a sucker for hi-tech kitchen
tools (though readers of my recent recipe column may have guessed that
already). Anyway, at the Fat Duck we've just started using a brilliant
gadget to make stocks. It's not exactly cutting-edge - it's the humble
pressure cooker - but it makes stock better and quicker than any other
method I know of.

Now, this may seem obvious, but when you smell those wonderful odours
while you're cooking, it's a sign that you're losing flavours through
those volatile elements that disappear in the air. A pressure cooker,
however, keeps the aromas and flavour molecules sealed in the pot. Also,
it cooks at a higher temperature than conventional methods - as high as
140°C, which is round about the point when those lovely meaty flavours
in the stock really begin to develop. In a normal stockpot, by contrast,
water evaporates at boiling point, taking flavour with it. A final
advantage is that the pressure keeps the liquid inside the cooker much
less turbulent, which helps to keep the stock that much clearer even
before you clarify it (unlike the traditional method, which renders all
sorts of impurities).

So, sweat some chopped onion and star anise (this really brings out the
meaty flavours) in a little oil, add the stock bones or meat, along with
water (or stock), clamp on the lid of your pressure cooker, and set over
the heat. And, after 30 minutes' cooking and 10 minutes' cooling down
time, you will have the best, truest tasting stock you've ever made.

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