thickeners (butter, cream). Because they’re
versatile but tedious to prepare, demi-glace
and glace are manufactured and widely
available in frozen form.
Concentrating Stock and Flavor to
Finish a Dish
An alternative to cooking stock down in
bulk is to reduce it in small quantities to
augment the pan juices of a roast or sauté.
Once the meat is cooked and its juices
concentrated and browned on the pan
bottom, the cook can repeatedly add a
small quantity of stock to the pan and cook
it down until its solids begin to brown, then
dissolve the successive brownings in a
final dose of stock to make the liquid
sauce. The high pan temperature helps
break down the gelatin molecules into
shorter lengths, so the resulting sauce is
less sticky and congeals more slowly than
it would if the gelatin were intact.