Hello again, Finler.
I am happy to report that I have located a source for you. A company
called Gateway Gourmet markets glace de viande (meat glaze), glace de
volaille (chicken glaze), and many other classic reductions under the
"More than Gourmet" brand name. They are described, on their software
vendor's website, as "proud to be the only company today making
classic French sauces in the old world tradition as defined
by...Escoffier."
www.techgroupintl.com/MTG_-_Case_Study.pdf
The ingredients are listed on their website, and they are absolutely
classic preparations; bones, mirepoix, roux, tomato paste (in the
brown sauces)and a few flavouring ingredients (they don't specify, but
classically one uses a "sachet d'epices" consisting of bay leaf,
thyme, parsley stems, and black peppercorns). They emphasize that
their product contains no salt, and no msg.
One ingredient they mention, which perhaps requires a small additional
explanation, is gelatin. Gelatin is found in all meat-based stocks,
and is derived from the bones and connective tissues in the meats.
Calves' and pigs' feet, and chicken wings and feet, are particularly
rich sources of gelatin. It is gelatin which gives a well-made stock
its rich mouthfeel. In small-volume production, one achieves a
suitably high level of gelatin by adding, say, two or three pig's feet
to the pot. In high volume production, it is easier and more
cost-effective to simply add gelatin. Commercially-made gelatin is,
after all, prepared from precisely these same sources.
Although the whole site is worth reading, the page relating to glace
de viande may be found at the following link:
http://www.gatewaygourmet.com/viande.htm
To purchase products from their partner site (Club Sauce), you may
click through the links on their site, or go directly to this link for
the glace de viande and related products:
http://www.clubsauce.com/category_pages/category_demi.htm
Personally I have a great love for soup- and stock- making, and I
would encourage you not to rule out the notion of making your own.
All that's required, really, is a large pot. While the process does
take a certain amount of time, it is important to remember that it is
largely *unattended* time; start your stock and go away for hours.
The reduction of stock to glace, likewise, can be done on autopilot.
In short, while it is not completely effortless, it certainly is easy
enough for anyone with the interest to undertake. I even know people
who make stock overnight in their crock pot!
Search strategy:
"glace de viande" order
-Chromedome |
Clarification of Answer by
chromedome-ga
on
17 Feb 2005 19:52 PST
I am rather mortified.
When I originally answered your question, I read the ingredients on
several of their products, and would have sworn that salt was not on
the list. Going back today, I find that it is. I cannot think how I
didn't see that.
The d'Artagnan company, mentioned by Voila-ga in her comment below,
does indeed have a glace without salt in it; unfortunately the only
one they offer is a duck/veal glace. This is not a bad thing, in fact
it sounds rather good to me, but it would not be as versatile as a
purely veal-based glace de viande.
I will persevere for a few more days, drawing on some offline contacts
as well as doing a deeper online search. I should be able to turn up
something for you, if it exists.
Which city do you live in? Some restaurants, and occasionally even
cooking schools, offer stocks and sauces for sale. That may be an
avenue I could explore.
One final note: the "skimming, skimming, skimming" you refer to takes
place almost entirely within the first hour of cooking time, as the
bones come up to temperature. Some chefs "blanch" their bones (bring
the water to a boil, pour it away along with the impurities, and start
over with fresh water), which reduces the work. Either way, it's a
limited period of vigilance followed by much unattended simmering.
I will report back, successful or otherwise, within the next few days.
-Chromedome
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