Name: Fish Essence or Extract
Yield: Makes about 1½ cups (reconstituted, about 4 to 6 quarts, or ½ to 1 cup stock per tablespoon of essence, depending on strength desired)
Ingredients: Pinch of dried thyme; 2 cups dry white wine Water as needed; 3 or 4 whole black peppercorns; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened; 4 pounds (or more) fish bones, trimmings, and heads (gills removed) from lean (nonoily) fish; 1 cup (moderately packed) parsley stems; ½ cup diced mushroom trimmings or stems; 2 medium onions, roughly diced; 3 ribs celery, roughly diced; 1 hay leaf

Preparation info

Makes about
1½ cups

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Better Than Store-Bought

By Helen Witty and Elizabeth Schneider

Published 1979

About

Many recipes for preparing seafood call for fish stock or, as an (unsatisfactory) alternative, for bottled clam juice—there being no such thing as fish bouillon cubes on the market. For times when it is inconvenient (which is almost always) to prepare fish stock, having this professional type of essence (glace de poisson) in the freezer or refrigerator provides you with the means to create dishes that you might not normally undertake. For the recipe, we are indebted to chef