Consommé and Clarification with Egg Whites

One of the most remarkable soups is consommé, an intensely flavored, amber-colored, clear liquid with a distinct but delicate body. (The name comes from the French for “to consume,” “to use up,” and referred to the medieval practice of cooking the meat broth down until it reached the right consistency.) It is made by preparing a basic stock mainly from meat, not flavor-poor bones or skin, and then clarifying it while simultaneously extracting a second batch of meat and vegetables. It’s a kind of double stock made expressly for soup; as much as a pound/0.5 kg of meat may go into producing one serving.