Base…a chef’s baseline

So I’ve been wanting to talk about base for a while now. For those of you who are     die-hard bullion users, welcome to the new century and usher in with all due fanfare…base!

I’m not certain how long bases have been around but there’s no doubt for those who use them that they truly are a chef’s best friend. Let me extrapolate:

Bases are a super concentrated paste made from pork, beef, chicken, seafood…anyplace you might normally find bullion. Base is much more flavorful and goes a heckuva (thanks Sarah!) long way further than bullion. Those super salty little cubes are a pain in my tuckus and have  about the flavor punch of a baby. Enter base. This super concentrated paste is usually lower in sodium than bullion and is easily added to soups, stews, sauces…anywhere you need a wee bit of a flavor boost.

I was buying the professional version when I was working, but there is a good variety in the supermarket. You should be able to find it in the soup section, or wherever they sell that inferior bovril or bullion. The brand down here is “Better Than Bullion” and indeed it is.

So here’s the skinny on base. Sure, you could use stock but stock is going to add significant volume to whatever you’re making. Say you’re making chicken pot pie and you’re working on the sauce. You don’t want to add a bunch of chicken stock that is going to leave you with gallons of sauce, but a teaspoon or two (yup, that’s it) will add all the chicken flavor you need to your sauce.

Yes, I know it’s cheating. But not everybody has time to boil down bones for hours at a time to get a demiglace of such and such. Keep that base in your fridge and it’ll keep for months. Just add a spoonful to that crockpot of beef stew and watch what happens.

High in sodium you say? Sure, look at the label and gasp. But keep in mind that you’re just using a tiny tiny amount which is being folded out into multiple servings. Also consider the amount of sodium in those store brand stocks. When I make my own stock (yes, I still do on occasion), not a drop of salt hits the pot. Ever. The simple answer to the sodium in base is don’t add any extra salt until you’ve added your base. Base first, then salt.

I honestly cannot eat roast beef gravy without base in it. The base adds such a wonderful beef flavor that anything else is sub-par.

Try it in place of bullion – trust me. You won’t regret it!