stock vs stock cubes + water
stock vs stock cubes + water
When a receipt requires a liter of stock, you can dilute two stock cube in 1 liter of water and pour in.
My question is, why not just add the water and the cubes directly into the food that your making, without mixing the two prior to adding it?
Is there any reason not just add them unmoxxed and just stir a few times more that you'd have to?
I have done this a million times, I assume the only reason not to is so you're sure it's all well mixed and no bits remain unmixed.
It dissolves better directly in water. Otherwise it may lump up on something else in your food.
However I don't usually make a liter of it. Just a 1dl cup is fine. If I do need more fluid in the food I can add the water directly to the food.
It depends on the dish. If you're slow cooking something then you can just toss the stock cubes in there, no problem.
I think it would depend on what you're using the stock for in the recipe.
Like, I think this would work for a stew, but not for a gravy.
Depends on the food. For vegetable soup I just toss the cubes in with everything else but for cream soups I make the cubes into stock separately. I've never tried adding them to non-soup dishes directly because they're very concentrated and I'm not certain their seasoning would distribute properly, depending on the dish.
Cubes are a substitution, and while a super common one, are not quite the same thing. That said, yes, you do not need to turn them into "stock" by pre-dissolving first.
You may try and if your stock cubes will not produce lumpy sauce or whatever you're cooking, you don't need to mix them prior. Stuff usually disolves better in cold water.
This i find surprising! I'd assume warm water dissolves stuff faster! At least that's my experience with sugar and salt
That is right, you can dissolve faster in warm water. However, some ingredients tend to form lumps in warm water - the main thing to watch out for is starch, commonly used to thicken.