If your concept of beef stock comes out of a box or can…we need to talk. Box and canned beef stocks are lacking in flavor and taste dreadful, many of which with an awful aftertaste. This is because the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires a ratio of 135 parts water to only 1 part beef. Do you really believe if the FDA doesn’t require beef in beef stock that cost conscious food manufacturers are actually going to use beef? They don’t. As such, the beef flavor in beef stock doesn’t come from beef. It comes from advances in food chemistry. Manufacturers of beef stock use beef powder, technically called “dried pulverized beef tissue” and beef fat technically referred to as a “beef byproduct.” Another product used to give beef stock that “umami” character is MSG. Yum. Don’t you really want to feed your family canned or boxed stock? Continue reading Hearty Beef Stock →