consomme vs. broth

[JLJ]

Is beef consomme the same thing as beef broth? If not, can I substitute the latter for the former?

Many thanks,
Jennifer

[Gail]

Close enough.

Epicurious defines broth as: A liquid resulting from cooking vegetables, meat or fish in water. The term is sometimes used synonymously with bouillon.
Their definition of consommé is: A clarified meat or fish broth. Consommé can be served hot or cold, and is variously used as a soup or sauce base. A double consommé has been reduced until it is half the volume (and has twice the flavor) of regular (or single) consommé.

[BethR]

Consomme is clarified broth. I think it is clarified with egg whites, but I don't know the exact technique for doing it (if you happen to get Martha Stewart Living, I'm pretty sure she discussed making your own consomme in a fairly recent issue). I'm not sure if it's interchangable with beef broth in recipes. If it were me, I'd probably give it a try with broth.
Beth

[MrsReber]

I have substituted before and it seems to have worked out just fine!

[MelissaAS]

I had the exact same question this weekend- you must be making King Edward soup! Anyway, apparently the consumme option is better because it has some gelatin in it that gives the soup more body. In a pinch, I'd go for it with the broth, though. One other piece of advice: My sister made the soup last week and made 2 substitutions: canned diced tomatoes for the fresh ones, and orzo instead of rice- they were both delicious!

[JLJ]

Originally posted by MelissaAS:
I had the exact same question this weekend- you must be making King Edward soup! Anyway, apparently the consumme option is better because it has some gelatin in it that gives the soup more body. In a pinch, I'd go for it with the broth, though. One other piece of advice: My sister made the soup last week and made 2 substitutions: canned diced tomatoes for the fresh ones, and orzo instead of rice- they were both delicious!

You've got the right edition of CL, but the wrong recipe. I am planning to make the Swedish Meatballs--tonight, in fact! The King Edward soup looks fantastic, though. Thanks for the tip on the substitutions.

[cryskie]

King Edward Soup is on my menu this week--but I'm making it with vegetable broth instead of beef consomme. Talk about tweaking a recipe! We'll see how it turns out...

Crystal

[jliah]

Cryskie, did you make the King Edward Soup yet? I'm wondering if I should make it this next week.

Thanks.