Importance of reducing stock??

[Bri'sgirl]

After reading several threads on making broth/stock, I noticed that a lot of people reduce their stock to about half. Is this an important step that I've been neglecting? I've been making 24 hour chicken broth for some time now, but keep adding water, because it seems to reduce very quickly. I'm afraid I won't have enough water to cook it and that it will dry up in the pot. Plus, if I reduce it to half, it seems like that's not a lot of stock.

[BettinaAuSucre]

it intensifies the flavor of the chicken and also cooks out any germs from the any left over blood and tissue.

[tanyalynn]

I just reduce it if I'm going to freeze it, a) so it takes up less space, and b) with less water, it's a lot less likely to crack my mason jar. When I use it, I add that amount of water back in, more or less.

If you're having a lot of water boil off _during_ the cooking process, I'd turn down the temperature, a slow simmer is fine, and then you don't need to worry about not noticing the water level and risking it dry up/burn your pan. When I get the temp right, I don't need to add water while I'm originally making it.

[azmomtoone]

I don't reduce mine....low boil for the first couple hours, top off w/ water, then reduce heat & simmer for a couple days.... We have plenty of freezer space though. I also freeze it in plastic 2 or 3 cup containers, then transfer to ziplock bags, which takes up less space (several chunks of stock per bag).

[ursusarctos]

I don't usually reduce mine just because I'm too lazy to bother I simmer on very low with a lid on so not too much moisture escapes and then I freeze half and use up the other half from the fridge within the next couple weeks. I don't think it makes any difference in nutritional value, though it might in taste.

[Bri'sgirl]

Thanks so much for the replies. I simmer my stock on the very lowest my stove will allow and unfortunately, I do not have a proper lid for my pot. I currently use a cookie sheet as my lid. That is the reason for the evaporation.

I'm glad to hear that there probably isn't any difference nutritionally. It does make sense to reduce if I'm going to freeze, so maybe I'll let it reduce just a bit.

[Spirit Dancer]

My stock pot does not have a lid. For awhile I was using a cookie sheet but so much would evaporate. So now I seal the top of the pot with piece of foil leaving only a tiny crack for steam to escape. Works really