A bouillon cube (also known as a stock cube) is dehydrated

broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish, or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups ...

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

formed into a small

cube A cube or regular hexahedron is a three-dimensional space, three-dimensional solid object in geometry, which is bounded by six congruent square (geometry), square faces, a type of polyhedron. It has twelve congruent edges and eight vertices. It i ...

or other cuboid shape. The most common format is a cube about wide. It is typically made from

dehydrated In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water that disrupts Metabolism, metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds intake, often resulting from excessive sweating, health conditions, or inadequate consumption of wate ...

vegetables or meat stock, a small portion of fat, MSG, salt, and seasonings, shaped into a small cube.

Vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

and

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

types are also made. Bouillon is also available in granular, powdered, liquid, and paste forms.

History

Dehydrated meat stock, in the form of tablets, was known in the 17th century to English food writer Anne Blencowe, who died in 1718,Joan Thirsk, 'Blencowe, Anne, Lady Blencowe (1656–1718)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oct 2005; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 17 Nov 2016
/ref> and elsewhere as early as 1735. Various French cooks in the early 19th century (Lefesse, Massué, and Martin) tried to patent bouillon cubes and tablets, but were turned down for lack of originality.Jennifer Davis, ''Defining Culinary Authority: The Transformation of Cooking in France, 1650–1830'', Louisiana State University Press, 2013, p. 154''f''

Nicolas Appert Nicolas Appert (17 November 1749 – 1 June 1841) was a French confectioner and inventor who, in the early 19th century, invented airtight food preservation. Appert, known as the " father of food science", described his invention as a way "of c ...

also proposed such dehydrated bouillon in 1831. Portable soup was a kind of dehydrated food used in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was a precursor of

meat extract Meat extract is highly concentrated meat stock, usually made from beef or chicken. It is used to add meat flavor in cooking, and to make broth for soups and other liquid-based foods. Meat extract was invented by Baron Justus von Liebig, a Germa ...

and bouillon cubes, and of industrially

food. It is also known as ''pocket soup'' or ''veal glue''. It is a cousin of the '' glace de viande'' of French cooking. It was long a staple of seamen and explorers, for it would keep for many months or even years. In this context, it was a filling and nutritious dish. Portable soup of less extended vintage was, according to the 1881 ''

Household Cyclopedia The ''Household Cyclopedia of General Information'' was an American guide to housekeeping compiled by physician and author Henry Hartshorne, then a professor of hygiene at the University of Pennsylvania. The guide, which describes itself as cont ...

'', "exceedingly convenient for private families, for by putting one of the cakes in a saucepan with about a quart of water, and a little salt, a basin of good broth may be made in a few minutes." In the mid-19th century, German chemist

Justus von Liebig Justus ''Freiherr'' von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 18 April 1873) was a Germans, German scientist who made major contributions to the theory, practice, and pedagogy of chemistry, as well as to agricultural and biology, biological chemistry; he is ...

developed

, but it was more expensive than bouillon cubes. The invention of the bouillon cube is also attributed to

Auguste Escoffier Georges Auguste Escoffier (; 28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur, and culinary writer who popularised and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-A ...

, one of the most accomplished French chefs of his time, who also pioneered many other advances in food preservation, such as the canning of tomatoes and vegetables. Industrially produced bouillon cubes were commercialized by

Maggi Maggi (, ) is an international brand of seasonings, instant soups, and noodles that originated in Switzerland in the late 19th century. In 1947, the Maggi brand was acquired by the Switzerland, Swiss giant Nestlé. History Early history ...

in 1908, by Oxo in 1910, and by Knorr in 1912. By 1913, at least 10 brands were available, with salt contents of 59–72%.

Ingredients

The ingredients vary between manufacturers and may change from time to time. Typically, the ingredients consists of salt, hydrogenated fat,

monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is a sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer with a ...

, flavor enhancers, and flavors.

bouillon cubes are manufactured from

iodized salt Iodised salt ( also spelled iodized salt) is table salt mixed with a minute amount of various iodine salts. The ingestion of iodine prevents iodine deficiency. Worldwide, iodine deficiency affects about two billion people and is the leading p ...

, hydrogenated

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of common wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ...

, flavor enhancers (

, disodium inosinate,

disodium guanylate Disodium guanylate, also known as sodium 5'-guanylate and disodium 5'-guanylate, is a natural sodium salt of the flavor enhancing nucleotide guanosine monophosphate (GMP). Disodium guanylate is a food additive with the E number E627. It is com ...

), chicken fat,

chicken meat The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

caramel Caramel ( or ) is a range of food ingredients made by heating sugars to high temperatures. It is used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons or candy bars, as a topping for ice cream and custard, and as a colorant ...

yeast extract Yeast extracts consist of the cell contents of yeast without the cell walls; they are used as food additives or flavorings, or as nutrients for bacterial culture Growing media, media. They are often used to create savoury flavors and umami tast ...

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

, spices (

turmeric Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...

, white pepper,

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

), and

parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum''), is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to Greece, Morocco and the former Yugoslavia. It has been introduced and naturalisation (biology), naturalized in Eur ...

Production process

Stock cubes are made by mixing already dry ingredients into a paste. The ingredients are usually mixed in a container (batch mixing), left to mature, and then shaped into the cube form. Alternatively, they can be mixed directly into an extruder.

References

{{Reflist Convenience foods Cubes Food ingredients Dried foods Umami enhancers

History

Ingredients

Production process

See also

References