A stock is a flavorful liquid prepared by simmering bones, shells, or vegetables in water until the water takes on the flavors, smells, and color of the simmered ingredients. In France they are sometimes called Fonds du Cuisine, the "foundation of cooking." There are three basic types of stocks, white, brown, and fumets.

White stocks are made by adding all the ingredients of the stock into cold water and slowly bringing them to a simmer. This kind of stock goes best when adding to cream sauces or when a light colored subtly flavored stock is needed. To avoid the stock from getting cloudy you should blanche the bones first.

Brown stocks are made by browning the bones and mirepoix, commonly in the oven or stove top, before adding them to the water.(for small batches it is easier to heat bones on stove, larger batches are quicker in the oven) Brown stocks will have a stronger flavor then white stocks. One source claims that if a brown stock is made starting with cold water and not allowed to boil the broth will still remain clear.

Fumets are made by sweating the main ingredients of the stock before simmering, (most of the time the ingredients are simmered in white wine.

What kinds of bones should you use? Bones of young animals have more cartilage and connective tissues, which will break down into gelatin and give the stock body. Knuckle, back and neck bones are great for stock too. Thaw bones before simmering them into stock, cutting bones into 3 inch pieces will help speed the process up. Bones should be rinsed to wash away blood and impurities that can ruin the stock.

DO NOT LET THE STOCK BOIL it will dispense the fat and make a greasy tasting stock. You can cool the stock and when the fat solidifies on the top remove it the next day. Always start with cold water when making a stock, to prevent the starches on the vegetables surface from expanding.

Add a sachet or bouquet garni to the stock to add more flavor. Some people choose not to tie the boquet or sachet since they are going to strain the stock when its finished, but tying the bouquet makes it easier to remove if the herbs begin to impart to much flavor.

Another way to make the stock darker and richer in flavor is to add tomato paste to the browned ingredients. Red wine can be used to deglaze the pan that the browned ingredients are cooked in. Trimming and dried mushrooms can also be added to add more flavor to the stock.

Stock pots are the tallest pots in the kitchen, this is so they have less surface area on the flame to reduce the amount of evaporation. Keep a ladle or skimmer ready to remove impurities throughout the cooking process. For larger batches a kitchen may decide to invest in a tilting kettle, but expect to pay $10-20 thousand for one. Cheesecloth, sieve, or colander will be needed to strain the stock when it is finished. An ice paddle should be used to bring the temperature back down to under 40F in less then 4 hours, as mentioned in Servesafe equirements to prevent food contamination. A cheap way to create an ice paddle is freeze a 2 liter soda bottle 3/4 filled with water (not recommended in institutional use). Or separate the stock into numerous small containers for quick cooling. If bubbles appear in a refrigerated stock dispose of it, it is contaminated.

Remouillage is French for rewetting, it means to use the bones and mirepoix again after it has already been used to make stock.

Glace is the term for a highly reduced stock and will have a cooled consistency of gelatin.

Commercial bases are a common way many places make their stocks or add stronger flavor to handmade stocks. I remember when reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain mentioning adding bouillion cubes to his stock in culinary school and no one understanding how he could get so much more flavor out of the bones. Some bases are highly reduced forms of stock, some are powders or cubes. Check the ingredients for any being used, some bases are very high in sodium and some contain few real base ingredients.

Basic Meat stock recipe: yield one gallon
8 lbs of bones and trimming
1 gallon cold water
1 lb mirepoix
1 bouquet garni

1. decide if you want white or brown stock
2. For brown stock lightly oil the pan, add bones and mirepoix to pan and roast at 425F for 30 minutes. (omit this step for white stock)
3. Place bones and mirepoix in stock pot of cold water, deglaze pan with water or red wine, bring pot to a light simmer.
4. Simmer the pot for 1 hour.
5. Skim, strain and cool

There are a few possible ways to thicken a sauce, soup, or stock each having their own advantages and disadvantages.

One way is to make a roux. A roux is a blend of flour and a fat that is heated up and added to the liquid. Clarified butter is usually the most suggested type of fat used, but regular butter, oils, and rendered animal fats may be used. The mixture of 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat (many other books suggest equal ratios) should be heated in a suate pan to the desired color. A white or lightly cooked roux will thicken the sauce more then a darker roux, but will leave a more floury flavor. Cooking the roux darker will add a more nutty aroma and flavor, and can change the color of the sauce. A white roux would be better used in a sauce like bechemel or veloute. A brown roux which is cooked until it turns dark is commonly used in Cajun/creole cooking in dishes like gumbo.
The flour used also can impact how the roux will thicken, cake flour (higher starch to protein) will thicken more than bread flour. All-purpose flour is a mixture of the two and is the most commonly used. It is suggested to add a hot roux to a cold sauce, or to add a hot sauce to a cold roux (to avoid lumping). Avoid adding hot roux to a hot liquid, since it may splash and cause burns. Also, when adding roux the sauce will need to be stirred until thickened. Roux can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the freezer, freezing the roux in ice cube trays may help measure for consistency. 2 ice cubes with one tablespoon each of roux will thicken one cup of liquid. After the roux is added and the sauce is heated and thickened it is suggested to skim the sauce to remove impurities in the flour.
If fat floats on top of the flour, the roux has separated, throw out the roux and start over.

A beurre manie is mixture of equal parts flour and butter, kneaded together, so as the butter melts it mixes with the flour, and slowly thickens the sauce as you add more.

Another way to thicken a sauce or soup is to create a starch slurry. Corn starch is the most commonly used, but arrowroot, tapioca, rice flour, and potato starch can also be used. Corn starch is translucent, thickens when heated, but can gel when cooled, too much heat will reduce its thickening abilities. Arrowroot has the same thickening power as cornstarch, but will not gel when cooled, also will hold up better to heat for a longer period of time. Tapioca flour stronger then cornstarch, available at Asian grocery stores. Potato starch is the strongest of the starches, but costs more. Rice flour is the weakest of the starches, can be frozen, but can be expensive. Disadvantages also include that starches do not thicken with acidic sauces and a skin will form over chilled dairy sauces.

Liaison is a mixture of egg yolks and cream used to slightly thicken sauces and add a smooth texture, bold flavor, and a slight ivory color. Cream and eggs (8 oz cream to three egg yolks) are whisked together, this raises the cooking temperature of the eggs. After mixing the eggs and cream gradually add the hot sauce to the egg mixture while constantly. This process is called tempering and is done to prevent the egg from cooking. When about 1/3 of the sauce is mixed in the egg bowl you can dump the egg/sauce mixture into the pot with the rest of the sauce and whisk. Be careful not to let the sauce get over 185F or the eggs will curdle ruining the sauce. Flour in the sauce can help reduce the eggs from cooking in the sauce also. If the sauce gets to hot you can try to save it by placing the put in an ice bath to quickly bring the temperature down, whisk in more cream, you can also try to straining the sauce. Sauces in aluminum pots containing egg yolks can turn grey.

If the sauce is chunky try pureeing the sauce to thicken it.

File powder will also help thicken a gumbo, but should be added after the gumbo is removed from heat, and does not reheat well, so should be added right before gumbo is served.

Before adding a roux or starch to a stock always skim the fat off the top, once the roux or starch bounds to the fat in the stock it will be impossible to skim the fat out.

Gums like guar, xanthan, tara, carob, tragacanth, and arabic gums can also be used. Guar gum (E-412) is a powder made from the seeds of the leguminous plant. It is soluble in cold water and still works as a thickener under the use of high heat. Xanthan gum (E-415) is a powder produced from fermented cornstarch with bacteria from cabbage. It can resist thawing and freezing, is soluable in hot or cold water, stable in acids, and gels when mixed with equal parts carob gum. Carob gum (E-410) main use is to add elasticity to gels made with agar and carrageenans to help them avoid cracking. Tragacanth gum (E-413) is a thickener that works with acidic foods. Arabic gum (E-414) also called acacia gum or Senegal gum, is a weakest of the gum thickeners but can also be used to help emulsify essential oils into soft drinks.
The (E-NUMBER) is the European code for the elements found in food.

Bouquet garni, sachets, and oignon brules are herb, vegetable, and spice mixtures commonly used to add flavor and aromatics to stocks, sauces, and soups.

The Bouquet garni is commonly made with a sprig of thyme, parsley stems, a bay leaf, 2 or 3 leek leaves, and a celery stalk. After cleaning the leeks, lay them down and place the other ingredients on the leeks, roll the leek leaves around the other ingredients and tie them with a piece of string. Tie one end of string to the pot handle and the toss the bouquet garni into the stock, sauce, or soup. Pull it out when you feel enough of the flavor has infused into the dish.
Julia Childs uses a bouquet of just parsley, thyme, and bay leaf then wraps them in a cheesecloth for easy removal. The Joy of Cooking gives an optional suggestion of using cloves in the bouquet and provides a suggestion if you only have dried herbs available, converted measurement for one bouquet, 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley, 1/4 tsp dried thyme, 1/4 tsp dried marjoram, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp dried celery leaves. A sachet usually contains spices, herbs, and vegetables. A common sachet includes parsley stems, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns, and garlic cloves. These ingredients are commonly tied up in a cheesecloth for easy removal, but can be added without a cheesecloth if the sauce or stock will be strained. The sachet is basically like a teabag for stocks and other flavors can be added to create new flavors. Also, for beef based stocks in the Provencal tradition orange rind and marjoram is added to the bouquet garni.

CIA suggests adding bouquet garnis and sachets in the last fifteen minutes when making small batches of less then a gallon and an hour before for larger amounts. They also recommend tasting the dish before, and after the bouquet is added to realize the effects the bouquet has on the dish so the flavors do not overwhelm the sauce. James Peterson's book sauces suggests adding to bouquet garni in the last hour of the sauce making process and if the sauce, stock, or soup tastes bland add another bouquet garni at the end of the cooking process to provide more flavor.

The oignon brule, or burnt onion is commonly used in bechemel sauce (cream based mother sauce). But was not used in the bechemel recipe in the CIA textbook. To make a oignon brule, cut an onion in half or quarters depending on how much sauce your making. Quickly char the edges of the onion in a dry skillet or grill. Stick a toothpick through it and add garlic cloves, bay leaf to the onion, then add it to the sauce.