# Better than Bouillon **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 15, 2020, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-than-bouillon/846470 "2020-01-15T20:29:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-than-bouillon/846470/21 "2020-01-16T13:40:10Z")
I used their vegetable flavor with wild rice in a pressure cooker, and it made a marvelous side dish which was devoured by all involved in minutes. We use it at home regularly. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-than-bouillon/846470/22 "2020-01-16T14:28:16Z")
I use the stuff when I don’t have any homemade stock, which is frequent, because once we have homemade stock we tend to use it quickly. I also use Knorr Suiza when I’m doing a dry dish, such as a stir fry, because it brings plenty of salt. The BTB I use for wet dishes. I always dissolve it in some water from the kettle prior to use. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-than-bouillon/846470/23 "2020-01-16T15:31:09Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I can make an ambrosial (if I do say so myself) stock or broth from scratch, and often do, using only original, unadulterated ingredients. By the time I roast the bones, add the water, the “solids” (carrots, onions, garlic, celery, parsley), herbs, salt and pepper, simmer till reduced, then strain, it takes most of a day. I usually make soup from this base. > > Sometimes ya just want a cup of broth for a recipe in a hurry, y’know? BTB is wonderful for this. Yeah, this. I took a cooking class in Vietnam to learn to make Pho. We started by making stock and letting it simmer while we prepared the other ingredients. I thought when it came time to use the stock, they would do what Sur La Table does with dough and use the stock that the prior class made. Nope. With a wink and nod, the chef scooped some Better than Bouillon into the stock we started maybe 30 minutes before. He explained that we should let the stock simmer for a few hours at least and remove the floating solids as we went but we just didn’t have the time for that. I was already a fan of better than Bouillon but I was still shocked by how well the Pho turned out despite the shortcut. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-than-bouillon/846470/24 "2020-01-16T15:47:59Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > Yeah, this. > > I took a cooking class in Vietnam to learn to make Pho. We started by making stock and letting it simmer while we prepared the other ingredients. I thought when it came time to use the stock, they would do what Sur La Table does with dough and use the stock that the prior class made. Nope. With a wink and nod, the chef scooped some Better than Bouillon into the stock we started maybe 30 minutes before. He explained that we should let the stock simmer for a few hours at least and remove the floating solids as we went but we just didn’t have the time for that. I was already a fan of better than Bouillon but I was still shocked by how well the Pho turned out despite the shortcut. That’s similar to I believe it was Anthony Bourdain’s story in Kitchen Confidential of sneaking in regular ol stock cubes to stock making class and surreptitiously mixing some in. He said something along the lines of the instructors being amazed at how he got so much more flavor out of his stock than the rest of his classmates. Plain ol MSG would have done the trick, too, I think. I do the same thing when I want to amp up a stock or stew — plain MSG, Knorr powder, or BTB. All work a treat, but I like to go easy on the as it can start to taste too “processed” to me if adding too much. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-than-bouillon/846470/25 "2020-01-16T15:57:59Z")
It’s great. I get the low-salt chicken. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-than-bouillon/846470.md?page=1)