Chicken Bouillon Cubes  | Homestyle Stock: Chicken (gels)  |
Chicken Broth (tetra pak)  | Chicken Stock Mix (powder)  |
For this taste test we reconstituted three different types of chicken stock and also tried a chicken stock available in tetra pak.
My observations between the different types:
Homestyle Stock: Chicken (gels): Amber color and opaque. Looks similar in color to the chicken broth available in tetra pack. There was some oil floating around when reconstituted herbs particles floating throughout. It tasted a little salty but still tastes like good chicken broth. Most of the taste testers preferred this one and said it tasted the closest to being homemade.
Chicken Broth (tetra pak): Amber color and opaque. Looks similar to the homestyle chicken stock (gels) except it didn’t have any oil floating on top or herbs floating throughout. Had a nice chicken stock taste but some taste testers found it to be a little bland (most likely due to the fact that it contained less sodium than most of the other samples).
Chicken Bouillon Cubes: Amber and clear in color but oily on the surface. Looked the most appealing initially (amber and clear in color with herb particles floating throughout). However, after awhile the oil droplets started forming a greasy film on top. Yuck!
Chicken Stock Mix (powder): Lightest in color and opaque so it doesn’t really look like chicken broth . Not visually appealing, but has a nice chicken flavour which I find still acceptable.
Initial tasting:
The Homestyle Stock (gels) looked and tasted the most appealing out of the four. I initially had high hopes for the Chicken Bouillon Cubes as this is the one that I typically used but found it to be too salty and also formed this greasy film on top. The Chicken Broth in the tetra pak also looked appealing. If I were to use Chicken Stock all the time, I would probably use this form. However, I actually preferred the Chicken Stock Mix (powder). Despite its pale appearance, I ranked it’s flavour second next to the Homestyle Stock: Chicken (gels) and also don’t have to worry about it going bad since it comes in powdered form.
My thoughts:
There are a number of chicken stock options on the market. Whichever one you choose will depend on your specific needs, uses and personal preference.