Why does bone soup turn white? What are the tips for making bone soup white?

We all know that bone soup is a common type of broth and a relatively nutritious soup ingredient. Many people make bone soup at home. There are certain requirements and skills for making bone soup. Some people make the bone soup clear and watery, while others make the bone soup thick and white. So how do you make bone soup white? Let's take a closer look!

Why does bone soup turn white?

The thick and white color of bone soup is an emulsification phenomenon. The fat in the bones is decomposed during the cooking process of pig bones, and the decomposed fat is decomposed into fat particles again during the continuous rolling of the soup. The fat particles then emulsify with some emulsifying proteins in the soup, so that the bone soup will emulsify after a long time of cooking and the soup will become thick and white. So from the above, we can see that fat is indispensable for thick and white soup, and the second is emulsifier. Emulsifier can be understood as protein in the ingredients, so when both are present, it will be easy to make the soup white, and the bone soup produced will become thick and white.

How to make bone soup

1. Choice of ingredients

If you want bone soup to be thick and white, fat is essential. Therefore, you can choose pork shanks, because pork shanks contain a lot of bone marrow, and the fat in the bones will slowly be decomposed during the cooking process. If you want to make the soup white and thick with commercial bone soup, you can add pig skin or some chicken feet to the soup, because these two ingredients not only contain fat but also contain more gelatin, which makes it easier to make the soup white and thick.

The second is the emulsifier. The lecithin, gelatin molecules and some proteins with emulsifying properties in the ingredients have an emulsifying effect. In addition to the proteins in the ingredients themselves that can produce emulsifying effects, if you want the bone soup to become thick and white, you can also add soybeans. Because soybeans contain more emulsifiers, many home-cooked soups or commercial bone soup bases will add soybeans to the soup. Soybeans can not only make the soup thick and white, but also make the taste of the bone soup sweet and fresh.

2. Add water and seasoning

① Addition of clean water

After choosing the right ingredients, if you want to make a thick and white bone soup, the amount of water added is very important. If too much water is added, the color of the bone soup will not be thick and white enough, and the taste will be very light. The amount of water added to homemade bone soup should be twice as much as the raw materials, while the amount of water added to commercial bone soup should be three times as much as the raw materials (commercial cooking takes a long time).

Add enough water at one time, and do not add cold water in the middle, because adding cold water will cause the temperature of the soup to drop suddenly, causing the ingredients to shrink, and the protein and fat in the ingredients to coagulate. The bone soup made in this way will definitely not be thick and white enough, and the taste will not be strong enough. If you need to add water in the middle, you should add water of the same temperature as the soup, and the water added should not be more than half of the soup, one third is appropriate.

② Adding seasoning

No matter what kind of soup you are making, remember to add seasonings after the soup is cooked. Adding salt too early will cause the protein and fat in the ingredients to solidify prematurely and become insoluble in the soup. Also, adding salt too early will make the bone soup dark in color, so adding salt too early will also affect the concentration and taste of the soup.

3. Firepower control is also important

In order to make the bone soup thick and white, it is also important to control the heat. Keeping the soup rolling can make the various nutrients in the ingredients precipitate faster. The precipitated nutrients continue to roll to speed up the emulsification reaction, so that the bone soup can become thick and white faster and better.

If the fire is too low and the soup is only slightly boiling, the bone soup will not be thick and white enough. The reason is that if the fire is too low, the nutrients in the bones will take a long time to precipitate, and because there is no rolling during the emulsification process, it is difficult for the fat particles and the emulsifier to fully react, so the color of the bone soup will be lighter. So in one sentence, it can be summarized as "low heat for clear soup, high heat for thick soup."

How to make bone broth

1. Raw material processing

Choose 2-3 kg of fresh pork leg bones, ask the store owner to cut them to reveal the bone marrow, wash them with clean water to remove the impurities on the surface. Then soak them in cold water for 3-6 hours, changing the water 3-4 times in between (you can put them in the refrigerator in summer). Soaking in clean water is to soak away the heavy blood and hemoglobin in the bones and remove the fishy smell so that the soup can be clear.

2. Blanching

Boil water in a large pot and put the soaked bones into the pot. After the water boils, skim off the foam and impurities. Boil for 2-3 minutes, then remove and wash with water. Especially the green impurities are the hemoglobin secreted when heated.

3. Grilling or broiling

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees for 5 minutes, put the bones in a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes, turning them over once in the middle. The purpose of this step is to make the bone soup milky white, and we have to eat the bone soup. The principle of milky white is that bones contain a lot of gelatin and protein, and the milky white color is the manifestation of fat emulsification in the bones. Therefore, when boiling the soup, the highest water temperature is 100 degrees, which cannot fully emulsify the fat, so we bake it first to fully emulsify the fat. If the fat on the bones is turned into small particles so that they do not condense together and float in the soup, the soup can become milky white and not so greasy to drink, which is very delicious.

4. Boil

Boil water in a large pot and add the roasted bones, then add scallions, ginger slices, and do not add cooking wine. When cooking, add enough water at once, keep the water boiling over high heat, and do not cover the pot to let the fishy smell evaporate. This is the only way to boil out the nutrients in the bones. Also, do not add salt in advance when boiling bone soup, because it will destroy the nutrients in the bones, causing the protein to coagulate and the fat to shrink, and the soup will not become milky white. So if you want to add salt, add it after boiling. Boil over high heat for about 40 minutes, and a pot of milky white bone soup is ready. You can add salt and other side dishes according to your taste.