When I make chicken stock at home by cooking meat and bones, the resulting fluid contains a considerable amount of gelatin, as observed in Why did my Turkey Stock turn into gelatin?; it solidifies when chilled.
When I buy commercial chicken broth/stock in a can or box, it doesn't seem to contain a significant amount of gelatin. Why not? How do they avoid / remove the gelatin?
If I wanted to make homemade chicken stock with much less gelatin, so that it wouldn't gel when cooled, how could I do it?
Best Answer
The gelatin has come out of the bones; I find a good chicken stock is often a bit gelatinous when cooled.
As a general rule, when you cook stock for a really long time/on a higher heat, then it's likely to have a higher gelatin content (as it will reduce more and there is also more time for the gelatin to transfer from the bones to the stock liquid).
Generally, when I make chicken stock I put a whole chicken, a couple of carrots, a couple of sticks of celery, and a few brown onions chopped in half in a big pot and fill it with water. I'd simmer it for 1.5-2 hours and then chuck the veggies, and strip the meat from the chicken. The stock I get from that needs to be skimmed of fat, but is usually fairly light and not overly gelatinous when it cools (although it always is a little bit).
I hope that helps!