I recently read that cooking stock for more than about 2 hours negatively affects the flavor, and eventually vitiates the vitamins due to heat degradation.
This seems to conflict with advice I've read previously, which states that you need to do a "shimmering only" simmer (no bubbles) for 24-36 hours in order to extract/denature all of the collagen.
My questions are:
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Is it true that extended simmering destroys flavor and nutrients, and if so, is it due to the time, temperature, or some combination of the two?
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Which advice is better to follow? What are the optimal simmering times for the meat and vegetables?
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If the simmering time for vegetables is shorter – at what stages should I add (and remove) them?
Best Answer
It is true that flavour is affected by cooking time. Most likely nutrients as well, but its about the vegetables. If you cook beef stock you should indeed cook it for several hours to release the collagen and proteins. My experience with chicken takes less time so 30 minutes in the pressure cooker or 1,5 hours in a normal pot. Then you can eat the meat as well. Vegetables should only cook for 30 minuts so add the vegetables 30 minutes before the end of cooking regardless of the kind of soup. The fresh flavor of the vegetables will disapear if you cook it for longer then that. Someone doing research on the flavour development and time for making stock