Fond Blanc de Volaille — White Chicken Stock

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White chicken stock is the workhorse of the French kitchen — the foundation liquid that appears in more preparations than any other single ingredient. Its construction demands discipline rather than complexity: raw chicken bones and carcasses (never roasted, which would produce fond brun) are blanched in cold water brought to a gentle simmer, then drained and refreshed. This blanching step removes blood proteins and impurities that would cloud the stock irreparably. The blanched bones go into a clean pot with fresh cold water — always cold, because gradual heating extracts collagen more efficiently than a hot start. The mirepoix is classical: onion, carrot, celery in 2:1:1 ratio, added raw and uncoloured. The bouquet garni — thyme, bay, parsley stems, and a few peppercorns — goes in at the same time. The stock simmers at 85-90°C for 3-4 hours, never boiling, skimmed every 20 minutes with a ladle that removes fat and scum without disturbing the surface. Boiling emulsifies fat into the liquid, creating a permanently cloudy, greasy stock. The finished stock is strained through muslin, cooled rapidly in an ice bath, and refrigerated. A properly made fond blanc sets to a firm jelly at 4°C — this gelatin body is the source of velvety mouthfeel in every sauce, soup, and braise it enters. If the stock does not gel, the bone-to-water ratio was wrong or extraction time was insufficient.

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