Beef Broth

From Season 9: Soups of the Day

When we surveyed the beef broth field in 1998, tasters found every brand so dreadful that we all but banished supermarket beef broth from the test kitchen. The problem boiled down to an appalling lack of beef flavor. Lots of salt, plenty of vegetal flavors, a few metallic off-notes—but hardly anything that said beef beyond the brownish hue. When we learned that the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires only 1 part beef to every 135 parts water, we weren't surprised that most products came up short. (That translates to less than an ounce of beef for each gallon of water.)

Since our original tasting of beef broths, an impressive collection of new products has hit the supermarket shelves, so we decided to take another taste. We were especially intrigued by the increased availability of beef "bases," stock concentrates (just add water) that were once used almost exclusively by restaurants. Could any of these make us reconsider our boycott of beef broth?

Where's the Beef?

Tasters sipped 13 beef broths--seven liquid broths and six made from concentrated bases--simply heated and served straight up. The top eight brands moved on to a full battery of tastings: plain (again), regular strength in a simple beef soup, and reduced in an all-purpose gravy.

The good news first: Some of these broths didn't taste half-bad! Even better, a few broths actually tasted like beef. Hints of mushroom, onion, other vegetables, and even chicken were still more common, but two brands elicited consistent praise for assertive beefiness.

So what makes a better beef broth? Our hopes of finding a clear pattern based on product type (that is, liquid broths versus concentrated bases) were quickly dashed after the final results were tallied. What about the presence of beef itself? Foiled again. Virtually every product in the lineup included some form of beef near the top of the ingredients list, and every manufacturer we contacted was unwilling to provide additional details. To get around this roadblock, we sent samples to an independent lab to be analyzed for protein content--but to no avail.

Frustrated, we canvassed industry experts to shed light on the beefy/not-so-beefy divide. The consensus was that it would be cost-prohibitive for broth makers to stray beyond the USDA's minimum beef-to-water ratio. Given that meager amount, manufacturers must rely on the magic of flavor chemistry to avoid a completely tasteless brew, which explained the blandness of the one beef broth that opted for the all-natural route.

In our lineup, every broth contained a generous amount of the most common additive--salt. Most contained some form of sugar (including plain sugar, corn syrup solids, and maltodextrin). So far, so familiar. It was when we looked more closely at the less familiar ingredients that we stumbled upon our most important clues--namely, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and autolyzed yeast extract. Many sources we consulted lumped these additives together simply as "flavor enhancers," but more diligent digging revealed that they work quite differently.

Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (made by altering soybean, corn, or other vegetable molecules through a chemical reaction, hydrolysis) merely adds flavor complexity, sort of like adding spices or salt. By contrast, autolyzed yeast extract (made by allowing yeast enzymes to feed on carefully chosen sugars and proteins until they release flavor-enhancing compounds) works like MSG (monosodium glutamate). Rather than contribute additional flavors, yeast extract amplifies flavors already present, especially savory and meaty ones. By including yeast extract in the mix, that USDA recipe of just 1 part beef to 135 parts water can taste like 20 parts beef instead.

Suddenly, the pieces were falling into place. As we scanned the ingredients lists of our beef broths, we spotted a definite pattern. While many of the products contained yeast extract, they differed markedly in where it fell in the mix. In our top four brands, yeast extract was placed second or third (just after beef or salt). Moving down the ranks, the placement of yeast extract began to fall dramatically. What's more, our top five brands included no hydrolyzed vegetable protein (which can produce "metallic" off-tastes). The rest of the brands included multiple forms of hydrolyzed vegetable protein--and a few of them were indeed faulted for metallic off-notes. If yeast extract offers such a clear advantage in terms of flavor, why wouldn't all beef-broth manufacturers opt to include it in the mix? Quite simply: cost. Yeast extracts are far more expensive than hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, in large part because the technology is so much newer.

So which broth to stock? Based on our tests, just note the first few ingredients listed on the label. We found the winning combination to be beef plus a flavor amplifier--in the form of yeast extract--near the top of the list.