I would use something like this

Oxo 8'' fine mesh strainer or a Chinoise with a stand like this. Also for linining cheese cloth or a butter muslin (a finer cheesecloth that is made of stronger fibers than the cheesecloth) would work better than coffee filter. This is what I use for making horchata or veg stock. The other thing I have tried that works pretty well is to use a cheese cloth bag or a bundle for all the ingrediants so that they can just be lifted out of the stock. May not work with meats maybe.

"Best" is always subjective..... I clarify stock using a fine-mesh sieve. If I think it needs more clarifying, I use 3-4 layers of cheese cloth or even a cotton cloth after using the fine-mesh sieve first.

I place the broth into an 8-inch square pan, and when the gelatin has set I'll cut it into cubes. "Dry" the cubes (separated and uncovered) in the refrigerator another 12-24-hours to "dehydrate" them even more in the dry confines of the refrigerator (optional, but I think it intensifies the flavor). Freeze them and pop into a freezer container for storage. I also have a Wilton silicon mold (24 bite-size squares) I use to mold cubes.

This is what I use instead of bouillon cubes or things like Swanson's Flavor Boost Packets or stock base products. Add a cube or two to cooked grains, veggies, make a cup of broth when you're sick, etc...

-Grainlady

When I couldn't lay my hands on my cheesecloth, I used muslin that I had purchased for slipcover pattern making purposes. Apparently, I am not the only one.

Here is a link that might be useful: Muslin for broth

I habitually use a fine mesh cone strainer (a chinoise) with cheese cloth, and then a fat separator, but really don't think these do enough. I'm looking for a transparent liquid, like a consomme. Can I get transparency with mechanical filtration?

I will wander over to Sur La Table and see about finding a finer cloth.

I invested in a good strainer. Double mesh. One is coarse for strength i suppose, and the other is very fine. I make stock in my pasta pot with the colander insert so the large solids are first easily removed, then mesh strained into a glass bowl resting in an ice bath to chill quickly.
(i carefully chose a pasta pot with a strainer insert that touches the bottom of the pot by just a1/2 inch...so many rest 3-4 inches above the bottom!...too much water needed)
I've always made it the same way...very low simmer for 3 hours. Hitting a boil for even a small time will break down the solids and make it cloudy, (at least in my experience).

Another hint is to not cover your solids, veg or bones, to start with. Sticking up an inch or two is fine. As they release their own juices, within an hour, they will be swimming below the water line with a little push a half hour in. I don't 'fuss' it. Just let it be.

I'm familiar with the 'egg white boat' but have not tried it yet. I adore a clear broth for some things but usually don't need it so clear. Though it seems to always be clear by method.

My DH has never made a clear stock. If not discussed, he adds too much water, it finds a boil, too thin so he tries to simmer it down...it gets cloudy and lacks a delicate rich flavor. Still fine for most hearty soups but not divine.

I do like a nice delicate broth when i am gifted an expensive ingredient. Or a made by hand delicate ravioli or pillow soft dumpling that needs a nice presentation as an appetizer first course. Unfortunately not very often, : )

Oh, missed answering the first question. No, the flavor is not changed by clarifying. It is the same, just pretty.

If you want a crystal clear broth like true consommé, you won't achieve it without the egg raft. For double consommé, enriching ingredients like finely chopped peeled tomato, vegetables and fat free puréed raw meat are added to the raft. The defatting and fine straining processes are clarifying steps on the way to the clear broth.

Yes, it is a tedious process and very easy to wreck in an instant but it's up to you how much effort you want to put into it and what clarity you want to achieve. If you do the raft, pot shape plays a role. You need one that's tall and narrow. A turkey baster or food-quality plastic tubing can help with the siphoning process.

I have read about gelatin based clarification but I don't know enough about the science behind the process to feel confident trying it.

I use the egg raft method with great results and no loss of flavour. Tedious perhaps but to me an afternoons pleasure.

I have seen relatively clear stock. I have not seen crystal clear stock.

I have not tried to make absolutely crystal clear stock because there has not been a need to. Clear or cloudy, all taste the same.

I think the one sure way to make 100% clear stock is to use a laboratory centrifuge machine ($10,000).

A process of carefully controlled freezing may work. This is similar to what is known as "Zone refining" in computer silicone chip making to get ultra ultra ultra pure silicone crystals for doping into semiconductors.

A lot of people have been trying to make crystal clear ice at home. Those mixed drinks purists. It is not that easy. Try it and find out yourself.

I finally figure out a way. Here is a block of completely clear ice I made a few days ago. I cracked the middle by pouring hot water over it to clear the frost on the surface.

I guess my next challenge would be to find a practical way to make 100% clear stock.

dcarch

oh my, haha. You are obsessing up the wrong tree forest again. Clear broth is not ice/water clear. It is just not cloudy. Clear ice is just without air...at all. Pure and filtered and left to rest, then frozen fast and best covered. A totally different obsession. Oh well.

I poured the ramen broth concentrate into a pitcher, then refrigerated it. All the solids and fat went to the top and the whole thing set up. When I removed the fat cap and reheated the concentrate, it was pretty clear - dark but not cloudy. I bet this would go through a coffee filter now!

So, what's the most basic method for "doing" a raft? Reading things like the linked article, there are a lot of additional ingredients/flavors added, and I just want to clarify stock. Can I just mix in whipped egg whites, stir, and hope for the best?

Here is a link that might be useful: Ruhlman's method

Sure, you can try clarifying the stock that way. You'd probably want to refrigerate it overnight and remove all the fat before beginning the clarification process. Make sure you have enough egg whites whisked until foamy that will cover your pot 's surface at least 1/2" deep.

Then follow his directions with just the egg whites, making sure to keep it at a low simmer once the raft starts forming. The hard part is moving the raft without breaking it to remove the broth from underneath.

Let us know how it turns out. I have always made it the way in the link, adding the vegetables and additional meat but I have always been making traditional consommé.

There are a few ways Boy Scouts use to clear up muddy water, I don't remember the compounds to be used.

I do remember Bentonite is used in some applications to make liquid clear.

dcarch

Ok, so I've got about 2 quarts of well-gelled, defatted stock. I'd call it cloudy with some particulate visible in the top inch. I'll whip up some egg whites tomorrow and give it a shot. (Sorry dcarch, no bentonite readily available!) I'm hoping at worst I don't ruin it - it's duck stock so it doesn't come cheaply or frequently around here. I'll let you know, Ruthanna!

This post was edited by foodonastump on Wed, Oct 30, 13 at 22:42

Post the result. I need to learn how to do this.

I don't know if my expectations were too high. I did a raft - twice. It definitely removed all the sediment, but it did not leave me with a clear stock. Here's before.

During

Cooling, after the first round. You can see the cloudy "stuff." Oh, and strain through a coffee filter? I don't think so. I can never strain anything through a coffee filter.

This post was edited by foodonastump on Fri, Nov 1, 13 at 14:29

Final result. Clean, delicious, but not clear.

My dog is happier than I am with the effort - he loves the raft!

Update - As it was cooling the cloudy stuff started to come together, separating from what seemed to be becoming a perfectly clear broth. So I figured straining was my problem and strained it again, this time through several layers of cheesecloth. Unfortunately that just mixed everything together again.

I give up, for this batch anyway. Can anyone tell me where I went wrong? Here's a picture before I restrained.

I find cheesecloth is not a good filter. Just look at it, the mesh is not fine at all. I have never found straining through cheesecloth to do very much good.

I your case, my theory is that the solids were starting to clump together which was clarifying the rest of the stock. By straining, you broke up the solids and dispersed the particles through the stock, making it all cloudy again.

I would try reheating the stock, then taking a bit of it and at least trying the coffee filter. For the rest, were the solids tending to rise to the top? If so, maybe letting the stock cool and then removing the top layer would work. Otherwise, why don't you be my guinea pig and try the gelatin clarifying method? I'm liking this - you do all the work and I just wait for the answers!

See the link below.

This post was edited by johnliu on Fri, Nov 1, 13 at 18:15

I agree about cheesecloth but since it's so commonly recommended I thought maybe I haven't used enough layers. This time I used many (6? 8? Don't feel like garbage picking to confirm.) I did try coffee filters both times and they did what they always do: let a few ml come through then come to a dead stop.

I agree about the rest of your theory, too. Just not sure what to do about it.

As for being your guinea pig, I think I did my share this round. Your turn. Besides you dropped your link.

Nooo! Did Marie Curie abandon her efforts at the final step? That lovely stock is just waiting to become perfectly clear consommé!

Here is a link that might be useful: Here's the link