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Any guesses? While there's probably lots of good answers to this question, in my humble opinion, and from my years of family-feeding experience, it has to be chicken broth.

Have you ever thought of all the things you can do with this product? It's the backdrop for tasty risottos and rice dishes, chicken pot pie, stuffings, and of course chowders and soups. And who doesn't appreciate a hot cup of chicken broth to nurse a nasty head or chest cold?

Now don't get chicken broth and chicken stock confused. Both are good, but they're not the same thing. Chicken stock is made from mostly bones and scraps; its high gelatin content will give body to sauces. Chicken broth, on the other hand, is made from chicken pieces with a high meat-to-bone ratio. Broth has a pronounced, meaty flavor that is perfect for classic chicken soup.

However, according to the folks at seriouseats.com, most manufacturers and many cookbooks ignore this distinction. They say that your first consideration should be flavor - a clean, aromatic flavor that doesn't need masking. You want a broth you can use, unadorned, in noodle or matzoh ball soup.

Salt content is the next consideration. For reasons that have nothing to do with health, you want as little salt as possible in your chicken broth if you plan to reduce it to make a sauce. While salt content is less important if making a quick soup, when making sauces you need to be able to control the seasoning.

Body is the third important factor to attend to. The gelatin in homemade stock provides a rich "mouth feel" that gets even richer as it reduces. The seriouseats.com folks say this "mouth feel" is the most elusive quality in store-bought stocks.

Seriouseats.com did some testing of all the brands they could get their hands on and they found the grand prize winner would be homemade! No surprises there. They firmly contend this is the good stuff. "It wobbles when chilled, has layer upon layer of flavor, and calls for nothing more than a chicken, aromatic vegetables, and tap water. Nothing more, that is, unless you count the hidden, potentially most costly ingredient: four hours or more of your time," they admit.

So if you keep the kind of kitchen where homemade chicken stock is always on hand, seriouseats.com folks both commend and envy you. I would too. But if you happen to slip up, here's what they say to use:

Swanson's Chicken Cooking Stock: This product is new on the market and far superior to the company's regular chicken broth. It has a pronounced, sweet flavor of carrot and onion, and the rich taste of well-roasted chicken bones. It's too salty to reduce much, but it is a fine candidate for noodle soup, particularly with a splash of sherry or Chinese cooking wine.

Kitchen Basics Natural Chicken Stock: The least salty of all the brands they tried, this can withstand some moderate reducing. With clearly perceptible notes of black pepper, bay and thyme, it tastes clean, even respectable. They said they'd use this in a noodle soup.

Now with all this chicken broth/stock talk, how about a winner of a recipe to use it in? And how about this recipe being especially easy and appropriate for our cold winter evenings? I have just the one, from one of my favorite neighbors and superior cooks, Lana Jardine!

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Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
2 ( 8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 C. chicken broth
2 Tbs. sugar
3 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 ( 4 oz. ) can diced green chillies
2 c. cooked chicken, cut into bite size pieces

Combine in large saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve with:
sour cream
chopped avocado
sliced olives
grated cheddar cheese
tortilla chips

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