Drink it up: Stock, broth and bone

In the deep cold of winter, what’s more comforting than a bowl of homemade soup? Your grandma was right; research suggests that chicken soup may give you relief from common cold symptoms, easing throat soreness and preventing dehydration. Consumer Reports looked at
chicken broth, chicken stock, and bone broth. What’s the difference, and what do they do for you?

Stock and broth are made with a combination of meat and bones. Chicken broth is made with a higher proportion of meat. Compared with stock, it has a lighter body and a meatier flavor. Chicken stock is generally made with a higher proportion of bones and tends to have more
body.

Because stock is used as a base in recipes that call for extra seasoning, store-bought versions tend to have less sodium than broth. Bone broth generally provides more protein than stock or broth.

Many people think that bone broth has special health benefits. But there’s little research to back that up.

When picking a product, it’s most important to look for one with as little sodium as possible.

But what do the labels mean?

“Low sodium” means that a product has 140 mg or less of sodium per serving. “Reduced sodium” means that it has at least 25 percent less sodium compared with the regular product. Consumer Reports warns that sodium in canned broth can be sky high. It found products with
close to 900 milligrams per cup. So keep an eye on those labels.

All Consumer Reports material Copyright 2019 Consumer Reports, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Consumer Reports is a not-for-profit organization which accepts no advertising. It has no commercial relationship with any advertiser or sponsor on this site. For more information visit consumerreports.org.