Gluten Free & Great Tasting!
Use and Storage
Years ago I worked as a cook for Chef Margaret Birch. It was a time when there weren’t many women chefs, and she was a tough one. She’d snap my fingers with a metal spatula for using an improper technique; a minute late and I was dispatched to walk-in cooler cleaning duty to do penance. In the first few months, I darn near hated her. In the end, I loved her. She taught me kitchen discipline, the need to practice fundamental techniques, and that the food must always be worthy of the guest who paid for it. Chef Margaret, along with my father John, was what I would call a steel marshmallow – tough on the outside but a real softy at heart. There were a few things she was never soft on, though: improperly using products in a way that led to waste, and proper storage of good ingredients. She used to say “waste not, want not." I’m still not exactly sure what she meant, but I think it was her way of saying use the ingredients and store them properly and they won’t be wasted.
In a salute to Chef Margaret, our sauce team has provided for you a simple guide to using and storing our products. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do crafting them for you. - TheSauceDude
How to Use MTG Products
More Than Gourmet makes two types of products: reduced stocks and sauces, which are highly concentrated, and ready-to-use stocks and sauces. Using our reduced products is easy. Just add water. (No kidding!) And cooking with our ready-to-use products is as simple as it gets. We’ve provided a cooking guide below. If you have questions, please contact us.
Reduced Sauces and Stocks (Easy)
- To use a 1½-ounce package of one of our sauces, like the Classic French Demi-Glace®, the directions call for adding 4 parts warm water to 1 part of our demi-glace, so you’ll add 6 fluid ounces (4 x 1½ ounces) or ¾ cup of hot water to the 1½ ounces of our product.
- To reconstitute one of our stocks, you do the same as above, but add more water. Simply follow the directions on the package. The directions for our Classic Roasted Chicken Stock® call for adding 20 parts water to 1 part of our stock concentrate, so, to 1½ ounces of Classic Roasted Chicken Stock®, you’ll add 30 fluid ounces (20 times 1½ ounces) or 3¾ cups of hot water. This equals about a quart of cooking stock, by the way. How’s that for a clean label, Culinary Grade® stock in such a small package?
“Oh my gosh, I added too much (or not enough) water!” No worries here, either. When we’ve added too much water, we simply simmer longer to reduce to the texture we want. If we’ve not added enough water, we simply add more. Keep in mind that the directions for reconstituting More Than Gourmet sauces and stocks are suggestions. You can add a little less water for a bolder, richer taste, or add a little more water for a more subtle flavor. It’s up to you. You’re the cook, and you know best what tastes good to you. For a general guide to how to use our products, go to our Literature section and download the “Reconstitution Suggestions and Guide.”
Try making a glace. There’s a neat technique many home and professional cooks do with our reduced stocks: dilute the stocks with less water to make a “glace,” a concentrated glaze you could brush on a roast or add to a soup or sauce to intensify its flavor. A glace can also be used to make a great sauce without the gluten found in our demi-glace products. (Our stocks are gluten-free.) After preparing the glace, you can experiment with flavor additions such as cream or butter. One of our cooks on staff adds a drop of balsamic to a glace made from the Classic Reduced Veal & Beef Stock® for a terrific flavor. Let your palate be your guide!
- The package directions will tell you if you can make a glace from the product, and the directions will say to add 3 parts water to 1 part product. To make a glace from our Classic Reduced Veal & Beef Stock®, you add 4½ ounces (¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon) of hot water to 1½ ounces of our product.
Ready-to-Use Products (Easiest)
Our Ready-to-Use Chicken, Beef,and Vegetable Stocks and our Red and White Wine Sauces need no dilution at all. They can be used directly from the carton any time you need them. (Like our demi-glace sauce products, the Red and White Wine Sauces should only be simmered, not boiled when you use them.)
How to Store MTG Products
First things first: All MTG stocks and sauces are free of preservatives, chemicals, MSG, and artificial ingredients. We say, simply, read our label. We welcome a comparison to labels of other brands. Natural is consistent with our sauce heritage.
Our reduced stocks and sauces have a shelf life, unopened, of 18 months from the date of production. Our “Best By” date is printed on the side of the plastic containers and is in the format of MM/DD/YYYY. Our products can be stored at room temperature in your pantry.
Once the package of our reduced stock or sauce has been opened, reseal what you don’t use and refrigerate it. If you’re using a one-pound tub, simply place the lid securely on the package. For the 1½-ounce package, place the container in a small zipper-seal plastic bag to keep out moisture. Always use a clean and completely dry utensil to scoop out what is needed for each use, and be sure to avoid getting water in the package. If you reseal and refrigerate the product in this manner, it should stay fresh for up to 4 months. “Waste not, want not!”
To store one of our ready-to-use stocks, close the tab and it will keep in your refrigerator for 5 to 7 days. Our ready-to-use sauces, once opened, should be stored in sealed container and will also keep in your refrigerator for 5 to 7 days.
All of our products can be frozen in sturdy, airtight containers. Many home chefs like to freeze the ready-to-use stocks and sauces, as well as the reduced stocks and sauces after they’ve been diluted, into ice cube trays for easy portioning. Once frozen, the sauce cubes should be transferred immediately into an air-tight freezer storage bag or container, where they can be kept frozen until needed.
