BUILDING FLAVOR, BODY AND TEXTURE: PART 1

part leek), 25 percent carrot, and 25 percent celery. These proportions will yield a balanced blend of flavors. Thus if a recipe specifies a pound (500 grams) of mirepoix you know it means

8 oz (250 g) onion (or onion/leek) 4 oz (125 g) carrot 4 oz (125 g) celery

This would be enough for 1 gallon (4 liters) of flavorful stock. It is important to maintain these ratios so that no one ingredient will become a predominant flavor and spoil the stock, soup, or sauce. Leeks, if they are available, will enhance the flavor blend.

Mirepoix ingredients are chosen not only for flavor but also for color. Carrots and the skins of onions will lend their color to the liquid in which they are cooked. This can be an asset in most stocks and sauces, but it may spoil the appearance of a fish stock or a white sauce. So we have two variations of the basic mirepoix, light and dark.

For a light mirepoix you would use roughly 60 percent peeled onion/leek and 40 percent celery, or, for I gallon (4 liters) of stock,

5 oz (150 9) onion, peeled 5 oz (150 9) leek (white and light green) 5 oz (150 9) celery

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