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Use low-salt stocks to make tasty gravy

Q. I am writing on behalf of a dear friend. Her husband just had heart surgery and cannot have any salt. She hopes you can provide her with some recipes for gravy with no salt at all for beef and chicken dishes. I can't seem to come up with any.
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There are low-sodium alternatives to salty bouillon cubes.

Q. I am writing on behalf of a dear friend. Her husband just had heart surgery and cannot have any salt. She hopes you can provide her with some recipes for gravy with no salt at all for beef and chicken dishes. I can't seem to come up with any.

Katalin

AKatalin's friend knows how to make gravy, but I think what she's flavouring it with is where adjustments need to be made.

To make gravy, you add a liquid to the pan used to roast beef or chicken and thicken it with such things as flour or cornstarch.

Many people choose water, flavoured with a bouillon cube, which, unfortunately, can be laced with sodium.

Last year, I learned that just half a Knorr-brand OXO chicken bouillon cube, mixed with water to make one cup of bouillon, contains a whopping 1,130 milligrams of sodium. That's 47 per cent of the recommended daily intake for people not on salt-reduced diets.

Knorr does make a product with 25 per cent less salt, but it's still very high in sodium. I also checked two other companies making bouillon cubes, Harvest Sun and McCormick's, and they, too, were high in sodium.

For Katalin's friend, flavouring her gravy with those cubes or other sodium-rich products is not an option. There are other options. One requires a bit of work, the other some shopping around.

The first option is to make her own beef and chicken stock to flavour gravy, soups and stews.

That will ensure no salt is added, except for the trace amounts of sodium that naturally occur in the foods she'll flavour the stock with, such as vegetables. There's a recipe for stock below.

The other option for Katalin's friend is to buy a ready-to-use, no-salt-added or low-sodium stock or broth. Three brands I found in the soup section of most large supermarkets were Kitchen Basics, Pacific Foods and Campbell's.

Be sure to read the nutrition fact box and remember that if the words "no salt added" or "unsalted" appear on the package, it doesn't mean they don't contain any sodium. It just means no salt is added. It will, just like homemade stock, still contain the sodium found in the ingredients used to make it.

One cup (250 mL) of Kitchen Basics Unsalted Chicken Cooking Stock contains 156 milligrams of sodium, seven per cent of your recommended daily intake. One cup (250 mL) of Pacific Foods Low Sodium Chicken Broth contains 80 milligrams of sodium, three per cent of your recommended daily intake. Two-thirds of a cup (150 mL) of Campbell's No Salt Added Chicken Broth contains 40 milligrams of sodium, two per cent of your recommended daily intake.

Campbell's and Kitchen Basics also offer similar no-salt-added beef products.

To make gravy, whisk 1 Tbsp of all-purpose flour into one cup of beef or chicken stock or broth until smooth. When your roast beef or chicken is done, you remove it from the pan. Remove any excess fat from the pan and set on the stovetop over medium to medium-high heat. Pour in the stock/flour mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook a few minutes, until the gravy thickens, then season with pepper.

Note: In a story on marzipan and almond paste I wrote a few weeks ago, I noted that one store in Victoria that sells marzipan is the Dutch Bakery at 718 Fort St. Reader Sheila Taylor sent me a note to say it's also available in Langford at Lighthouse Cake Company, 742 Goldstream Ave.

Eric Akis is the author of the best-selling Everyone Can Cook series of cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.

CHICKEN STOCK

Bones to make chicken stock are available at some supermarkets and butcher shops. You can also use the bones left over from a roast chicken dinner. For beef stock, see Eric's options.

Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: About 2 hours Makes: About 7 to 8 cups

2 1/2 lb. meaty chicken bones

1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced

1 medium onion, peeled, halved and sliced

2 celery ribs, sliced

2 large garlic cloves, sliced

2 bay leaves

few whole black peppercorns ? a

few pinches fire thyme ? a

? a few sprigs of fresh parsley

Place all ingredients in a tall pot and add 12 cups of cold water. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered (steam needs to escape) for two hours. (Do not rapidly simmer or boil, or the stock will become cloudy). Skim any foam that rises to the surface; add water if necessary.

After two hours, taste the stock. If it has a pleasing flavour, the stock is ready. If not, simmer the stock a while longer.

When ready, strain the stock and cool to room temperature.

You can refrigerate the stock for up to threedays, or freeze it for up to two months.

Eric's options: To make beef stock, preheat oven to 375 F. Place 3 pounds of meaty beef bones in a wide, lightly oiled roasting pan.

Add carrot, onion and celery. Roast one hour, or until the bones are nicely browned. Place the bones and vegetables in a tall pot.

Set the roasting pan on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Add two cups of water to the pan, bring to a simmer and scrape the pan to loosen any brown bits on the bottom. Add this mixture to the stock pot. Add 12 more cups of water to the pot, plus the garlic and herbs. Simmer beef stock three to four hours. Skim off any foam that rises to the top as it cooks and add water as needed. Before straining, taste the stock to check the flavour potential.

eakis@timescolonist.com