Fumet

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A rich, aromatic liquid obtained by simmering meat or fish with vegetables to intensify flavor for culinary use
2. A concentrated essence created by cooking down animal products with aromatic ingredients to deepen taste in recipes
3. A flavorful liquid made by gently cooking meat or fish along with vegetables to extract and concentrate their essence for use in cooking

Etymology: The French word "fumet" started out meaning simply an aroma, the scent that rises from cooking food. It comes from the Latin "fumus," meaning smoke, so the core idea is something that drifts up into the air from a fire or a pot. Over time the sense narrowed in the kitchen to the rich, savory essence drawn from simmering meat, fish or bones, the concentrated stock that gives a sauce its depth. The word has an unexpected sibling in English. "Fewmet," a term for the droppings of a deer, comes from the same family of Old French words as the modern French "fumier," meaning dung. Those words descend from the Latin "fimum," dung, which is a different root from "fumus." The two words are easy to confuse because they sound alike, yet one is about the smell of good cooking and the other about the animal waste that hunters once tracked.

Synonyms: broth, stock, sauce, essence, reduction

Antonyms: water, dilution, weakness, blandness, insipidity