In case you missed it, in addition to our fats and bone broth, FOND now offers another flavorful elixir to add to your pantry: beef and chicken demi-glace. Though demi is beloved by chefs and amateur cooks alike, most people don’t know what it is (or how to use it!). But, if you’ve ever eaten at a fancy restaurant, steakhouse, or French restaurant, you’ve eaten a meal with demi-glace. It’s that ubiquitous in the elevated dining experience! 

If you’re ready for a kitchen shortcut that will have your guests asking for your secret, our demi-glace is for you! 

What is Demi-Glace?

Demi-glace is stock that has been reduced for up to 24 hours until it’s very concentrated. Translated, demi-glace means “half glaze.” If you cook stock down to a glaze, you eliminate all water. While demi has been reduced, it still contains some water.

Traditionally, demi-glace recipes call for herbs, stock, and brown sauce (a mirepoix - diced carrots, celery, and onions - with tomato, beef stock, and herbs). That’s right, a sauce within a sauce! We’re not sure who has time for this level of prep, but it’s certainly not us. 

But the reason Michelin Star chefs and high-end restaurants use demi-glace is because that concentrated stock lends incredible flavor to any recipe, without adding extra steps. One chef described demi-glace as the epitome of restaurant cooking; a little made from a lot, as you find with a sauce that’s been cooked down (i.e. reduced) to a highly concentrated flavor rarely seen in home kitchens. Demi-glace? It’s used in sauces that taste like a whole pan of beautiful meat drippings, but in a single spoonful. And its superpowers don’t stop at sauces, either. You can use demi in pretty much any recipe you love. 

In summary: demi-glace is a concentrated stock (in our case, bone broth!) that is used to add layers of flavors to your cooking without any extra effort. 

How is Demi-Glace Different from Bouillon? 

Both bouillon and demi-glace contain broth, but demi-glace is known for its gelatinous texture and deep flavor. 

• Typically, you’d dissolve bouillon in water to make liquid broth, whereas demi-glace is a concentrated, sauce-like consistency. While bouillon is only ever a component of a recipe, like when you want to add flavor to soups or sauces, demi-glace can be used as a sauce itself, or to enhance the richness of other dishes.

• Bouillon often has artificial ingredients or unnatural additives. Made correctly, demi-glace won’t have any of that! 

• Demi-glace also has a more complex flavor. Where bouillon is largely known for being very high sodium, demi-glace has a rich, savory flavor.

• Bouillon or bouillon-like products also lack the natural collagen and gelatin that traditional demi-glace has. 

If you’ve been using bouillon in your soups and recipes, give our demi a try. It has the same savory, umami flavor you love, elevated and made with only nourishing ingredients. Just add a spoonful to any sauce, soup, saute or roast for incredible flavor.

No yeast extract, additives, or sneaky sugars; just flavor.

What Should I Look for When Buying Demi-Glace?

1. Only the ingredients you need, nothing extra. Yeast extract, food starch, corn syrup, dairy, soy, and whey have no place in your reduction. Opt for real, true demi-glace, made with broth, herbs, and vegetables. 

2. Sourcing matters. When possible, buy the best quality you can find. Look for call-outs like pasture-raised chicken, 100% grass-fed beef, or organic vegetables. Since demi-glace is so concentrated, that means any pesticides or other byproducts will be concentrated in the final product, too. 

3. Flavor-forward. If you can, give your demi-glace a taste test! It should be rich and flavorful, not watered down or bland. 

4. Consistency is key. Make sure your demi-glace gets a thick, sometimes gel-like consistency once refrigerated. That signals a quality reduction with ample gelatin content. 

5. Make sure the first ingredient is beef or chicken broth. The last thing you want is a watered down product that won’t add the signature rich, savory flavor to your dish.

FOND’s Demi-Glace

Before companies learned to develop flavor in a lab, it was built slowly in kitchens. Food was slow and patient, with layered flavors built from nourishing ingredients and recipes passed down for generations. 

In the era of quick food and quick fixes, can we turn the page back to a time when generational health and wisdom was prioritized? When time spent in the kitchen wasn’t a chore, but a sacred service to family and friends? 

We know that today, you’re busy, and may not have the luxury of hours spent chopping and prepping and preening in service of family dinner. We don’t either. That’s why our demi-glace exists; it’s a flavorful, functional elixir to help you elevate any dish, with intention and nutrient-density, but without hours spent in the kitchen. 

Our demi-glace allows you to embrace a secret of French chefs for adding layers of flavor without hours of time. This petit sous chef will have dinner guests asking for your secret!

How it’s made

Our demi-glace is made using our verified regenerative beef and chicken bone broth. We infuse it with aromatic vegetables and fragrant herbs, then gently reduce it for hours (and hours and hours!) to give you deep, rich flavor in every spoonful. 

As a reduction, just a spoonful adds a rich, savory depth of flavor to sauces, soups, marinades, braises, pasta, vegetables, and risotto without the funky additives. 

What are the ingredients?

Beef Demi-Glace: Beef Bone Broth (Water, Roasted Beef Bones, Carrots*, Onion*, Tomato Puree* (Tomatoes*, Tomato Puree*, Sea Salt, Whole Leaf Basil*), Celery*, Black Pepper*, Bay Leaves*) *Denotes Organic Ingredients

Chicken Demi-Glace: Chicken Bone Broth (Water, Chicken Bones, Chicken Feet, Carrots*, Onions*, Celery*, Black Pepper*, Bay Leaves*) *Denotes Organic Ingredients 

How to Use Demi-Glace

• Spoon directly over meat
• Sauce base: Mix with a splash of red wine, shallots, garlic, or cream to create a complex sauce for steak, roast beef, or pork chops. 
• Soups/stews: Add a small amount of demi-glace towards the end of cooking to deepen the flavor of your soup or stew. 
• Pan sauces: Deglaze a pan with a bit of liquid, then add demi-glace to create a rich pan sauce for grilled meats or vegetables. 
  • Red wine reduction for steak or beef
  • Elevate a simple gravy or mushroom sauce
  • Add bone broth to your pan, then demi and heavy cream for a delicious, easy sauce
• Use in place of bone broth in a pinch!
  • 2 Tbsp of demi-glace + 1 cup water

In general, use beef demi-glace for braised beef, steak or other beef dishes, or dishes with tomato or red wine. 

Chicken demi-glace works great for grains, chicken dishes (like pan-seared chicken or chicken piccata), pasta dishes, or dishes made with white wine. 

Some of our favorite ways to use demi-glace

We often trade ideas in our team-wide Slack channels, and lately we’ve been loving using demi-glace in SO many ways:

• As a sauce over steak or roasted chicken
• Added to sauteed veggies
• Spooned over roasted veggies
• When braising meats like chuck roast, short ribs, or beef cheeks
• As a mix-in to rice or quinoa (along with broth, of course!)
• In one pot bone broth pasta 
• As part of a marinade for pork tenderloin 
• As an easy pan sauce for chicken breast 

Our founder Alysa loves to use demi-glace in her chili, in sauces, in gravy (once you try demi gravy, you will never go back!), in pasta dishes (Beef Stroganoff!), brushed over grilled or roasted chicken, or in pasta sauce. 

Cooking with Broth vs Demi-Glace 

Wondering when you’d use broth, and when you use demi-glace? In short, you can use both in the same recipe! You can rehydrate demi and use it like broth, but we’d recommend using it as the concentrated flavor boost it’s intended to be. 

Use broth anywhere you need large amounts of stock or broth, like soups, stews, or making grains.

Use demi-glace anywhere you want to add a little extra flavor. Add larger amounts to things like chili, soups, and stews, and smaller amounts to braised meats, sauces, marinades, pastas, and grains (the ultimate rice is made with bone broth and demi-glace!). 

How to Rehydrate Demi-Glace 

If desired (or if you’ve run out of your beloved bone broth!), you can rehydrate demi-glace into a drinking or cooking broth. Just add 2 tablespoons of demi-glace to 7-8oz of water. Mix well, then warm for sipping or add to your favorite recipe in place of water or stock. 

FAQs

• What is it? It is a rich, concentrated brown sauce, made from broth, that is used to add layers of flavor to your dishes. Our demi-glace is made using our verified regenerative beef and chicken bone broth. We infuse it with aromatic vegetables and fragrant herbs, then gently reduce it for hours to give you rich, caramelized flavor in every spoonful. 

• How do I store FOND’s demi-glace? Unopened, FOND’s demi is shelf-stable for two years from the date of manufacture. Once opened, store in the fridge and use within 14 days.

• How do I use demi-glace? Just a few spoonfuls add a rich, savory depth of flavor to sauces, soups, marinades, braises, pasta, vegetables, and risotto without the funky additives. 

• What makes FOND’s demi-glace different? Not only does FOND’s demi-glace not contain flour, but it is also the only verified regenerative option on the market, made with our 100% grass-fed beef broth or pasture-raised chicken broth. All other ingredients are organic, and it is packaged in glass. It is incredibly flavorful. 

• Should my demi-glace gel in the fridge? To some degree, this depends on what’s been added to it! We find that our chicken demi gels better in the fridge than our beef demi, probably because our beef demi contains tomato, which is a more acidic ingredient that can inhibit the gelling process.

• Is demi-glace the same as broth? No. Demi-glace is a highly concentrated version of broth. Demi-glace adds depth and roasted, caramelized flavor to your dishes.

• When do I use broth and when do I use demi-glace? Use broth anywhere you need large amounts of stock or broth, like soups, stews, or making grains. Use demi-glace anywhere you want to add a little extra flavor. Add larger amounts to things like chili, soups, and stews, and smaller amounts to braised meats, sauces, marinades, pastas, and grains (the ultimate rice is made with bone broth and demi-glace!). 

• Can you rehydrate demi-glace to make a broth? You can! If desired (or if you’ve run out of your beloved bone broth!), you can rehydrate demi-glace into a drinking or cooking broth. Just add 2 tablespoons of demi-glace to 7-8oz of water. Mix well, then warm for sipping or add to your favorite recipe in place of water or stock. 

• How is demi-glace different from bouillon? Both bouillon and demi-glace contain broth, but demi-glace is known for its gelatinous texture and deep flavor. Bouillon is known to be higher in sodium and contain additives and flavorings. While bouillon is only ever a component of a recipe, like when you want to add flavor to soups or sauces, demi-glace can be used as a sauce itself, or to enhance the richness of other dishes. Bouillon or bouillon-like products also lack the natural collagen and gelatin that traditional demi-glace has. 

• I’m not a chef. Why do I need demi-glace? We’re not chefs either! We love demi-glace because it makes cooking delicious food so much easier. Short on time? Add in some demi. Want your guests to ask your secret? Add in some demi!

• Do I use beef and chicken demi-glace for different recipes? Typically, yes! In general, use beef demi-glace for braised beef, steak or other beef dishes, or dishes with tomato or red wine. Chicken demi-glace works great for grains, chicken dishes (like pan-seared chicken or chicken piccata), pasta dishes, or dishes made with white wine.

Demi vs bone broth vs stock vs bouillon

• Chicken or Beef Broth: This has the shortest cook time and nutrients of the three (less than two hours) and is typically made from a combination of water, meat, vegetables, and aromatics. It won't become gelatinous when chilled. 

• Stock: This is made from water, vegetables, aromatics, and animal bones (sometimes with meat attached) and cooked for 4-6 hours to extract flavor and some gelatin. 

• Bone broth: The most nutrient-dense of the three. It is unique due to its long cooking time (18+ hours), allowing more nutrients like collagen, amino acids, electrolytes, and glucosamine to be extracted from the bones. Not only can you sip on bone broth to enjoy its unique nutrient profile, but you can also use it in cooking—simply replace water or stock with bone broth in your recipes for added nutrition.

• Demi-Glace: A concentrated stock. Traditionally, demi-glace recipes call for herbs, stock, and brown sauce (a mirepoix - diced carrots, celery, and onions - with tomato, beef stock, and herbs). Contains gelatin. 

• Bouillon: Dehydrated, concentrated broth or stock, made from meat/poultry/vegetable extracts, salt, fat, and seasonings, then pressed into cubes, granules, or powder for easy rehydration into a flavorful liquid for soups, sauces, and stews, often including MSG and flavor enhancers like yeast extract for extra umami.