Bouillon cubes, also called stockpot, stock cubes, or broth cubes, are an incredibly easy shortcut for cooks.
They make a good start for a variety of dishes, including soups, stews, gravies, casseroles, rice – even cocktails.
They also come in a granule form. One bouillon cube makes one cup of broth, which equals 48 teaspoons.
1 Bouillon Cube Equals How Many Teaspoons
There are 48 teaspoons of broth in every cup, so one normal-sized bouillon cube makes 48 teaspoons of broth. One teaspoon of bouillon granules also makes 48 teaspoons of broth. It is not recommended to use a bouillon cube directly. Place it in eight ounces of boiling water to make one cup of broth.
The Old Way of Making Broth or Stock
Broth is crucial to many dishes, including soups, stews, and casseroles.
It was made by boiling meat with bones.
To this brew are added herbs, spices, and vegetables. Everything was put in a huge pot, covered and simmered.
Simmering broth is a time-consuming process. Some recipes call for the stock to simmer for 12 hours before the liquid is considered done.
Although making broth is quicker, some recipes merely call for a simmering time of 1 hour, this still means you are tied to the kitchen for a good chunk of the day.
Making stock added another step to the process.
Instead of just chucking the meat and all of the other ingredients into a pot to simmer, you need to remove the meat from the bones and then roast them in the oven.
Then, you place them in a pot with any other ingredients and simmer them for half of the day.
Every now and then, you remove the foam or fat that forms on the top of the stock. This method makes a thicker liquid than broth.
Along Came Bouillon Cubes and Granules
French chef Auguste Escoffier apparently got sick of simmering broth and stock all day and invented the first bouillon cube as we know it today.
It’s basically dehydrated meat stock.
There had been previous attempts at making tablets of dehydrated meat stock, but they never really caught on a global scale.
Other chefs did try to patent bouillon cubes or extracts before Escoffier, but for one reason or another, their patents were turned down.
There was also dried soup made available in the 1700s and 1800s, which was known by the appetizing names of Portable Soup and Veal Glue.
Escoffier is also credited with the successful canning of tomatoes and vegetables, as well as creating peach Melba.
Escoffier would have one son killed in World War I.
His bouillon cubes are credited for saving the lives of many soldiers, since the cubes were easy to carry, took up little space, and could make a nourishing drink in little time.
British company OXO, still in business today, gave 100 million bouillon cubes to the British armed forces.
Bouillon cubes are still big business today. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a vast increase in sales, since people were eating at home rather than at restaurants.
Knorr, a major manufacturer of bouillon cubes, projects sales of a staggering $5.9 billion by 2024.
Making the Broth Less Salty
Although bouillon cubes are incredibly convenient and easy to use, they are incredibly salty.
About half of the bouillon cube consists of salt. The salt is needed to help naturally preserve the cubes.
Some manufacturers make lower sodium versions of their bouillon cubes.
The lower sodium bouillon cubes do not last as long as regular bouillon cubes.
You can also make a broth less salty by simply adding more water to cut the salty taste down.
South Florida Sun Sentinel recommends adding an extra half a cup of water to the usual recipe so that you place one bouillon cube in a cup and a half of boiling water.
Give it a taste. If it is still too salty, add some more water. Repeat until it tastes the way you want it to.
If you are using bouillon granules, remember that one teaspoon equals one regular-sized cube.
You would use the same amount of water to help cut the salty taste down with bouillon granules as you would with cubes.
Extra large bouillon cubes are about twice as large as a regular bouillon cube.
They need twice as much water.
If you use one extra large bouillon cube and do not want it to taste as salty, use three cups of boiling water.
Other Uses for Bouillon Cubes and Granules
Since you have 48 teaspoons of broth to work with, how are you going to use it? You can use it for the usual items like soup, but here are other things you can try.
- Crumble one cube in some cooking oil. Heat in the microwave for one minute. Pour on French fries. Do not add salt.
- Crumble one cube into your favorite marinade.
- Make a bull shot cocktail. Add ¾ of a cup of hot stock made from a beef bouillon cube to ½ a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1/8 teaspoon of celery salt, ice cubes and ¼ cup of vodka. Mix the sauce and salt, add the ice cubes, then the vodka, and finally the hot stock. Garnish with a lime wedge and enjoy.
Frequently Asked Questions About 1 Bouillon Cube Equals How Many Teaspoons
How Big is a Bouillon Cube?
Bouillon cubes are roughly the same size, no matter the manufacturer, unless they specifically state they are extra-large. The usual bouillon cube is about a ½ inch or 13mm wide. If you crush a bouillon cube, the resulting mess will measure about one teaspoon.
Is Stock Pot the Same as a Bouillon Cube?
Stock pot is the name for a bouillon cube in the UK. Other names for a bouillon cube include broth cube and stock cube. Unfortunately, in the United States, “stockpot” is a name for a specific kind of cooking pan, which can make reading a UK recipe confusing for an American.
Are Bouillon Cubes Edible?
Bouillon cubes are edible, but since they taste so strong and are usually gritty, you have to be very hungry, indeed, in order to eat one. Just ask any child who mistakenly ate a bouillon cube, thinking it was a Kraft caramel or other kind of candy.
Conclusion To 1 Bouillon Cube Equals How Many Teaspoons
1 bouillon cube equals 48 teaspoons. It takes 48 teaspoons to make one cup. Bouillon cubes, also called stock cubes, stock pot, and broth cubes, need to be placed in 8 ounces of boiling water to make one cup of broth. If you are using bouillon granules, then you need one teaspoon of granules for every bouillon cube needed.