Fumet is a concentrated fish or shellfish stock that isn’t meant to be drunk on its own: it’s the base for rice dishes, soups and sauces. The DLE (the Royal Spanish Academy dictionary) lists it under its Spanish spelling, fumé: “concentrated stock, especially of fish or shellfish, used as an ingredient in other dishes”. The word comes from French.
In a seafood rice, the stock provides half the flavour. The rice soaks up every drop, so if the fumet is weak, the rice will be too, however much seafood you pile on top.
Fumet, stock and broth
Three words that get used almost interchangeably, but they aren’t quite the same thing.
| What it is | Drunk on its own? | |
|---|---|---|
| Stock (fondo) | The general name for any liquid base: meat, poultry, vegetable or fish | No, it’s a base |
| Fumet | Fish or shellfish stock, concentrated, with the ingredients not browned first | No, it goes into other dishes |
| Broth (caldo) | A broad term: the liquid from simmering meat, fish or vegetables | Can be drunk as it is or used in other recipes |
The Leioa catering college classifies fumet as a type of stock. Scoolinary adds that it counts as a white stock, because the fish and vegetables aren’t browned beforehand, and that, for many cooks, what sets it apart from a broth is how concentrated it is: fumet isn’t drunk on its own.
What makes a good one
Three things: clean white fish bones and heads, with no guts or scales (monkfish or rockfish); cold water and a gentle simmer, skimming off the foam; and no more than half an hour, because after that it turns bitter. For more flavour, strain it earlier and reduce it separately (Leioa catering college and Scoolinary).
How to keep it
A well-made fumet keeps for up to three days in the fridge and up to three months in the freezer, according to Scoolinary, which recommends cooling it quickly before freezing, dividing it into portions and bringing it back to the boil before you use it.
In seafood rice dishes
Fumet is the star of arroz a banda, arroz del senyoret and fideuà. The rice or noodles soak up that stock, so taste it before it goes into the paella pan and adjust the salt, remembering that it will reduce further. The other pillar of flavour is the sofrito, which comes first.
If you’d like a fish or seafood rice alongside the meat paella at your group meal, just tell us: at Xepep we cook rice dishes live for groups of 40 to 500 people. See our paella and rice dishes cooked in front of your guests.
For more vocabulary from the table and the fiesta, explore Caldero.