 It’s just regarded as one of those things that has always been around—a staple ingredient found in the kitchen cupboards we grew up with.
Experts guestimate that it has been used in cooking since 1873. But I suspect it has been passed down in family recipe books from generation to generation for much longer.
The earliest known written mention of it was in an edition of The Boston Cooking School Magazine all the way back in 1903. If you ever doubt the cultural relevance of this product, consider the fact that it was exhibited as a proud USA product in 1889’s Paris Exposition.
By the late 19th century, Kitchen Bouquet had hit the production line and was being delivered all across the country by the Palisade Manufacturing Company.
Fast forward to more than a century later and it is still being manufactured except these days the manufacturing is handled by a subsidiary of The Clorox Company. Let’s now explore why this product has retained its status as a must-have ingredient even after all this time.
What is Kitchen Bouquet Used For?
Using Kitchen Bouquet is an unfussy and uncomplicated process. Maybe that, coupled with the fact that you only need to use tiny quantities of it at a time, is why it is so popular. How you use it depends on what you’ll be using it for.
To use it as a marinade for meats like steaks and chops all you need to do is generously brush Kitchen Bouquet over all sides of the meat before cooking it.
Want to thicken up your sauce? A drop or two of Kitchen Bouquet will do the job.
To use it as an au jus, simply pour two tablespoons of pan fat into a pan, blend it with four tablespoons of flour and mix the two together with hot water before adding in half a teaspoon of Kitchen Bouquet.
Looking to make your turkey and subsequent stuffing resemble the turkey dinners you see on TV? A few drops of Kitchen Bouquet are the key ingredients in the recipe of beautifully browned turkey and scrumptious stuffing.
Is Kitchen Bouquet healthy? For the most part, yes. This is because is mainly made up of natural products and has a low sodium content as you discovered earlier on in this article. But it does contain sulfiting agents like sodium nitrate which aren’t very good for the human stomach.
Kitchen Bouquet is a vegan product, which is a factor that many people appreciate these days. Overall, compared to other products on the market Kitchen Bouquet is rated as better than average.
Worcestershire sauce: The ever-popular Worcestershire sauce can be used to color and flavor dishes. However, it will not act as a thickener.
Gravy Master: This product is widely accepted as the runner up to Kitchen Bouquet. It is able to brown, flavor and thicken sauces. The only notable difference between Kitchen Bouquet and Gravy Master is that the latter has a much more pronounced taste.
Parisian Essence: Coming in just after Gravy Master, Parisian Essence is almost as good as Kitchen Bouquet. It browns, flavors, thickens and is an all-vegan alternative.
Maggi Seasoning: Maggi Seasoning can be used for its browning properties. But that’s about it. It cannot thicken sauces up and has an extremely high sodium content. As such it has a very salty taste that can ruin a dish in just one pinch.
Dark molasses: Dark molasse is a wonderful ingredient that fares well against Kitchen Bouquet. It can thicken, brown and flavor dishes almost as well as Kitchen Bouquet. Of all the alternatives listed, dark molasses, when mixed with broth, most closely imitates the taste of Kitchen Bouquet.
Before I wrap this article up, here are the answers to some frequently asked questions. 
What does Kitchen Bouquet taste like?
This simple question receives a bunch of different answers. Some say that the sauce is totally and utterly flavorless. Others swear it tastes like beef. The rest struggle to describe its flavor and merely say it tastes somewhat “burnt”.
Can I make Kitchen Bouquet at home?
Check out this helpful video that goes through the step by step process of making your own batch of Kitchen Bouquet. If you make too much, don’t worry as this mixture freezes easily and will last for a while in your household freezer.
How is Kitchen Bouquet stored?
Kitchen Bouquet does not require refrigerating—even after it has been opened. You can store it on your spice rack or in a pantry cupboard with the rest of your herbs and spices.
So to answer your original question of what is Kitchen Bouquet I’ll keep my answer short. It’s an incredible product that shows no signs of losing its well-deserved popularity anytime soon.
Even though your “what is Kitchen Bouquet” question has been well and truly answered, feel free to leave me a comment down below if you have any questions for me.
And come back here to let me know what you think of it!Artists Sessions at Studio 35 (1950)
$10.00
In April of 1950, about two dozen of the artists who came to be known as the Abstract Expressionists met for a series of discussions about their own work and about the modern scene. Nearly sixty years after these meetings occurred, the transcript of Artists Sessions at Studio 35 (1950) continues to pulse with their heated discussions around basic artistic issues like titling, process, art's relationship to history, community, and professionalism. Often referenced, but rarely fleshed out, the text of these private meetings offers an intimate glimpse of the views held by many of the twentieth century’s pioneering American abstract artists.
Artists who participated in the salon include: Janice Biala, Louise Bourgeois, Hans Hofmann, Willem de Kooning, Norman Lewis, Robert Motherwell, Richard Pousette-Dart, Ad Reinhardt, Hedda Sterne, and many more.
Edited by Robert Goodnough
Published by Soberscove Press
Second edition, 2011
64 pages, 1-color, 5.125 x 7.5 inches
ISBN 978-0-9824090-0-8(Swans - January 26, 2009) It's been eleven months since Paul Scofield died of leukemia in the west of England. During that period, I have had a number of mental flashbacks of the actor whose every life experience seemed to have been etched on his gaunt and craggy face. Discussions about him invariably falter with murky recollections; people, even film buffs, find it hard to recall him or quickly retrieve his memory. I think Scofield would have enjoyed that fact. He was the quintessential "quiet man," retiring even as his peers lauded him as "the greatest British actor of his generation," a title that is too often trotted out for actors who bite the dust, but really belongs only to him. There have been numerous contemporary British actors who, over the years, have turned in memorable performances; artists such as Michael Gambon, David Warner, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jeremy Irons, Alan Rickman, etc., etc.; but I would wager all of them would unanimously confer that title on to Scofield alone. What set him apart from his contemporaries was a steely presence that was grounded in a complex, subterranean personality, which contained unfathomable depths. Scofield was like a blazing furnace with its grate firmly closed; one couldn't hear the crackle of the flames, but one unquestionably felt their heat. Fred Zinnemann perhaps put it best when he said Scofield's acting reminded him of "a Rolls Royce being started."
The actor won millions of British fans by disdaining the calls from Hollywood and tactfully refusing a knighthood with the words: "I have every respect for people who are offered a knighthood. It's just not an aspect of life I would want. If you want a title, what's wrong with Mr?"
I was fortunate in 1962, during my first months in England, to have been invited by Peter Brook to be Assistant Director on the Brook-Scofield King Lear at Stratford. I was barely out of drama school and this was my first real encounter with the world of professional British theatre. All the actors, being members of the Royal Shakespeare Company, were on friendly terms with one another; only Scofield was the newcomer and one could sense the respectful distance the other actors maintained in his presence. On the day of the first reading with all the members of the cast seated around a large, round table, I felt like an interloper taking part in a private ceremony at which I decidedly did not belong. Fortunately, I kept a written record of the entire rehearsal process and, to avoid fictionalizing feelings, which tend to transform with the passage of time, I will quote freely from the pages of that Log.
Before the Reading began, Brook delivered a short preamble. He spoke of the play as a mountain whose summit had never been reached. "On the way up one finds shattered bodies of other climbers strewn on every side. Olivier here, Laughton there, it's frightening!" Describing the enormity of the task before us, he gave one of the aptest definitions of the rehearsal process I have ever heard. "The work of rehearsals is looking for meaning and then making it meaningful."
Like all first readings, it started tentatively, actors not wanting to commit themselves to feelings they had not yet formulated. The verse-speaking was low-keyed, even cautious -- except for Scofield who had thrown himself into the script with a crackling