Bone broth vs stock vs broth
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These three words get used interchangeably on menus, in recipes and on packaging, which is why nobody is confident about them. The distinctions are real, though, and they come down to what went in the pot and how long it stayed there.
Broth
Made primarily from meat, sometimes with bones involved, simmered for a relatively short time. An hour or two.
It is seasoned, thin-bodied, and meant to be eaten as it is. It will not set when chilled, because there was never enough time to pull much gelatin out of anything.
Stock
Made primarily from bones, often roasted first, simmered for longer. Three to six hours is typical.
Stock is a kitchen ingredient rather than a drink. It is usually unseasoned on purpose, because it exists to be reduced into a sauce or built into a braise, and salting it early would leave you nowhere to go. It has more body than broth and will sometimes set a little when cold.
Bone broth
Made from bones and connective tissue, simmered much longer. Twelve to twenty-four hours and up.
The long cook is the whole point. It converts collagen in the connective tissue into gelatin, which gives the liquid body and makes it set when chilled. Bone broth is seasoned, like broth, because it is made to be drunk as well as cooked with.
So it sits in an odd position: as long-cooked as a stock, as seasoned as a broth, and used as both.
The honest caveat
None of this is regulated. There is no legal threshold a liquid has to clear before it can be sold as bone broth rather than stock, which means a short-cooked stock can carry the name and nothing stops it.
Which is why the definitions matter less than the evidence. Two tests do more than any label.
Chill it. A broth that sets pulled gelatin out of bones over a long cook. One that stays liquid did not.
Hold it to the light. A clear pour tells you it was never boiled or stirred.
Both are free and neither requires trusting anybody.
Which to use when
Drinking a cup: bone broth. Risotto, braises, pan sauces: bone broth or stock, and if the stock is unseasoned you have more control over the finish. Quick soup where the liquid is the background rather than the point: any of them, and broth is the cheapest.
Ours is a bone broth by every one of the definitions above, and it is seasoned lightly enough that you can sip it straight or build on it without fighting the salt.
Common questions
Is bone broth just stock?
No, though the categories overlap. Bone broth is simmered far longer to convert collagen to gelatin, and it is usually seasoned to be drunk on its own.
Can I substitute stock for bone broth?
In cooking, almost always. For drinking, stock is usually unseasoned and thinner in body.
Is broth or bone broth better for soup?
Bone broth gives a soup more body. Broth is lighter and less expensive, which is sometimes exactly what the dish needs.
Is there a legal definition of bone broth?
Not one that sets a minimum cook time. Chilling it to see whether it sets is a more reliable check than the name on the package.