Essences, glazes and fumets refer to liquids that are more concentrated and flavoursome than a stock. Whilst there is no rule set in concrete about these, the order of concentration from least to most is fumet, essence, glaze.

The flow diagram below shows how a stock can be reduced and concentrated into the different liquids. You can find out about each one by clicking on its name.

Fumet (foo-may) is a fairly concentrated and flavourful stock made with good bones and a minimum of water. It is similar to essence but not quite as concentrated. Fumet may also be a sauce made from cooking juices like a jus. Fumet is most often associated with fish but can refer to poultry and game or other stocks.

An essence is a highly concentrated extract of fish, meat, etc made by reducing the appropriate stock to make it richer and thicker. An essence is not reduced as much as a glaze and will not set as a solid.

A glaze is a concentrated essence of a particular meat, made by reducing stock to 10% of the original. If the stock is made correctly the glaze should set to a firm gel when cold. Glazes can be cubed and frozen so they can be reconstituted later. Small amounts can be used to finish dishes cooked "a la minute". Larger amounts can be used as essences, jus, enrichment for sauces, soups and wet dishes. The French term for glaze is Glace (glars)

The most common types are:

• Meat - glace de viande (glars d' vee ond)

• Chicken - glace de Volaille (glars d' vol aye)

• Fish - glace de Poisson (glars d' pwars ong).

Deglazing is the process where the juices left in a pan after roasting, minus any fat, are collected and added to the stock pot .To do this, water or another liquid such as wine or stock is added to the pan. This mixture is gently heated until the juices dissolve into the added liquid then added to the stock. This is an important process used in the preparation of many dishes.

Jus (pronounced: zhoo) is all the juices, excluding fat, which are released from a roasting piece of meat.The juices, either liquid or coagulated, can be dried out by further heating, after the roasting piece has been removed, to concentrate their flavour. These are generally deglazed from a roasting pan after the fat is tipped out. Jus may be served with a roast without further processing as a sauce.