The REAL Truth About What’s in Your Chicken Broth: Behind The Box

Ever stood in the grocery store aisle, staring at boxes of chicken broth wondering what the heck is actually in there? You’re not alone I’ve been cooking for years, and I still find myself puzzled by the mysterious ingredients listed on commercial chicken broth packaging

That golden liquid we pour into our soups and stews seems simple enough, but is it really just chicken and water as we’d expect? Let’s dive into the sometimes murky (pun intended) world of chicken broth and uncover what’s really swimming around in there.

Homemade vs. Store-Bought: A World of Difference

Growing up, my mom always said store-bought broth “just isn’t as good as the real thing.” Like many home cooks, I dismissed this as kitchen snobbery until I started making my own broth and realized—wow, mom was right.

The difference is actually shocking. Homemade broth has:

• A rich, complex flavor
• Golden clarity with shimmering fat circles on top
• Ability to thicken when reduced
• Transforms into delicious sauces and glazes

Meanwhile store-bought varieties often

• Taste mostly salty
• Remain thin and watery even when reduced
• Never develop that velvety texture of homemade
• Lack depth of flavor

But why? Shouldn’t they be basically the same thing?

The Curious Case of Circular Ingredients

When I started investigating store-bought chicken broth, I noticed something weird right away. Look at almost any major brand’s ingredients list and you’ll see the first ingredient is… “Chicken Broth” or “Chicken Stock.”

Wait, what?

That’s like if ketchup listed “ketchup” as its first ingredient! How is that helpful to consumers? It’s a strange circular reference that tells us absolutely nothing.

Take Swanson chicken broth, for example. Their ingredients read:
“Chicken Stock, Salt, Natural Flavoring, Mirepoix (Carrots, Celery, Onions), Chicken Fat, Yeast Extract.”

But what is that chicken stock made of? Why not just list water and chicken parts? Something fishy (or should I say chicken-y) was happening here

The Secret World of Flavor Companies

After diving deeper, I discovered the bizarre truth: most store-bought chicken broths aren’t made directly by the brands we know. Instead, they start with a “broth concentrate” produced by massive flavor and fragrance corporations you’ve probably never heard of.

The biggest players in this hidden broth world are:

1. Symrise – A German company with €3.83 billion in sales (2021)
2. Essentia Protein Solutions – Based in Denmark and Iowa
3. Kerry Group – An Irish corporation that bought Ariake for $367 million

These mega-corporations create highly concentrated chicken stock that’s then diluted with water and mixed with seasonings according to each brand’s specifications. They market their products with hilarious corporate-speak like “brothy chicken notes” and “kitchen-like ingredients” (not kitchen ingredients, but kitchen-LIKE).

My favorite is Symrise’s proud boast of a “fully sustainable chicken stream.” Yum?

How Commercial Chicken Broth Is Actually Made

So what’s really happening at these flavor factories? According to Symrise, their process involves:

1. Cooking “chicken frames” (bones and carcasses) in water for 3-12 hours
2. Quickly sterilizing the liquid
3. Concentrating and standardizing it into liquid or powder format
4. Selling this concentrate to consumer brands

The brands then:

1. Dilute the concentrate with water
2. Add salt, spices, and other flavorings
3. Package it in boxes, cans, or as bouillon
4. Market it with pictures of home-cooked meals and claims about “just like homemade”

The result is a product fundamentally different from what you’d make at home. According to J. Kenji López-Alt, “Boxed stock has virtually no gelatin, which means that it does not have the viscosity and richness of a homemade stock.” It also contains much less actual meat, connective tissue, and bones than homemade stock.

What’s ACTUALLY In Your Chicken Broth

When we break it down, typical store-bought chicken broth contains:

The Base

• Water
• Concentrated chicken stock (from those big flavor companies)

Flavor Enhancers

• Salt (often lots of it)
• Yeast extract (a natural source of MSG)
• “Natural flavors” (an FDA term that can mean almost anything)

Aromatics (in small amounts)

• Carrot
• Celery
• Onion (often as powder or extract)

Additions

• Chicken fat
• Sugar (sometimes)
• Vegetable or chicken protein

Many brands also add ingredients to extend shelf life, improve appearance, or enhance flavor—like caramel color, maltodextrin, or disodium inosinate.

The Real Difference Between Stock, Broth and Bone Broth

Despite what clever marketers want you to believe, there’s less difference between these products than you might think:

Stock vs. Broth: According to the FDA and USDA, there’s no legal distinction! Both must have a Moisture Protein Ratio of 135:1 or below. Many chefs will tell you stock is unsalted (meant for cooking) while broth is salted (ready to consume), but regulations don’t distinguish between them.

Bone Broth: The wellness industry darling is essentially marketing genius. Kitchen Basics Chicken Bone Broth lists its first ingredient as “Chicken Broth (Made from Bones)”—which is technically what all stock is. There’s no significant nutritional advantage to commercial “bone broth” versus regular broth according to nutrition expert Marion Nestle.

Why Homemade Broth Is So Different

The reason homemade broth stands head and shoulders above store-bought comes down to a few key factors:

1. Gelatin content: Home cooks simmer bones much longer, extracting collagen that converts to gelatin—giving homemade broth body and richness.

2. Ingredient ratios: Commercial manufacturers use far less actual chicken per volume of water.

3. Processing methods: High-heat sterilization and concentration processes destroy delicate flavors that remain intact in home cooking.

4. Freshness: Homemade broth doesn’t need preservatives or extra flavorings to taste like chicken because it IS chicken.

Is There Any Good Store-Bought Broth?

Look, I get it. Not everyone has time to simmer bones for hours. While no store-bought option will match homemade, some brands are better than others.

Look for brands that:

• List water and actual chicken parts (not just “chicken broth”) as the first ingredients
• Have shorter ingredients lists
• Avoid excess sodium and artificial ingredients
• Come from smaller manufacturers who use actual cooking methods

Some brands like Bonafide Provisions use whole chickens and simmer bones for 24+ hours, resulting in a product closer to homemade.

Making Your Own Chicken Broth (It’s Easier Than You Think!)

The absolute best way to ensure you’re getting real chicken broth is to make it yourself. And honestly, it’s not that hard:

Basic Chicken Broth Recipe:

1. Save chicken bones from meals in a freezer bag until you have enough
2. Toss bones in a large pot with chopped onion, carrots, celery
3. Cover with cold water
4. Bring to a gentle simmer (not boil) for 4-24 hours
5. Strain and use or freeze

The beauty is you can make this in a slow cooker or pressure cooker too. Set it and forget it!

The Bottom Line on Chicken Broth

The commercial food system has found a way to give us convenient, shelf-stable chicken-flavored water that’s affordable and widely available. And while there’s nothing explicitly harmful about this, it’s worth knowing what you’re actually consuming.

Big food corporations aren’t evil—they’re just trying to maximize profits while meeting minimum requirements. But their marketing often suggests we’re getting something closer to homemade than we really are.

For some recipes, store-bought broth works fine (especially if you’re just looking for a bit of savory flavor). But for dishes where broth is the star—like chicken soup or risotto—the homemade version will make a world of difference.

So next time you reach for that box of broth, you’ll know what’s really inside—and can decide if that’s what you want in your cooking. Or maybe, like me, you’ll start saving chicken bones and make the real thing!

Chicken broth primarily requires water, a whole chicken or chicken parts (bones, wings, drumsticks), aromatic vegetables like carrots, celery, and onion, and herbs such as thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns to flavor it. The specific ingredients can vary, but these core components provide a foundation for a rich and savory liquid.

No, chicken broth is not vegetarian, as it is made from animal meat and bones. Vegetarians exclude meat from their diet, so chicken broth is an animal product that violates this principle. You should use vegetable broth or other plant-based alternatives when preparing food for vegetarians.

Chicken broth is seasoned with a combination of aromatics like onion, carrot, and celery, along with herbs such as parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and rosemary, and spices like salt, black peppercorns, and sometimes ginger or cloves. The exact seasonings vary by recipe, but these core ingredients provide the foundational savory, earthy, and aromatic flavors.