Fond
Also known as: stock for sauce, stocks for sauce, fond for sauce
Fond is composed of cooked meat/vegetable solids and Maillard reaction products. As with all browned/seared meat, advanced glycation end-products and heterocyclic amines can form at very high temperatures, but typical culinary use poses minimal risk.
What it is
Culinary term for the browned, caramelized residue left in a pan after searing meat, used as base for sauces and stocks.
Flavor base; deglazed to make pan sauces, gravies, and stocks.
Why it's flagged
- browning at high heat may produce trace heterocyclic amines
What regulators actually say
"Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemicals formed when muscle meat... is cooked using high-temperature methods."
Regulatory status
United States — FDA
Culinary preparation; not a regulated additive.
European Union — EFSA
Not regulated as additive.
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