The clear soup made by clarifying stock with egg whites is consommé.
Traditional consommé begins with a richly flavored stock or broth, commonly made from beef, veal, chicken, fish, or game. A mixture often called a clarification raft—containing egg whites and usually ground meat, vegetables, and tomato—is simmered in the stock. As the egg proteins coagulate, they trap fat, sediment, and other particles, leaving a clear, concentrated liquid.
The French word is related to consommer, meaning “to finish” or “to complete.” By the sixteenth century, consommé referred to a finished, clarified soup rather than an ordinary broth. It may be served hot or chilled, alone or as a base for garnished soups, sauces, and stews.
Consommé is not simply bouillon or broth: those terms generally describe stock-based liquids that have not undergone the same clarification. Modern chefs may also clarify liquids by freezing gelatin-containing stock and filtering it, but the classic method uses egg whites.