415A stocks, broths and soups practice questions.

Five free practice questions on stocks, broths and soups: block D of the Red Seal 415A Cook exam, about 12 of its 150 questions. They are in the exam's format: four options, one correct answer. Answer each one before opening the explanation. No account, no email.

01The questions

1. Procedural · Cooks soups

   A cook is thickening a cream of celery soup with roux in a steam kettle. Which technique gives a smooth, fully cooked result?

   1. Whisk cool roux into the hot liquid, then simmer at least 20 minutes
   2. Add hot roux to the boiling liquid all at once
   3. Sprinkle raw flour over the soup, then whisk until smooth
   4. Add the roux just before service so it holds its thickness
   Show the answer

   A. Correct. Combining cool roux with hot liquid (or hot roux with cool liquid) lets the starch disperse before it swells, so it does not lump. The soup must then simmer at least 20 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste and reach full thickness. Roux contains wheat, which must be flagged for gluten-free guests.

   Why not the others

   B. Hot roux into boiling liquid gelatinizes on contact and forms lumps before it can disperse. One of the two must be cool, and the roux is whisked in gradually.

   C. Raw flour on hot liquid clumps immediately, with dry flour trapped inside the lumps, and it tastes pasty. Flour is cooked in fat first as a roux, or mixed with fat as a beurre manié.

   D. Added at the last minute, the roux has no time to cook out, so the soup tastes of raw flour and may keep thickening. Roux needs a simmer of 20 minutes or more after it goes in.

2. Recall · Processes stock and broth ingredients

   Both a sachet d'épices and a bouquet garni flavour stocks. What is the difference between them?

   1. Sachet: herbs and spices in cheesecloth; bouquet: herbs and vegetables tied with twine
   2. Sachet: added at the start; bouquet garni: added only in the last 5 minutes
   3. Sachet: brown stocks only; bouquet garni: white stocks and fumets only
   4. Sachet: dried herbs only; bouquet garni: fresh herbs chopped loose into the pot
   Show the answer

   A. Correct. A typical sachet holds parsley stems, thyme, bay leaf and cracked peppercorns (garlic optional) tied in cheesecloth. A bouquet garni ties herbs with leek greens or celery using butcher's twine. Both are tied, often to the pot handle, so they can be pulled out when the flavour is right.

   Why not the others

   B. Timing is set by the stock's cooking time and the strength wanted, not by which bundle is used; in a long stock either is often added for the last hour or so. The difference is the wrapping and contents: spices in cheesecloth versus vegetables and herbs tied with twine.

   C. Both bundles are used in white and brown stocks, broths, soups and sauces. The difference is construction: spices and herbs in cheesecloth for a sachet, herbs and vegetables tied with twine for a bouquet garni.

   D. A bouquet garni is never chopped loose; the whole point is that it is tied so it can be removed. The real difference is that the sachet wraps small spices in cheesecloth while the bouquet ties larger herbs and vegetables with twine.

3. Procedural · Finishes soups

   A cream of chicken soup is to be finished with a liaison of egg yolks and cream just before service. What is the correct technique?

   1. Temper with hot soup, stir it in, then heat gently without boiling
   2. Add the liaison at the start so it cooks with the soup
   3. Add the liaison and boil for 2 minutes to cook the yolks
   4. Whisk the cold liaison straight into the boiling soup
   Show the answer

   A. Correct. Whisking a ladle or two of hot soup into the yolks and cream raises their temperature gradually; the tempered liaison is then stirred into the soup and heated gently, below about 85 °C, until it thickens slightly. Boiling curdles the yolks. Hold the finished soup at 60 °C or above, but do not let it boil.

   Why not the others

   B. A liaison is a finishing agent. Added at the start it would curdle during the long simmer. It goes in at the end, tempered, just before service.

   C. Boiling curdles egg yolks, and the soup turns grainy. A liaison thickens well below the boil; heat gently and never boil it.

   D. Cold yolks hitting boiling liquid set instantly into scrambled specks. The liaison is tempered first, and the soup is off the boil when it goes in.

4. Recall · Cooks stocks and broths

   Why are bones for a stock covered with cold water rather than hot water at the start?

   1. Proteins dissolve and coagulate slowly, rising as scum to be skimmed
   2. Cold water stops the bones from releasing their fat
   3. Cold water shortens the total simmering time
   4. Hot water extracts collagen too fast and turns the stock bitter
   Show the answer

   A. Correct. As cold water heats slowly, soluble proteins such as albumin are drawn out and coagulate gradually into scum that collects on the surface where it can be skimmed. A hot start sets them quickly as tiny particles spread through the liquid, which clouds the stock. A slow rise also extracts more flavour and gelatin.

   Why not the others

   B. Fat renders out whatever the starting temperature; it rises and is skimmed or removed after chilling. The cold start is about how proteins coagulate and collect, not about holding fat in.

   C. A cold start actually takes longer to reach the simmer. It is done for clarity and extraction, not speed: the proteins coagulate slowly and rise as scum that can be skimmed off.

   D. Collagen converts to gelatin slowly over hours at a simmer; a hot start does not make stock bitter. The problem with a hot start is clarity: proteins coagulate as fine particles throughout the liquid instead of rising to be skimmed.

5. Procedural · Selects soup ingredients

   A school kitchen must serve a creamy butternut squash soup that is free of dairy and tree nuts. Which approach meets both requirements?

   1. Replace the cream with an equal volume of unsweetened almond milk
   2. Thicken with a butter roux and leave out the cream entirely
   3. Use half the usual cream and label the soup as a light version
   4. Purée extra squash or white beans into vegetable stock for body
   Show the answer

   D. Correct. Squash is starchy enough to give a creamy texture when puréed, and extra squash or cooked white beans add body with no dairy or nuts. Check every other ingredient too (stock base labels, margarine, garnishes) and keep the batch away from nut and dairy products on the line.

   Why not the others

   A. Almond is a tree nut, one of Health Canada's priority allergens, so this swap breaks the nut-free requirement. The texture has to come from the vegetables or a nut-free, dairy-free ingredient.

   B. Butter is dairy, so a butter roux still breaks the dairy-free requirement. If a roux is wanted, an oil-based roux avoids dairy, but puréed squash or beans gives the body without one.

   C. An allergy or a dairy-free requirement is not about quantity; any milk protein can trigger a reaction. Reducing the cream does not make the soup dairy-free.

02Answer key

03What block D covers

This block covers stocks, broths and soups. It includes selecting bones and fish frames, mirepoix ratios, sachets and bouquets garnis, white and brown stocks, fumet, court bouillon and dashi, simmering times, glace, clear, cream, purée and cold soups, bisque, consommé and its raft, roux, slurry and liaison thickening, seasoning corrections, and cooling and reheating large batches.

The Red Seal Occupational Standard names this block “Stocks, broths and soups”. It carries 8% of the exam, about 12 of the 150 questions, split across two tasks. The share column is each task's weight within the block, as the standard publishes it.

04What the questions turn on

Clear stock starts cold

Start bones in cold water so proteins coagulate slowly and rise as scum to skim off. Keep the stock at a bare simmer and do not stir: a rolling boil and stirring emulsify fat and particles into a cloudy, greasy stock.

Simmering times by bone

Fish bones give up their flavour in 30 to 45 minutes, and hours of cooking turn a fumet bitter and cloudy, so use white mirepoix sliced thin. Chicken stock takes 3 to 4 hours and veal or beef bones 6 to 8.

Building a consommé raft

Egg white proteins coagulate into a mesh that traps the particles clouding the stock. Stir while the mixture heats, stop once the raft starts to form, then hold a gentle simmer and ladle out the consommé without breaking it.

Finishing with a liaison

Temper egg yolks and cream with a ladle or two of hot soup, stir the liaison in, and heat gently below about 85 °C. Boiling curdles the yolks, so the finished soup is held at 60 °C or above without boiling.

05The other blocks

The 415A exam has 13 blocks. Each has its own page of free questions:

The 415A Cook practice exam page describes the full question bank. How these questions are written and checked: how our questions are made. Found a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.