• Some substitutes for chicken bouillon may be healthier choices.soup image by AGphotographer from Fotolia.com
  
  Making a flavorful stock or soup from chicken requires minimal effort but a great deal of time. To help home cooks save time, companies began manufacturing chicken bouillon, which is a powdered substance that instantly imparts a chicken-like flavor to liquid. It's useful to know the many substitutes for bouillon in case there is none in your pantry, or if you are searching for a lower-salt equivalent.
  
  

Low-Salt Substitutes

• If it's salt that you're concerned about, many companies offer reduced or very low-salt substitutes for traditional bouillon cubes. While traditional bouillon has 900 mg of sodium per serving, reduced-salt bouillon has 600 mg, and very low-salt bouillon has only 5 mg because it uses potassium chloride in place of salt.
  
  

Homemade Stock or Broth

• The difference between stock and broth is that stock is made using only meat bones and liquid, whereas broth uses both bones and meat to flavor the liquid. Make a homemade version of stock or broth by placing a 3 1/2- pound chicken in a pot with aromatic vegetables, herbs and a gallon of water. After gently simmering the concoction for two to three hours, you'll have 10 to 12 cups of your own chicken stock, which will keep in the freezer for months. Because you can control the salt content of your homemade liquid, it's a healthier and probably tastier substitute.
  
  

Soy Sauce

• When soy beans ferment to become soy sauce, the glutamate within them becomes L-glutamate, which food enthusiasts recognize as "umami," a taste distinct from sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Dissolve one tablespoon of soy sauce in a cup of water to make a substitute for chicken bouillon. The salty, meaty "umami" flavor will mimic the bouillon's rich meat taste.