I know that we are to abstain from meat on Fridays, however, how far does that go?  For example, could I use chicken broth (that does not contain any actual chicken meat) to prepare a meal on Friday?  What about chicken bouillon?  What about something like gelatin, which is produced from an animal by-product?

I have checked an old Canon Law commentary on this before. Meat broths would definitely be prohibited, but gelatin is okay to consume. I am not sure about gravy, but I would think that is prohibited as well since it does actually contain liquid from the meat itself and its flavor.

Anything with meat products in it (gravy, broth, etc) are a no-no. I've never heard of anyone using these in their food on Friday. I can't imagine being "comfortable" with that.

Gelatin - I wouldn't worry about. It's made from various products, including fish and bones and skins/hides. I think it comes down to it not tasting like meat.

Broths and gravies - they still taste like meat.

Dairy products (milk, eggs, butter) have never been included in the fast.

The nice thing about eating out, etc... is that generally speaking the vegetarian movement allowed for more items to be on the menu that are OK on fast days or during lent.

To hear Novus Ordos talk about their Lenten Fast for adults - giving up meat (shock!) on Fridays. It's kinda funny - especially since Traditional Catholics eat no meat on Fridays anyway and this is a fact of life since we were small children. Novus Ordos whine and moan about the depravity of a child's simple fast.

For example, could I use chicken broth (that does not contain any actual chicken meat) to prepare a meal on Friday?  What about chicken bouillon?

No, and no.   In December 2015, there was a closely related discussion elsewhere on CathInfo, as the Vigil of the Nativity (Christmas Eve) was nearly upon us.

I provided a Web address for a more recent, albeit more, um, partisan, statement on traditional fast & abstinence:

    <web.archive.org/web/20150429100201/http://www.stmichaels.org/fasting-laws.shtml>.

It's more focused on when the various rules applied, but some excerpts are directly applicable herein (after omitting the obvious ones):

2. [...] On days of complete abstinence, meat and soup or gravy made from meat may not be used at all.

In a source that seemed reasonably authoritative (but for which I can't find a citation now), I read that there's what seems to be a concession to--or recognition of--differences in culinary cultures: Use of only the rendered fat, drippings, or grease (from the same animals whose broth, soup, or gravy is not allowed) are allowed only when used as a substitute liquid cooking medium distinct from those of other cultures, notably butter (e.g.: French) or oil (e.g.: Italian).  I doubt that, e.g., many servings of eggs & hash-browns were fried in extra-virgin olive oil out on the American frontier.

5. Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids [other than those in item 2], including milk and fruit juices, are allowed.

The source I'm excerpting is apparently squeamish about pointing out in item 5 that beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages are, in fact, also allowed.  Recall monks in mediæval Europe, brewing beer or fermenting wine or distilling brandy as products whose sale can contribute to the upkeep of the monastery.  Then, if you not reading this when it could impact your appetite, ponder the health risks from plain water that courses downstream to the monastery thro' a secular settlement that more-or-less surrounds its walls.  And recall that it would be several--or many--centuries before the role of microscopic organisms in causing human diseases would begin to be understood.  Be that as it may, for whatever is allowed to be eaten or imbibed, rules of fasting do not allow the excessive quantities that indicate gluttony or cause drunkenness.

I was really asking for situations when you are eating out or eating processed food, and you're not really sure what's in it.

I had a few surprises related to that concern, in late December:
&#183 Canned cream-based clam chowder, which listed "chicken broth" among its ingredients.
&#183 Shrimp-&-grits recipes on line, some from up-scale sources, for which all (maybe except 1) of nearly a half dozen used bacon grease, a few then crumbling the crisply cooked bacon over the top.  No olive oil for those folks, who were predominately from the U.S. South.  I'll leave it to those here with formal theological training to explain whether or not a "don't ask" attitude is a morally defensible when sitting down to a breakfast or brunch menu in Charleston (S.C.)

• on a Friday.

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Note *: "[Re:] Fasting and Abstinence this week - Christmas Eve but NOT Christmas Day", in "Catholic Living in the Modern World" forum (f=8). Dec 23, 2015, 3:00 pm. <www.cathinfo.com/catholic.php?a=topic&t=39269#p3>.

Note #: Many early settlers of Charleston were the French heretics known as Huguenots, so I wouldn't be surprised if catering to "papist" traditions were not a (collective) cultural priority there.

Thanks for the input, everyone.  It's interesting, I was at the grocery store last night and was thinking about what to get for lunch tomorrow.  I was going to buy canned vegetable soup, but noticed that it contained beef stock.  I then saw a soup called "vegetarian vegetable soup," which was made from vegetable stock instead of beef stock.  I had never really paid that close attention to what actually contains meat and what does not until now.

I am presently working on a cook-book that will be ready after Lent.  Each recipe is completely meat free, no meat broths or gravies.  

I am including a variety of recipes, including Southern, Cajun, Mexican, Chinese, and Italian.  I have 23 of my own recipes that I have developed over the years, and I am currently hunting for 30 more.  

When I converted to tradition, I had a hard time finding good recipes to feed my family on Fridays.  

Tonight we are having Spaghetti Squash noodles with tomato sauce.  :)

Can you have turkey bacon as long as the turkey never ate meat?

Sorry, ya'll, I was joking.

Quote

BTW flesh meat includes turkey, chicken, buffalo, venison, rabbit, etc.  It has to be fish to be off the list.

A simple correction if I may.

Not all fish is permissible on Friday. Some fish are warm blooded and must be avoided. One example is (I think) the Yellow Fin Tuna.

All cold blooded animals are allowed: frogs, snakes, fish etc.

What is your source for this?

I have never seen any actual Church declaration or theological opinion that use the warm-blooded / cold-blooded animal issue.  In fact, I once read a theological commentary that specifically identified whale meat (i.e., a warm-blooded mammal) as a fish and therefore not subject to the Friday abstinence.  The commentary, by the way, knew that whales are warm-blooded and classified as mammals by biologists.  The entire question revolved around whether whales were "fish" which has been defined at times as simply an animal that swims in the sea.

I have read many laymen use the warm-blooded / cold-blooded criterion, but no one has ever been able to give me a good reason for this criterion other than it just seems right.