Making Soup (Information)

Servings: 6
Ingredients:

1    Text Only

From an article by Louise Tennent Smith.

‘Making soup is fun, an exercise in kitchen creativity which cannot go
wrong—you can ALWAYS fix a soup.

‘Homemade stock is good, and easy to make, though time consuming. But don’t
give up on soup making if you haven’t time to make your own. There are good
canned. dried and frozen bases that will allow you to whip up a good soup
in no time at all.

‘Seasoning: The stock itself gives the base seasoning to a soup, as do
herbs and spices added during the cooking. The addition of wine frequently
enhances the flavor. Add about one-quarter cup to one quart of soup just
before serving, and do not boil after adding. Use sherry for light soups
with a chicken base, red wine with beef based soups, white wine with fish
soups. A cup of beer for every three cups of soup is good with bean and
other hearty vegetable soups.

‘Thickening: Cooked cereals such as rice, noodles and dumplings give body
to a clear soup; added raw, they will thicken a soup. Other thickeners
include egg yolks, pureed vegetables and roux of flour and butter.

‘Color: Soups using a good quantity of meat, onion skims, tomato skins or
browned onions usually have excellent color. Other color additives include
browning sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, wine, tomato sauce and soy
sauce. The latter group should be used with great care in delicate soups,
as their flavor might be overwhelming.’

[THE BALTIMORE SUN; February 13, 1991]

Posted by Fred Peters.