Chapter 9Chapter 9

SoupsCopyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Clear soups are all based on a clear, un-thickened broth or stock.

• Broth and bouillon

• Simple, clear soups without solid ingredients

• Vegetable soup: a clear, seasoned stock or broth with the addition of one or more vegetables.

• And, sometimes, meat or poultry products and starches.

• Consommé: a rich, flavorful stock or broth that has been clarified to make it perfectly clear and transparent.

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Understanding Soups

Classification of Soups

Thick soups opaque soups thickened either by adding a thickening agent, such as a roux, or by puréeing one or more of their ingredients.

• Cream soups: thickened with roux, beurre manié, liaison, or other added thickening agents.

• Plus milk and/or cream

• Purées: naturally thickened by puréeingone or more of ingredients.

• Purées are normally based on starchy ingredients.3

Understanding Soups

Classification of Soups

• Bisques: thickened soups made from shellfish and almost always finished with cream.

• The term bisque is sometimes a marketing term rather than a technical term.

• Chowder: hearty soups made from fish, shellfish, and/or vegetables.

• Chowder usually contain milk and potatoes.

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Understanding Soups

Classification of Soups

• Potage : Potage is a term sometimes associated with thick, hearty soups, but it is actually a general term for soup.

• A clear soup is called a potage clair in French.

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Understanding Soups

Classification of Soups

Specialty and National Soups• Specialty soups are distinguished by unusual

ingredients or methods.• Turtle soup • Gumbo • Peanut soup• Cold fruit soup• Cold soups

• Jellied Consommé

• Cold cream of cucumber soup

• Vichyssoise 6

Understanding Soups

Classification of Soups

Vegetarian Soups and Low-fat Soups• Vegetable soups for vegans must contain no meat or

any other animal product.

• Must be made with water or vegetable stock to bind thick soups.

• Use a starch slurry or a roux made with oil rather than butter to bind thick soups.

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Understanding Soups

Classification of Soups

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Service of Soups

• Heat small batches frequently to replenish the steam table with fresh soup.

• For consommés, vegetable garnish is heated separately and added at service time.

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Service of Soups

Holding for Service

Soup garnishes may be divided into three groups:

1. Garnishes in the soup

2. Toppings

3. Accompaniments

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Service of Soups

Garnish

The difference between a broth and a stock is:• Broth

• Made by simmering meat and vegetables

• Has a more pronounced flavor of meat or poultry than a stock

• Stock

• Made by simmering bones and vegetables

• Generally richer in gelatin content than a broth

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Clear Soups

Broth

Consommé means, literally, “completed” or “concentrated”

• Consommé is a strong, concentrated stock.

• Rule number one for preparing consommé is that the stock or broth must be strong, rich, and full-flavored.

• Clarification is second in importance to strength.

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Consommé

• Proteins called albumins dissolve in cold water.

• When the water is heated, they gradually solidify or coagulate and rise to the surface.

• These proteins collect all the tiny particles that cloud a stock and carry them to the surface.

• The stock is then left perfectly clear.

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Consommé

How Clarification Words

The mixture of ingredients we use to clarify a stock is called the clearmeat or the clarification.

1. Lean ground meat

2. Egg whites

3. Mirepoix

4. Acid ingredients

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Consommé

Basic Ingredients

1. The stock is well mixed with the clarification ingredients and set on a burner to begin heating.

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Consommé

Procedure for Preparation

2. The raft begins to rise to the top.

3.The raft has almost completely formed. The consommé will continue to simmer for a total of 1.5 hours.

1. Start with a clear, flavorful stock or broth.

2. Select vegetables and other ingredients whose flavors go well together.

3. Cut vegetables uniformly.

4. Cook vegetables slowly in a little butter before combining with liquid.

5. Cook starches such as grains and pasta separately and add to the soup later.

6. Observe differences in cooking times.

7. Don’t overcook.

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Vegetable Soups

Preparation Guidelines

Cream soups are simply diluted velouté or béchamel sauces, flavored with the ingredient for which they are named.

• Thicken a liquid with roux (or other starch)

• Cook and purée the ingredients

• Add the milk or cream

What we now call cream soups were divided into two groups in the past:

• Veloutés and creams17

Thick Soups

Cream Soups

Standards of Quality• Thickness

• About the consistency of heavy cream; not too thick.

• Texture

• Smooth; no graininess or lumps.

• Taste

• Distinct flavor of the main ingredient.

• No starchy taste from uncooked roux.

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Thick Soups

Cream Soups

Observe the following guidelines to help prevent curdling:

1. Do not combine milk and simmering soup stock without the presence of roux or other starch.

2. Do not add cold milk or cream to simmering soup.

3. Do not boil soups after milk or cream is added.

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Thick Soups

Curdling

1. Sweat onions, mirepoix, or other fresh vegetables in fat.

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Purée Soups

Techniques

2. Add stock or other liquid.

1. Add starchy vegetables or other remaining vegetables.

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Purée Soups

Techniques

2. Purée the soup with an immersion blender, a food processor, or food mill.

• Pho Bo : Vietnamese Beef and Rice Noodle Soup (p. 267)

• Caldo Verde (p. 268)

• Zuppa di Ceci e Riso(p. 268)

• Gazpacho (p. 271)

• Consommé (p. 230)

• Consommé Madrilène (p. 231)

• Vichyssoise (p. 252)

• Avgolemono (p. 258)

• Borscht (p. 258)

• Gulyas (p. 259)

Soups

Recipes

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