Making soup (information)

Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients:

1 Text Only

Instructions:

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.