SOUP
Soups are a liquid food that is derived from meat,
fish, poultry, and Vegetables. Soups are most often served at the beginning of
a meal or as the main course for lunch or a snack. The term soupe originally
referred to the slice of bread upon which the contents of a cooking pot
(potage) were poured.
Classification of soups:
When referring to soups, it is
important to know that all soups will fall into three broad categories.
1. Thin – These are unthickened soups that may or may not
contain other ingredients such as vegetables or meats. Some examples are:
Broth or Bullion; Vegetable Soups
(some containing meat); Consommé
2. Thick – Any soup that is thickened will fall into this
category; the thickening can come from any of various sources. Some examples
are:
Cream Soups; Purée Soups
(sometimes referred to as potage); Bisques; Chowders; Potage
3. Specialty – Soups that do not fit neatly into the above
categories. Most specialty soups will have similarities like that they are
thick or thin. Types of specialty
soups include all cold soups, national or regional soups, and some low fat
soups.
Some examples are: Regional Soups; National Soups
1) Thin soup or clear soups:- These soups are all based on a
clear, unthickened broth or stock. They may be served plain or garnished with a
variety of vegetables and meats
A. Broth and Bouillon are two
terms used in many different ways, but in general they both refer to simple,
clear soups without solid ingredients.
B. Vegetable soup is clear,
seasoned stock or broth with the addition of one or more vegetables and
sometimes meat or poultry products and starches.
C. Consommé is a rich, flavoured
stock or broth that has been clarified to make it perfectly clear and
transparent.
2) Thick soups: Thick soups are opaque rather than transparent.
They are thickened either by adding a thickening agent such as roux, or by
pureeing one or m ore of their ingredients to provide a heavier consistency.
A. Cream soups are soups that are
thickened with roux, beurre manié, liaison, or other added thickening agents
and has all the addition of milk / cream. Cream soups are usually named after
their major ingredient, such as cream of tomato, cream of broccoli.
B. Purees are soups that are
naturally thickened by pureeing one or more of their ingredients. They may be
made with dry legumes or from fresh starchy vegetables. Purees may or may not
contain cream.
C. Bisques are thickened soups
made from shell fish. They are usually prepared like cream soups and are almost
always finished with cream.
D. Chowders are American soups
made from fish, shellfish or vegetables. They usually contain milk and
potatoes.
E. Velouté is made with a Blond
Roux and flavoured stock, prepared in the same way as a Velouté sauce and
Liaison is added to finish. A Liaison is Egg Yolks and Double Cream
3) Specialty soups: Some of the international soups
A. Minestrone Italy
B. Green turtle soup England
C. French onion soup France
D. Cock-a-leekie Scotland
E. Mulligatawny India
F. Gazpacho Spain
G. Paprika Hungry
H. Manhattan Clam Chowder America
I. Scotch broth Scotland
J. Camaro brazil
4) Cold soups:- are sometimes considered specialty soups, and
in fact some of them are. But many other popular cold soups, such as jellied
consommé, cold cream of cucumber soups are simply cold versions of basic clear
and thick soups..
COMMONLY USED GARNISHES FOR
SOUPS:
Soup garnishes may be divided
into three groups.
1. Garnishes in the soup.
· Major ingredients, such as
the vegetables in clear vegetable soup, are often considered garnishes. This
group of garnishes also includes meats, poultry, seafood, pasta products, and
grains such as barley or rice. They are treated as part of the preparation or
recipe itself, not as something added on.
· Consommés are generally
named after their garnish, such as consommé brunoise, which contains vegetables
cut into brunoise shape.
· Vegetable cream soups are
usually garnished with carefully cut pieces of the vegetable from which they
are made.
2. Toppings.
Clear soups are generally served
without toppings to let the attractiveness of the clear broth and the carefully
cut vegetables speak for themselves. Occasional exceptions are toppings of
chopped parsley or chives. Thick soups, especially those that are all one
color, are often decorated with a topping. Toppings should be placed on the
soup just before service so they won’t sink or lose their fresh appearance.
Their flavors must be appropriate to the soup. Do not overdo soup toppings. The
food should be attractive in itself. Topping suggestions for thick soups:
· Croutons Dices or other
shapes made from bread, toast, pastry.
· Profitroles Prepared from
chou paste. They are miniature cream puffs which may be filled or used plain.
· Cereals Rice or barley.
· Cheese Cheese balls, or
grated Parmesan served with croutons on one side.
· Cream Unsweetened whipped
cream or sour cream.
· Meats Usually small dices
or juliennes.
· Poultry Same as meat.
· Seafood Diced or flaked.
Large enough pieces distinguishable.
· Pastas Noodles, spaghetti,
other pasta products such as star letters, cornets, etc.
· Vegetables Cut in various
sizes, shapes-juliennes, round slices, dices of spring vegetables.
· Fresh herbs (parsley,
chives), chopped
· Fried herbs, such as
parsley, sage, chervil, celery leaves, leek julienne
3. Accompaniments.
American soups are traditionally
served with crackers. In addition to the usual saltines, other suggestions for
crisp accompaniments are:
· Melba toast
· Corn chips
· Breadsticks
· Cheese straws
· Profiteroles (tiny
unsweetened cream-puff shells)
· Whole-grain wafers
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