SOUP

DEFINITION OF SOUP

Soup is a liquid or semi liquid mixture of vegetables and non veg items such as meat, sea food, poultry and herbs and spices.
These ingredients give a unique flavor, taste and aroma to build a perfect soup.

There are various soup categories which are mentioned below:

Broths
The term broth and bouillon can be used interchangeably. Broths are among the simplest soups to prepare. Normally, their flavor
comes from long-simmering of a variety of ingredients together in one pot. An assortment of separately cooked foods may be
added at various times during the cooking requirements of the individual items. All the ingredients should finish cooking at the
same time.

Consomme
This is concentrated, a thin, clear soup made from meat, poultry or fish. The word has the same origin as consummate, meaning
to bring to completion or perfection. A consommé is cooked long enough for most of the ingredients to be extracted into the
liquid. In the most general sense, consommé is a meat, poultry or fish stock, which has gone through a special clarification
process, served hot or cold.

Purees
They are slightly thicker than cream soups & are somewhat coarser in texture. They are normally based on dried peas, lentils or
starchy vegetables, such as potatoes & carrots.

Cream Soups
Cream soups are based on béchamel sauces.
 Chowders
Thick soup resembling a stew made with meat or fish and vegetables, often flavored with cheese.

Bisque
These are traditionally based on such crustaceans such as shrimp, lobster & crayfish. These share characteristics with both purees
& cream soups.

Veloute
A veloute is based on a light veloute sauce, a sauce thickened with roux & finished with a liaison of egg yolk & cream.

Vegetable Soups
Any soup containing one or more vegetables, cut in dice, brunoise, julienne, chiffonade or paysanne and eaten with the liquid
they have flavored, is classified as vegetable soup or potage.

Cold Soups
This is a special category because this grouping of soups is served differently
from any other: Well chilled, in chilled cups or bowls. The popularity of cold
soup has recently increased. Many soups that are prepared to be a hot soup can
be changed into a cold soup by simply chilling them well and making minor
alterations to the structure and flavor. For instance, many purees can be served
chilled if they are made with little or no butter and thinned with cream after
chilling.

International Soups
 Gazpacho – Spain
 Mulligatawny – Sri Lanka
 Chicken Broth – England
 Cockie Leekie – Scotland
 Clam Chowder – U.S.A
 Bortsch – Russia
 Beer soup – Germany
 French Onion Soup – France
 Minestrone – Italian.
Special Points for the Service and Preparation
 The first-class, clean, strong and flavourful stock should be used, as it would help in producing good quality soup.
 If there is a heavy entrée, the soup should be thin or light.
 If the heavy soup is served, the portion should be small.
 The soups should not in any way be filling or consist of food particles that require much chewing
 The garnish should be small and dainty so that they can be picked up easily by soup-spoon.
 Soups should be always moderately seasoned.
 Serve hot soups; piping hot, and cold soups; very cold.
 A little sugar should be added to tone the acidity of the soup, before mixing cream as it prevents curdling.
 Consommé should be amber in color (onions halved and browned on the hot plate are added to the soup for color)
 Accompaniments of the soups should be of a crisp character, e.g. Melba toast, various crackers, breadsticks, cheese croutons,
bread rolls, etc.
 Entrée portions of one liter of soup yield five portions.

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