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Soups

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Soups

Soups may be served as • an appetiser at the beginning of a meal• the main part of a lunch• a warming snack at any time of the day

StockThis is a well-flavoured basis for soups, stews

and sauces.

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SOUPS

Thick soups•Puréed.•Thickened.

Thin soups•Clear soup. •Broth.

Soups can be classified into thick soups and thin soups.

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A good soup… (characteristics)

• Is made from a fresh, well-flavoured stock. Soup should be seasoned with pepper and herbs; do not add too much salt, use a salt substitute.

• Tastes of its main ingredient.

• Is piping hot and has no grease floating on the top (note: some soups are meant to be served cold).

• Has a good colour.

• A thick soup should not be too thick and should not have starchy lumps.

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1. Blend 25g of flour or cornflour with cold water. Stir this mixture into the soup just before the end of the cooking time. Bring the soup back to the boil and boil for approximately five minutes. Garnish and serve.

2. Begin by gently frying (sautéing) the soup ingredients, e.g. vegetables, in 25g of fat or oil. Add 25g flour and cook for a few minutes. Gradually add the stock. The soup will thicken once it comes to the boil.

3. Add barley, rice or pasta to the soup 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

Three ways to thicken a soup

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Guidelines for making soup

• Use a heavy with a well fitting lid.• Use the correct proportion of fresh ingredients.• Use a good stock, and saute ingredients to improve the

flavour.• Slice or chop ingredients to release more flavour.• Use cold water and bring to the boil slowly. Cover and

simmer gently to extract nutrients and flavour.• A pressure cooker speeds up the cooking time; a

processor speeds up preparation and pureeing time.

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How to garnish a soup Croutons (cubes of bread fried in oil―use a

polyunsaturated fat)

Swirl of cream, e.g. cream of vegetable soup

Herbs, e.g. parsley

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• Canned soup is convenient but can lack flavour and be high in salt and MSG.

Convenience soups

• Instant soups are cheap but can be high in salt and MSG.

• Cartons of fresh soup are expensive but tasty and nutritious.

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SAUCES Sauces are well-flavoured liquids and can take many forms.

They can be sweet or savoury, hot or cold. Sauces can be used as a garnish or can be part of the dish itself.

Sauces are served with food:

• to bind or coat foods.

• to add colour and flavour to a dish.

• To moisten food

• To improve digestibility

• To improve the food value

• To offset the richness of the food e.g. apple sauce with pork

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Type of sauce Examples

Roux based White, cheese

Fruit purée Apple, raspberry coulis, cranberry

Egg based Egg custard

Cold Mint

Other Chocolate, butterscotch, barbecue

Classification

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Roux-based sauces

• A roux-based sauce is made from equal amounts of fat and flour. Different flavourings and amounts of liquid are added to vary the basic sauce.

• There are four basic thicknesses of roux sauces. The amounts of fat and flour stay the same for each one; it is the amount of liquid that changes.

25g fat + 25g flour + one of:THICK

binding

coating

stewing

pouring

125ml milk/stock

250ml milk/stock

375mlmilk/stock

500mlmilk/stock

THIN

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How to make a basic white roux sauce

2. Take off the heat. Add milk gradually, stirring all the time.

3. Return to the heat. Keep stirring to prevent lumping.

4. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then serve.

1. Melt fat. Add flour and seasoning. Cook for 1 minute and do not allow to burn.

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Variations on basic pouring sauce (500ml)

Sauce Extra ingredients Goes well with

Parsley Add 2 teaspoons chopped parsley Bacon, fish

Mustard Add 1 teaspoon made mustard, 2 teaspoons vinegar

Fish

Cheese ¼ teaspoon mustard (added to roux), 50g grated cheese added at the end and allowed to melt: do not return to heat

Fish, cauliflower

Mushroom Add 50g sautéed mushrooms after the liquid has been added and then simmer for 5 minutes

Steak, roast beef

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Other traditional sauces

Food Sauce(s) that go well with food

Beef Pepper (steaks), horseradish (roast beef)

Pork Apple

Lamb Mint

Turkey Bread sauce or cranberry

Goose Apple

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Fruit coulis

Desserts look good if you decorate them with a simple fruit coulis. Purée highly coloured fruits such as strawberries or raspberries, add a little icing sugar and then pour to the side of the dish.

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Convenience sauces

Convenience sauces are available in many different forms—

canned, bottled, dried, frozen or in cartons.

 Advantages: •Speed up the preparation and cooking time of some dishes.•Useful for those with poor cooking skills.  

Disadvantages: •They can be high in sugar, salt and other additives. •They can also sometimes be expensive and often lack flavour.

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HERBS AND SPICES

Herbs and spices are used in cookery to add flavour to foods and sometimes make the foods look more appetising. Listed below are some common herbs. Read your textbook to find out their uses.

Bay leavesBasilCaraway (seed)Cayenne pepperChivesCinnamonClovesFennelGarlicGinger

MintMustardNutmegOreganoPaprikaParsleyPepperRosemarySageThyme