MAKING OF SOUP
Always use soft water for making soup and be careful to proportion the quantity of water to that of the meat. Somewhat less than a quart of water to a pound of meat, is a good rule for common soups. Rich soups, intended for company, may have a still smaller allowance of water.

PRINCIPAL INGREDIENTS
The making of the stock that is used in soup is the most important of the soup making processes; in fact, these two things soup and stock may be regarded, in many instances, as one and the same. It is important to keep in mind that whenever reference is made to the making of soup usually stock making is also involved and meant. Before the actual soup making processes are taken up, the nature of the ingredients required should be well understood; for this reason, suitable meats and vegetables, which are the principal ingredients in soups, are first discussed.

MEAT USED FOR SOUP MAKING
Almost every kind of meat including beef, veal, mutton, lamb, game and poultry, is used for soup making. When soup stock is made from these meats, they may be cooked separately or as a combination, several kinds may be combined. For instance, mutton used alone makes a very strongly flavored soup, so that it is usually advisable to combine this kind of meat with another meat that has a less distinctive flavor. On the other hand, veal alone does not have sufficient flavor, so it must be combined with lamb, game, fowl or some other well-flavored meat.

Certain cuts of meats are preferred to others in the making of soups because of the difference in their texture. The tender cuts which are the expensive ones, should not be used for soups, as they do not produce enough flavor. The tough cuts, which come from the muscles that the animal uses constantly and that therefore grow hard and tough, are usually cheaper, but they are more suitable because they contain the material that makes the best soup. The pieces best adapted to soup making are the shins, the shanks, the lower part of the round, the neck, the flank, the shoulder, the tail and the brisket. Stock made from one of these cuts will be improved if a small amount of the fat of the meat is cooked with it; but to avoid soup that is too greasy, any excess fat that remains after cooking should be carefully removed. The marrow of the shinbone is the best fat for soup making.

If soup is to be made from fish, a white variety should be selected. The head and trimmings may be utilized, but these alone are not sufficient because soup requires some solid pieces of meat. The same is true of meat bones; they are valuable only when they are used with meat, an equal proportion of bone and meat being required for the best stock.

Soup should always be made entirely of fresh meat that has not been previously cooked. An exception to this rule may sometimes be made in favor of the remains of a piece of roast beef that has been very much under-done in roasting. This may be added to a good piece of raw meat.

Soup made of cold meat has always a vapid, disagreeable taste, very perceptible through all the seasoning and which nothing indeed can disguise. Also, it will be of a bad, dingy color. The juices of the meat having been exhausted by the first cooking, the undue proportion of watery liquid renders it indigestible and unwholesome, as well as unpalatable. As there is little or no nutriment to be derived from soup made with cold meat, it is better to refrain from using it for this purpose and to devote the leavings of the table to some other object. No person accustomed to really good soup, made from fresh meat, can ever be deceived in the taste, even when flavored with wine and spices.

Soup that has been originally made of raw meat entirely is frequently better the second day than the first; provided that it is re-boiled only for a very short time and that no additional water is added to it. Unless it has been allowed to boil too hard, so as to exhaust the water, the soup-pot will not require replenishing. When it is found absolutely necessary to do so, the additional water must be boiling hot when poured in; if lukewarm or cold, it will entirely spoil the soup.

Every particle of fat should be carefully skimmed from the surface. Greasy soup is disgusting and unwholesome. The lean of meat is much better for soup than the fat. Long and slow boiling is necessary to extract the strength from the meat. If boiled fast over a large fire, the meat becomes hard and tough and will not give out its juices.

HERBS AND VEGETABLES USED FOR SOUP MAKING
In soup making, a large number of vegetables is used. Any vegetable that has a decided flavor may be used. Among those from which soups can be made successfully are cabbage, cauliflower, asparagus, corn, onions, turnips, carrots, parsnips, tomatoes, beans, peas, lentils, salsify, potatoes, spinach, celery, mushrooms, okra and even sweet potatoes. These vegetables are used to provide flavoring and to form part of the soup itself. When they are used simply for flavoring, they are cooked until their flavor is obtained and then removed from the stock. When they are to form part of the soup, as well as to impart flavor, they are left in the soup in small pieces or made into a puree and eaten with the soup.

The cook should season the soup but very slightly with salt and pepper. If he puts in too much, it may spoil it for the taste of most of those that are to eat it; but if too little, it is easy to add more to your own plate.

The herbs usually used in soups are parsley, common thyme, summer savory, knotted marjoram, and other seasonings such as bay leaves, tarragon, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, mace, black and white pepper, red pepper etc.

Attention must be given to the condition of the vegetables that are used in soup. The fresh vegetables that are used should be in perfect condition. They should have no decayed places that might taint or discolor the soups and they should be as crisp and solid as possible. When dried vegetables are to be used for soup making, they should first be soaked well in cold water and then, before being added to the stock, either partly cooked or entirely cooked and made into a puree.

PROCESSES INVOLVED IN MAKING STOCK
Although the making of stock or soup is a simple process, it must necessarily be a rather long one. The reason for this is that all flavors cannot be drawn from the soup materials unless they are subjected to long, slow cooking at a temperature lower than the boiling point. With this point definitely understood, the actual work of soup making may be taken up.

COOKING MEAT FOR SOUP
When clear stock is to be made from fresh meat, the required quantity of meat should be cut into small pieces so as to expose as much of the surface as possible from which the flavor of the meat can be drawn. A little more flavor is obtained and a brown color developed if a small part, perhaps a fourth, of the pieces of meat is first browned in the frying pan. The pieces thus browned, together with the pieces of fresh meat, are put into a kettle and a quart of cold water for each pound of meat is then added.

The reason for using cold rather than hot water will be evident when the action of water on raw meat is understood. The fiber of meat is composed of innumerable thread-like tubes containing the flavor that is to be drawn out into the water in order to make the stock appetizing. When the meat is cut, these tiny tubes are laid open. Putting the meat thus prepared into cold water and allowing it to heat gradually tend to extract the contents of the tubes. This material is known as extractives and it contains in its composition stimulating substances. On the other hand, plunging the meat into hot water and subjecting it quickly to a high temperature will coagulate the protein in the tissue and prevent the extractives from leaving the tubes.

To obtain the most flavors from meat that is properly prepared, it should be put over a slow fire and allowed to come gradually to the boiling point. As the water approaches the boiling point, a scum consisting of coagulated albumin, blood, and foreign material will begin to rise to the top. This should be skimmed off at once and the process of skimming must be continued until no scum remains. When the water begins to boil rapidly, the fire should be lowered so that the water will bubble only enough for a very slight motion to be observed. Throughout the cooking, the meat should not be allowed to boil violently or to cease bubbling entirely.

The meat should be allowed to cook for at least 4 hours, but longer if possible. If, during this long cooking, too much water evaporates, more should be added to dilute the stock. The salt that is required for seasoning may be added just a few minutes before the stock is removed from the kettle. However, it is better to add the salt together with the other seasonings after the stock has been drawn off, for salt, has a tendency to harden the tissues of meat and to prevent the flavor from being readily extracted.

Although, as has been explained, flavor is drawn from the fibers of meat by boiling it slowly for a long time, the cooking of meat for soup does not extract the nourishment from it to any extent. In reality, the meat itself largely retains its original nutritive value after it has been cooked for soup, although a small quantity of protein is drawn out and much of the fat is removed. This meat should never be wasted; rather, it should be used carefully with materials that will take the place of the flavor that has been cooked from it.

THICKENING SOUP
Although thin, clear soups are preferred by some and are particularly desirable for their stimulating effect, thick soups find much favor when they are used to form a substantial part of a meal. Besides giving consistency to soup, thickening usually improves the flavor but its chief purpose is to give nutritive value to this food. In fact, whenever a soup is thickened, its food value is increased by the ingredient thus added. For this reason, it is advisable to thicken soups when they are desired for any other purpose than their stimulating effect.

The substance used to thicken soups may be either a starchy material or food or a puree of some food. The starchy materials generally used for this purpose are plain flour, browned flour, corn starch and arrowroot flour. Any one of these should be moistened with enough cold water to make a mixture that will pour easily and then added to the hot liquid while the soup is stirred constantly to prevent the formation of lumps. A sufficient amount of this thickening material should be used to make a soup of the consistency of heavy cream.

The starchy foods that are used for thickening include rice, barley, oatmeal, noodles, tapioca, sago and macaroni. Many unusual and fancy forms of macaroni can be secured or the plain varieties of Italian pastes may be broken into small pieces and cooked with the soup. When any of these foods are used, they should be added long enough before the soup is removed to be cooked thoroughly.

Purees of beans, peas, lentils, potatoes and other vegetables are especially desirable for the thickening of soups, for they not only give consistency, but add nutritive value and flavor as well. Another excellent thickening may be obtained by beating raw eggs and then adding them carefully to the soup just before it is to be served. After eggs have been added for thickening, the soup should not be allowed to boil, as it is liable to curdle.

SERVING SOUP
Soup may be correctly served in several different ways, the method to adopt usually depending on the kind of soup. The spoon to be served with soup also depends on the kind of soup, but a larger spoon than a teaspoon is always necessary. When soup is served in a soup plate, a dessertspoon is used. Bouillon spoon is the best kind to use with any thin soup served in bouillon cups. Such a spoon is about the length of a teaspoon, but has a round bowl.

To increase the attractiveness of soup and at the same time make it more appetizing and nutritious, various accompaniments and relishes are served with it. Many soups, especially vegetable soups, are improved in flavor by the addition of a spoonful of grated cheese, which should be sprinkled into the dish at the time of serving.

In summer clear soups are sometimes served cold, as cold soups are found more desirable for warm weather than hot ones. However, when a soup is intended to be hot, it should be hot when it is ready to be eaten and every effort should be made to have it in this condition if an appetizing soup is desired. This can be accomplished if the soup is thoroughly heated before it is removed from the stove and the dishes in which it is to be served are warmed before the soup is put into them.

Fancy cooking an exotic meal tonight? Best desi cooking recipes from Pakistan, India and rest of the world. Visit http://www.bestdesicooking.com and enjoy deliciously free recipes!

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

ALL ABOUT SOUPS
Soup is a liquid food that is prepared by boiling meat or vegetables, or both, in water and then seasoning and sometimes thickening the liquid that is produced. It is usually served as the first course of a dinner, but it is often included in a light meal, such as luncheon. Soup is an easily made, economical, and when properly prepared from healthful and nutritious material, very wholesome article of diet, deserving of much more general use than is commonly accorded it. The purpose of this Section is to acquaint you with the details of making appetizing and nutritious soups that make for both economy and healthfulness.

PLACE OF SOUP IN THE MEAL
Soup contains the very essence of all that is nourishing and sustaining in the foods of which it is made. The importance of soup is to consider the purposes it serves in a meal. When its variety and the ingredients of which it is composed are thought of, soup serves two purposes: first, as an appetizer taken at the beginning of a meal to stimulate the appetite and aid in the flow of digestive juices in the stomach; and secondly, as an actual part of the meal, when it must contain sufficient nutritive material to permit it to be considered as a part of the meal instead of merely an addition.
Care should be taken to make this food attractive enough to appeal to the appetite rather than discourage it. Soup should not be greasy nor insipid in flavor, neither should it be served in large quantities nor without proper accompaniment. A small quantity of well-flavored, attractively served soup cannot fail to meet the approval of any family when it is served as the first course of the meal.

MAIN TYPES OF SOUPS
The two purposes for which soup is used have led to the placing of the numerous kinds into two general asses. In the first class are grouped those which serve as appetizers, such as bouillon, consomme, and some other broths and clear soups. In the second class are included those eaten for their nutritive effect, such as cream soups, purees, and bisques. From these two classes of soup, the one that will correspond with the rest of the meal and make it balance properly is the one to choose. For instance, a light soup that is merely an appetizer should be served with a heavy dinner, whereas a heavy, highly nutritious soup should be used with a luncheon or a light meal.

The two general classes of soup already mentioned permit of numerous methods of classification. For instance, soups are sometimes named from the principal ingredient or an imitation of it, as the names potato soup, beef soup, macaroni soup, mock-turtle soup testify. Again, both stimulating and nutritious soups may be divided into thin and thick soups, thin soups usually being clear, and thick soups, because of their nature, cloudy. When the quality of soups is considered, they are placed in still different classes and are called broth, bisque, consomme, puree, and so on. Another important classification of soups results from the nationality of the people who use them.

CLASSES OF SOUP DENOTING CONSISTENCY
As has already been pointed out, soups are of only two kinds when their consistency is thought of, namely, clear soups and thick soups.

1. CLEAR SOUPS are those made from carefully cleared stock, or soup foundation, and flavored or garnished with a material from which the soup usually takes its name. There are not many soups of this kind, bouillon and consomme being the two leading varieties, but in order to be palatable, they require considerable care in making.
2. THICK SOUPS are also made from stock, but milk or cream and any mixture of these may also be used as a basis and to it may be added for thickening meat, fish, vegetables, eggs, or grain or some other starchy material. Soups of this kind are often made too thick and as such soups are not appetizing, care must be taken to have them just right in consistency.

CLASSES OF SOUPS DENOTING QUALITY
When attention is given to the quality of soup, this food divides itself into several varieties, namely, broth, cream soup, bisque, chowder and puree.

1. BROTHS have for their foundation a clear stock. They are sometimes a thin soup, but other times they are made quite thick with vegetables, rice or barley when they are served as a substantial part of a meal.
2. CREAM SOUPS are highly nutritious and are of great variety. They have for their foundation a thin cream sauce, but to this are always added vegetables, meat, fish or grains.
3. BISQUES are thick, rich soups made from game fish or shell fish, particularly crabs, shrimp etc. occasionally, vegetables are used in soups of this kind.
4. CHOWDERS are soups that have sea food for their basis. Vegetables and crackers are generally added for thickening and to impart flavor.
5. PUREES are soups made thick partly or entirely by the addition of some material obtained by boiling an article of food and then straining it to form a pulp. When vegetables containing starch such as beans, peas, lentils or potatoes are used for this purpose, it is unnecessary to thicken the soup with any additional starch; but when meat, fish or watery vegetables are used, other thickening is required. To be right, a puree should be nearly as smooth as thick cream and of the same consistency.

IMPORTANCE OF STOCK FOR SOUP AND ITS USES
In order that soup-making processes may be readily grasped, one should be thoroughly familiar with what is meant by stock which forms the foundation of many soups. A stock of anything means a reserve supply of that thing stored away for future use. When applied to soup, stock is similar in meaning for it refers to material stored or prepared in such a way that it may be kept for use in the making of certain kinds of soup.In a more definite sense, soup-stock may be regarded as a liquid containing the juices and soluble parts of meat, bone or vegetables which have been extracted by long, slow cooking.

Soups in which stock is utilized include all the varieties made from beef, veal, mutton and poultry. If clear stock is desired for the making of soup, only fresh meat and bones should be used and all material that will discolor the liquid in any way carefully avoided. For ordinary, unclarified soups, the trimmings and bones of roast, steak or chops and the carcass of fowl can generally be utilized. However, very strongly flavored meat such as mutton or the fat from mutton should be used sparingly.

VARIETIES OF STOCK
Several kinds of stock are utilized in the making of soup, and the kind to employ depends on the soup desired. The following classification will be a guide in determining the kind of stock required for the foundation of a soup.

FIRST STOCK is made from meat and bones and then clarified and used for well-flavored, clear soups.

SECOND STOCK is made from the meat and the bones that remain after the first stock is strained off. More water is added to the remaining material and this is then cooked with vegetables, which supply the needed flavor. Such stock serves very well for adding flavor to a nutritious soup made from vegetables or cereal foods.

1. WHITE STOCK.White stock is used in the preparation of white soups and is made by boiling six pounds of a knuckle of veal cut up in small pieces and poultry trimmings.
2. HOUSEHOLD STOCK is made by cooking meat and bones, either fresh or cooked, with vegetables or other material that will impart flavor and add nutritive value. Stock of this kind is used for ordinary soups.
3. BONE STOCK is made from meat bones to which vegetables are added for flavor and it is used for making any of the ordinary soups.
4. VEGETABLE STOCK is made from either dried or fresh vegetables or both. Such stock is employed in making vegetable soups.
5. GAME STOCK is made from the bones and trimmings of game to which vegetables are added for flavor. This kind of stock is used for making game soups.
6. FISH STOCK is made from fish or fish trimmings to which vegetables are added for flavor. Shell fish make especially good stock of this kind. Fish stock is employed for making chowders and fish soups.

ADDITIONAL USES OF STOCK
As has already been shown, stock is used principally as a foundation for certain varieties of soup. This material, however, may be utilized in many other ways, being especially valuable in the use of leftover foods. Any bits of meat or fowl that are left over can be made into an appetizing dish by adding thickened stock to them and serving the combination over toast or rice. In fact, a large variety of made dishes can be devised if there is stock on hand to add for flavor. The convenience of a supply of stock will be apparent when it is realized that gravy or sauce for almost any purpose can be made from the contents of the stockpot.

FLAVORING STOCK
It is the flavoring of stock that indicates real skill in soup making. This is an extremely important part of the work. In fact, the large number of ingredients found in soup recipes are, as a rule, the various flavorings which give the distinctive flavor and individuality to a soup. Very often certain spices or certain flavoring materials may be omitted without any appreciable difference, or something that is on hand may be substituted for an ingredient that is lacking.

The flavorings used most for soup include cloves, peppercorns, red, black and white pepper, paprika, bay leaf, sage, marjoram, thyme, summer savory, tarragon, celery seed, fennel, mint and rosemary. While all of these are not absolutely necessary, the majority of them may well be kept on the pantry shelf. A small amount of lemon peel often improves soup, so some of this should be kept in store. Another group of vegetables that lend themselves admirably to soup flavoring includes leeks, shallots, chives, garlic and onions, all of which belong to the same family. They must be used judiciously, as a strong flavor of any of them is offensive to most persons.

In the use of any of the flavorings mentioned or the strongly flavored vegetables, care should be taken not to allow any one particular flavor to predominate. Each should be used in such quantity that it would blend well with the others. A very good way in which to fix spices and herbs that are to flavor soup is to tie them in a small piece of cheesecloth and drop the bag thus made into the soup pot. When prepared in this way, they will remain together, so that, while the flavor can be cooked out, they can be more readily removed from the liquid than if they are allowed to spread through the contents of the pot. Salt should be added in the proportion of 1 teaspoonful to each quart of liquid.

Fancy cooking an exotic meal tonight? Best desi cooking recipes from Pakistan, India and rest of the world. Visit http://www.bestdesicooking.com and enjoy deliciously free recipes!

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

cforms contact form by delicious:days