2. Soups 25

3. Objective
Differentiate between the two types of clear soups.

4. Soups
Soup is popular in many different cuisines and is considered the epitome of comfort food
Soup categories include
clear
thick
specialty

5. Clear Soups
Clear soups have a thin consistency and generally transparent appearance
They often contain chopped vegetables, various starches, and pieces of meat
The two categories of clear soups are
broth soups
consommés

6. Broth Soups
Vegetables, starches, and meats are cooked in a flavorful broth or stock
Quality of the stock or broth is critical to the flavor of the soup

7. Technique: Preparing Broth Soups
Sweat or sauté meats and vegetables.
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8. Technique: Preparing Broth Soups
Cover the ingredients with broth or stock. Bring the liquid to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.
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9. Technique: Preparing Broth Soups
If other ingredients are added to the soup, they may be added at different times during soup preparation. Besides vegetables, other ingredients may include herbs and spices, and starches such as pasta, rice, or barley. (Due to the variety of starches, cooking times will vary.)
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10. Technique: Preparing Broth Soups
Serve soup once the ingredients are tender and the soup has developed enough flavor.

11. Consommé Consommé is clarified stock
It is expensive to make and requires practice to prepare correctly
Clearmeat is added to remove impurities
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12. Consommé
As the stock simmers, the egg white and protein from meat begins to coagulate the clearmeat
Once the raft forms and floats to the top, the consommé is carefully removed

13. Technique: Preparing Consommé
Prepare the clearmeat by mixing lean ground meat, finely chopped vegetables, and egg white either by hand or in a food processor.
Add the clearmeat to a pot containing cold, defatted stock. Stir the clearmeat and stock until they are well combined.
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14. Technique: Preparing Consommé
Place the pot over low-medium heat. As the stock heats up, gently scrape the bottom of the pot periodically with a wooden spoon. Do not stir the mixture, only carefully scrape the bottom of the pot so the clearmeat does not stick to the bottom. If the clearmeat sticks, it will burn and ruin the consommé.
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15. Technique: Preparing Consommé
Stop scraping the bottom of the pot once the consommé becomes warm. The clearmeat will then coagulate and slowly rise to the surface as the consommé heats up.
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16. Technique: Preparing Consommé
Reduce the heat to a slow simmer as soon as the consommé comes to a boil. As the clearmeat coagulates and forms the raft, it rises and traps impurities. If the consommé boils rapidly at any point, the raft can break apart and turn the consommé cloudy.
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17. Technique: Preparing Consommé
Simmer the consommé for 1 to 3 hours. During this time, the consommé will deepen in color and increase in flavor. Both of these are hallmarks of a fine consommé.
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18. Technique: Preparing Consommé
Strain the consommé through a chinois lined with a large coffee filter or several layers of cheesecloth.
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19. Technique: Preparing Consommé
(continued) Do not pour the consommé from the pot. This could break the raft and ruin the consommé. Instead, delicately ladle it into the chinois.
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20. Technique: Preparing Consommé
Chill consommé according to your local health department’s guidelines. Once the consommé is cold, remove any fat that solidifies on top.

21. Objective
Compare the different types of thick soups.

22. Thick Soups
Soups are thickened using a purée, starch-based thickener, or both
Categories of thick soups include
purée soups
cream soups
bisques and chowders

23. Purée Soups
Starchy ingredients are cooked until soft and blended into a purée soup
To thicken soup, additional puréed ingredients can be added
To thin soup, add more stock

24. Technique: Preparing Purée Soups
Simmer all ingredients in a flavorful stock until they are soft and easily crushed. Some of the ingredients may be sweated first.
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25. Technique: Preparing Purée Soups
Purée the soup using a blender, food processor, immersion blender, or food mill. Certain types of purée soups may be passed through a strainer.
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26. Technique: Preparing Purée Soups
Adjust the thickness of the finished soup. If the soup is too thin, additional cooked ingredients may be puréed into the soup. If this is not possible, the soup could be thickened with a starch such as arrowroot or a roux. If the soup is too thick, add additional stock.

27. Cream Soups
Cream soups consist of milk or stock thickened with flour and puréed ingredients, and are often finished with cream
These soups tend to be the richest and silkiest

28. Technique: Preparing Cream Soups
Sweat the solid ingredients in whole butter.
Add flour to the vegetables and butter, and cook until the flour taste has disappeared. This will take several minutes.
Add milk or stock to the cooked vegetables. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.
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29. Technique: Preparing Cream Soups
Simmer the vegetables until they are soft.
Purée the vegetables. The soup may need to be passed through a strainer.
Place the soup in a clean pot and bring to a boil. Hot cream and possibly butter may then be added.

30. Bisques and Chowders Bisque
A bisque requires considerable skill to make
It is often flavored with sherry and brandy, tinted red from tomato product, and fortified with cream
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31. Bisques and Chowders Chowder
Chowder is a filling soup that was traditionally consumed by fishermen
Chowder is often made with clams or large amounts of tomato

32. Objective
Recognize the types of soups in the specialty soups category.

33. Specialty Soups
Soups that do not fit in other soup categories are classified as specialty soups
Cold soups are an example of a specialty soup

34. Cold Soups Popular cold soups include
Gazpacho (gahz PAH choh): Spanish soup of puréed tomatoes, red peppers, garlic, and cucumber
Vichyssoise (vee shee SWAHZ): cold cream of potato and leek soup
Borscht (BOHRSHT): beet and red cabbage soup

35. Objective
Understand the role of soup garnishes.

36. Garnishing Soups
Garnishes add visual appearance, texture, and flavor to finished soups
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37. Garnishing Soups Soup garnishes should be bite-sized or smaller
be tender
be hot for hot soups and cold for cold soups
not be fatty or oily if garnishing consommés
complement the soup in flavor and style

38. Objective
Execute proper techniques for serving hot and cold soup.

39. Serving Soups
Hot soups must be served very hot and cold soups served very cold
To ensure proper serving temperatures, consider the following:
temperature of the soup
serving container temperature
whether to use a soup plate or soup bowl
immediate service

40. Review Name and describe the two types of clear soups.
Broth soups contain a variety of vegetables and starches that are cooked in broth
Consommés are a perfectly transparent and intensely flavored soup made by clarifying stock
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41. Review Identify the different types of thick soups. purée soups
cream soups
bisques
chowder
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42. Review List three popular cold soups. gazpacho vichyssoise borscht
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43. Review What role do garnishes play in soups?
Garnishes add visual appearance, texture, and flavor to finished soups
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44. Review Describe the guidelines for preparing soup garnishes.
be bite-size or smaller
be tender
be hot for hot soups and cold for cold soups
complement the soup in flavor and style
should not be fatty or oily if garnishing consommés
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45. Review What is the most crucial part of serving soups?
ensuring the soups are served at the proper temperature