Chinese Recipes | Cooking Tips | Good Eats

Soup Extracts

If there is no time to go through the various processes involved in making soup, there are a number of concentrated meat and vegetable extracts on the market for making soups quickly.

The meat extracts are made of the same flavoring material as that which is drawn from meat in the making of stock. Almost all the liquid is evaporated and the result is a thick, dark substance that must be diluted greatly with water to obtain the basis for a soup or a broth.

Some of the vegetable extracts such as Japanese soy and English marmite are so similar in appearance and taste to the meat extracts as to make it quite difficult to detect any difference.

Both varieties of these extracts may be used for sauces and gravies, as well as for soups, but it should be remembered that they are not highly nutritious and are valuable merely for flavoring.

The Stock Pot - Nature, Use And Care Of Stock Pot

Among the utensils used for cooking there is probably none more convenient and useful than the stockpot. It is nothing more or less than a covered crock or pot, into which materials that will make a well-flavored stock are put from time to time. From such a supply, stock can be drawn when it is needed for soup; then, when some is taken out, more water and materials may be added to replenish the pot. The stockpot should be made of either enamel or earthenware, since a metal pot of any kind is liable to impart flavor to the food.

The stock pot, like any other utensil used for making soup, should receive considerable care, as it must be kept scrupulously clean. No stock pot should ever be allowed to stand from day to day without being emptied, thoroughly washed, and then exposed to the air for a while to dry.

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.

Previously: Got Soup? (3) - Stock For Soup And Its Uses
Coming Up Next: Making Of Soup, Principal Ingredient (Meat)

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.

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. Proceed according to directions given in STOCK.

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.

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.

VEGETABLE STOCK is made from either dried or fresh vegetables or both. Such stock is employed in making vegetable soups.

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.

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.

Previously: Got Soup? (2) - General Classes Of Soup
Coming Up Next: Soup Extracts, Stock Pot, Flavoring Stock

The two purposes for which soup is used have led to the placing of the numerous kinds into two general classes. 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.

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.

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 Soup 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.

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.

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.

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.

Chowders are soups that have sea food for their basis. Vegetables and crackers are generally added for thickening and to impart flavor.

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.

Previously: Got Soup? (1) Introduction
Coming Up next: Stock For Soup And Its Uses

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.

This and the next few posts are to acquaint you with the details of making appetizing and nutritious soups that make for both economy and healthfulness.

Value Of Soup In A 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 soup 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.

Coming Up Next: General Classes Of Soup

SimCooks’ Kitchen will be closed from 10 Feb - 4th March for the Chinese New Year holidays. I will be back in Singapore feasting away! Kitchen activity in the Bay Area shall resume on 5th March.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish one and all an early Happy Chinese New Year!

In the meantime, SimCooks presents to you a series called “Got Soup?” from a Delicious Soup Recipes ebook. I find the information (which is not limited to Chinese Soup) very interesting, whether or not you like to drink soup. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Here’s a glimpse of what’s to come in the coming weeks.

(1) - Introduction
(2) - General Classes Of Soup
(3) - Stock For Soup And Its Uses
(4) - Soup Extracts, Stock Pot, Flavoring Stock
(5) - Principal Ingredient (Meat)
(6) - Principal Ingredient (Herbs And Vegetables)
(7) - Processes Involved In Making Stock
(8) - Removing Grease From Soup
(9) - Clearing Soup
(10) - Thickening Soup
(11) - Serving Soup