SOUPS

SOUPS

A soup is a liquid food consisting of meat, seafood, vegetables, cereals or poultry or a combination of them .Served generally at the beginning of the meal. The French word is “soupe” or “potage”. As per the French classical dictionary soupe denotes a slice of bread onto which the contents of the pot called “potage” are poured, but now a days the terms ”soupe” and “potage” are interchangeably used.  

Classification of Soups

Soups are broadly classified into:

1.    Thin soups: They are further classified into:

·        Passed

·        Unpassed.

2.   Thick soups : Further classified into

·        Cream

·        Veloute

·        Puree

·        Bisque

·        Chowder

3. Cold soups

4. Speciality /Traditional Soups (International soups )

1. Thin soups –Passed (clarified)

Eg: Consommés

Consommé

      Consommé is a rich, flavorful stock or broth that has been clarified to make it perfectly clear and transparent. Far from being a plain cup of soup, a well-made consommé is considered the greatest of all soups. Its sparkling clarity is a delight to the eye, and its rich, full flavor, strength, and body make it a perfect starter for an elegant dinner.

      The word consommé means, literally, “completed” or “concentrated.” It is named after the Garnish used in the soup.

How does Clarification work?

               The process of coagulation enables us to clarify stocks to perfect transparency. Remember that some proteins, especially those called albumins, dissolve in cold water. When the water is heated, they gradually solidify or coagulate and rise to the surface. If we control this process carefully, these proteins collect all the tiny particles that cloud a stock and carry them to the surface. The stock is then left perfectly clear.

If, on the other hand, we are not careful, these proteins break up as they coagulate and cloud the liquid even more, just as they can do when we make stock.

Basic Ingredients for a Consommé

The mixture of ingredients we use to clarify a stock is called the CLEARMEAT.

1. Lean ground meat is one of the major sources of protein that enables the clearmeat to do its job, also contributes flavor to the consommé. The meat must be lean because fat is undesirable in a consommé. Beef shank, also called shin beef, is the most desirable meat because it is high in albumin proteins as well as in flavor and gelatin, and it is very lean.

Beef mince used to clarify beef consommé .Chicken mince are used to clarify chicken consommé. To make fish consommé. Ground lean fish may be used, but it is normal to omit flesh altogether and use only egg whites.

2. Egg whites are included in the clearmeat because, being mostly albumin, they greatly strengthen its clarifying power.

3. Mirepoix and other seasoning and flavoring ingredients are usually included because they add flavor to the finished consommé. They do not actually help in the clarification, except possibly to give solidity to the raft.

 The RAFT is the coagulated clearmeat, floating in a solid mass on top of the consommé.

The Mirepoix must be cut into fine pieces so it will float with the raft.

A large amount of a particular vegetable may be added if a special flavor is desired, as in, for example, essence of celery consommé.

4. Acid ingredients (tomato products for beef or chicken Consommé, lemon juice or white wine for fish consommé) are often added because the acidity helps coagulate the protein.

DOUBLE CONSOMME

It is made with a richer stock and additional clarifying so that the soup acquires a richer flavour.

Also Consommé that has been simmered to make it concentrated can be called as a Double Consommé.

COLD JELLIED CONSOMME

—  Unflavored gelatin must often be added to consommé to make jellied consommé.

—  Amount needed depends on the strength of the stock and amount of jelling desired.

—  Classically, a chilled consommé is only half jelled, more like a thick syrup.

Some Consommés Varieties with their description:

Consommé Bruniose: garnished with bruniose of onion or leek, carrot, celery, turnip (optional).

Consommé Julienne: Garnished with juliennes of onion or leek, carrots, celery.

Consommé Royale: Chicken consommé garnished with savoury egg custard cut into any shape.

Consommé Celestine: Beef Consommé Garnished with thin strips of savoury pancake made by adding fine herbs (Mixture of Chervil, chives, tarragon and parsley)

Consommé Carmen: Beef consommé made with flavouring of pimentos and tomatoes and garnished with dices of tomato juliennes of pimentos, rice and sprig of chervil.

Consommé Mercedes: Beef Consommé Flavored with Dry Sherry (A fortified wine from Spain) are garnished with roundels of red pimento and cockscomb (this is the red coloured fleshly outgrowth seen at the head of a cock).

Consommé Ambassadorice: Chicken consommé garnished with 3 different types of royals Peas, Tomatoes and truffles. Also added are dices of chicken and mushroom.

Consommé Montecarlo: Chicken Consommé garnished with paysannes of carrots, truffles and turnips and thin strips of savoury pancakes made by adding fine herbs to the mixture.

 Consommé Nesselrode: Chicken Consommé garnished with profiteroles (pastry made from choux paste) half filled with chestnut puree and onion puree and other half with duxelle (fried mixture of parsley, shallots and mushrooms).

Consommé Portugaise: Consommé flavored with tomato, garnished with rice and tomato dices.

THIN SOUPS –UNPASSED

Broths /Bouillons: A broth is a stock based soup, which is not thickened. It is served unpassed and garnished with chopped herbs, vegetables or meats. They are thin like liquid they never coat the back of the wooden spoon. It is important to have a full bodied thin soup; otherwise it would taste like water.

EG: Scotch broth: Scottish soup made with mutton, vegetables and Barley.

    Minestrone: An Italian soup containing pasta, vegetables.

THICK SOUPS

CREAM SOUPS: These are Soups of creamy consistency which is made with vegetable puree, fish or poultry puree mixed with Béchamel Sauce and finished with addition of cream to give a creamy consistency.

Eg: Cream of Chicken

     Cream of tomato

     Cream of vegetables

     Cream of spinach

     Cream of Mushroom

VELOUTE: These soups are made with a white stock and blond roux finished off with a liaison. The texture of the Veloute is smooth and velvety. They can be vegetable or chicken stock based.

Eg: Celery veloute, Chicken veloute, Veloute dame Blanche (veloute with flavored with almond milk, finished with a liaison and garnished with quenelles and dices of chicken).

PUREE: Purée soups are made by simmering dried or fresh vegetables, especially high-starch vegetables, in stock or water, then puréeing the soup. They are generally thickened by the starch content in the vegetable itself .If the vegetable does not have enough of starch then the soup may be thickened with an addition of potatoes.

Potage Crecy (carrots)

Potage du Barry (cauliflower)

Potage St.Germaine (green pea soup)

Puree of celery

BISQUE: It is a shellfish based soup, traditionally thickened with rice and finished with cream. A small amount of wine or brandy is added to enhance the flavor. It garnished with dices of shellfish that it used.

Eg: Prawn /Shrimp Bisque –Bisque de Crevettes

     Lobster bisque –Bisque d’Homard

     Crab bisque-Bisque de Crabe

     Crayfish bisque- Bisque de langoustines

     Crawfish bisque- Bisque de langouste

CHOWDERS: American soups that are chunky and hearty based on fish, seafood and/or vegetables usually thickened with potatoes and finished with cream or milk. Processed pork products like ham, bacon or dried sausages are also added. There is also a version based on tomatoes. Cheese also features prominently in chowders.

Eg: Clam Chowder

     Seafood Chowder

     Cabbage Chowder

     New England clam chowder and Manhattan clam chowder

COLD SOUPS

These soups are served chilled .They can be Thin or Thick, Passed or Unpassed.

Eg: jellied consommé like Consommé madrilène (consommé Flavored with celery, pimentos and tomatoes set with little gelatin)

      Gazpacho (Spanish cold Soup)

      Vichyssoise (Potato and leek Soup)

      Chilled melon soup

SPECIALITY AND TRADITIONAL SOUPS (International)

These soups are native to a particular region or country.

Minestrone: Italy

Gazpacho: Spain (Cold Soup)

Oxtail soup: England

Turtle soup: England

Cock-e-leekie: Scotland (Chicken and leek)

Scotch Broth: Scotland (Mutton, Vegetables and Barley)

Avgolemono: Greece (Mutton stock blended with egg yolk and lemon juice)

Waterzoi: Belgium (Fresh water fish and eel cooked with herbs and vegetables, the preparation is finished off with butter and cream)

Borscht: Russia (soup made from stewed meat and vegetables mainly Beetroots)

French Onion Soup: France

Pot-au-feu: France (stew made from meat and vegetables)

Linsensuppe-Germany (lentil soup with salted port fat)

Mulligatawny: India and Sri-Lanka (Literally meaning “peppered Water”

Gumbo-USA (Louisiana)

Caldo Verde: Portugal

Bouillabaisse-France (Fish Stew )

SPECIAL POINTS

·        Good quality stock should be used

·        If there is a heavy entrée or main course the soup should be thin

·        If an heavy soup is served , the portion should be small

·        Garnishes should be small and dainty ,so that it can be picked up easily by a soup spoon

·        Serve hot soups piping hot and cold soups very cold.

·        Accompaniments of the soup should be of a crisp texture eg: Various crackers, breadsticks, cheese straws, croutons (bread cut into small dices and fried)

·        Check the seasoning in the cold soup before serving, as the seasoning goes down once the soup is chilled .The coldness numbs the taste buds and hence we cannot get the right seasoning.

·        Broth –based soups are robust and full bodied, so use potatoes, dried pastas and chunks of meat to create them. While preparing broths always add vegetables in order of their cooking. Overcooking of vegetables can make the soup bitter. Pastas and rice may cloud the clear soups, so cook them separately and add to the soup.

·        Add creams and liaisons only in the end and do not boil the soup therefore, otherwise curdling might take place.

·        General rule for portion sizes:

Thick soups: 180 ml

Thin soups: 200 ml

GARNISHES

·        It should look attractive, be edible, complement the flavor of the soup add the final finishing touches to the soup.

·        Herbs: Adding a handful of chopped fresh herbs to a bowl of soup just before serving can make a good soup look great, also sprinkling of herbs on the soup.

·        Fried Croutons: Bread cut into small cubes and fried.

·        Grilled croutes: toasted slices of bread cut lengthwise topped with cheese and grilled.

·        Crisps: Tortilla chips or vegetable crisps (chips) like beetroot, parsnips, and potatoes.

·        Vegetable juliennes and Dices: An effective way of preparing ingredients for adding a splash of colour to the soup is to cut them into julienne strips or dices.

Questions from previous years:

·        List the various types of soups with the recipe for 4 portions of minestrone soup. (5 marks )

·        Explain the following culinary terms (1 mark each)

      Croutons

         Consommé

·        Classification of soups with one example each (4 marks) (10 marks) popular soups from each country (8 marks).

·        Write short notes on International soups.

·        Give the recipe for a basic consommé(6 marks )

REFERENCE BOOK: PROFESSIONAL CHEF –WAYNE GISSLEN

FOOD PRODUCTION OPERATIONS-PARVINDER BALI

THE NEW CATERING REPERTOIRE-H.L.CRACKNELL