Stock is the basis of most soups and it is usually made from meat of some sort. Before making your stock, you can buy fresh, lean meat and remove any skin or extra fat since lean, juicy beef, mutton, chicken and veal form the basis of many soups.
The principal art in composing good, rich soup is so to proportion the ingredients so that the flavour of one does not dominate the others. In order to make a delicious whole, combining ingredients is what soup making is all about.
One thing you need to be sure of is that the quantity of meat and other ingredients is proportionate to the amount of water that you use for the stock. Generally a quart of water may be allowed to a pound of meat for soups, and half the quantity for gravies. Without a doubt, the best method in making soups or gravies would be gentle stewing or simmering. As much of the taste is the result of the liquid being reduced and absorbed, soup should not be cooked in a pot with a closed lid.
Soups in general are much better prepared the day before they are to be eaten and they also take between three to six hours to make. This is also useful if you want to remove any fat that will congeal at the top of the cold soup. The soup can be drained off and re-heated when you need it.
With most meat-based soups, you will make the stock first. This consists of a combination of water, meat, spices, and herbs. Making the stock is probably the lengthiest part of the process, as it is advisable to simmer the stock gently rather than boil it to preserve the goodness and taste. Vegetable soups will require you to remove the meat from the stock and add the other ingredients to a clear broth even though some soups will have meat in them.
In making soup, the most common vegetable and herb ingredients include macaroni, mushroom, parsnips, carrots, beetroot, turnips, garlic, shallots and onions, beans, barley, peas, rice, and vermicelli. Leeks and celery are often used as well. Cress-seed, parsley, common thyme, lemon thyme, orange thyme, knotted marjoram, sage, mint, winter savoury, and basil are commonly used herbs.
When you are seasoning soups, ingredients that are commonly added are bay-leaves, tomato, tarragon, chervil, burnet, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, mace, black and white pepper, lemon-peel, and juice, and Seville orange-juice. In order to add flavor and texture, wine and other ready-made sauces can also be added.
Soup can make a hearty meal on its own, it can light and airy, or you can use it as an entr©e or a starter. If pasta is added then soup can be a filling meal served at any time and is also usually served with bread or croutons.
Fabricators, when it’s time to add or replace your stone machinery, visit us for the largest online selection of bridge saw, bridge saw for sale and edge polishers. New machines are listed daily!
