Types of soup

Clear soups Made from stock with added ingredients, then carefully strained. Usually garnished – garnishes are small and neat. An example is a consommé.

Broths Made from stock, chopped vegetables and often meat or poultry. Broths are ‘unpassed’ – not strained. Examples are minestrone and Scotch broth.

Purée soups Made from stock, fresh vegetables and pulses, blended and passed. Garnished with croutons. Examples are lentil soup and potato and watercress soup.

Veloutés Made from blond roux, vegetables, stock and sometimes meat or poultry. Passed and enriched with a liaison of egg yolk and cream. An example is chicken velouté.

Cream soups Made from stock, vegetables or vegetable purée and béchamel velouté, passed, with milk, cream or yoghurt. May also have a meat or poultry base. Examples are cream of mushroom soup, pea soup and cream of chicken soup.

Bisques A rich soup with a creamy consistency. Made from shellfish or fish stock, passed, with cream. An example is prawn bisque.

Other soups Chowders – a North American soup with a seafood base. Mulligatawny – a thick spicy soup. Mussel soup – a well flavoured shellfish soup.