Soups

Soups Soups may be served as an appetiser at the beginning of a meal the main part of a lunch a warming snack at any time of the day Stock This is a well-flavoured basis for soups, stews and sauces.

Thick soups Puréed. Thickened. Soups can be classified into thick soups and thin soups. Thick soups Puréed. Thickened. Thin soups Clear soup. Broth. 3

A good soup… (characteristics) Is made from a fresh, well-flavoured stock. Soup should be seasoned with pepper and herbs; do not add too much salt, use a salt substitute. Tastes of its main ingredient. Is piping hot and has no grease floating on the top (note: some soups are meant to be served cold). Has a good colour. A thick soup should not be too thick and should not have starchy lumps.

Three ways to thicken a soup 1. Blend 25g of flour or cornflour with cold water. Stir this mixture into the soup just before the end of the cooking time. Bring the soup back to the boil and boil for approximately five minutes. Garnish and serve. 2. Begin by gently frying (sautéing) the soup ingredients, e.g. vegetables, in 25g of fat or oil. Add 25g flour and cook for a few minutes. Gradually add the stock. The soup will thicken once it comes to the boil. 3. Add barley, rice or pasta to the soup 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

Guidelines for making soup Use a heavy with a well fitting lid. Use the correct proportion of fresh ingredients. Use a good stock, and saute ingredients to improve the flavour. Slice or chop ingredients to release more flavour. Use cold water and bring to the boil slowly. Cover and simmer gently to extract nutrients and flavour. A pressure cooker speeds up the cooking time; a processor speeds up preparation and pureeing time.

How to garnish a soup Croutons (cubes of bread fried in oil―use a polyunsaturated fat) Herbs, e.g. parsley Swirl of cream, e.g. cream of vegetable soup

Convenience soups Instant soups are cheap but can be high in salt and MSG. Canned soup is convenient but can lack flavour and be high in salt and MSG. Cartons of fresh soup are expensive but tasty and nutritious.

SAUCES Sauces are well-flavoured liquids and can take many forms. They can be sweet or savoury, hot or cold. Sauces can be used as a garnish or can be part of the dish itself. Sauces are served with food: to bind or coat foods. to add colour and flavour to a dish. To moisten food To improve digestibility To improve the food value To offset the richness of the food e.g. apple sauce with pork

Classification Type of sauce Examples Roux based White, cheese Fruit purée Apple, raspberry coulis, cranberry Egg based Egg custard Cold Mint Other Chocolate, butterscotch, barbecue

Roux-based sauces A roux-based sauce is made from equal amounts of fat and flour. Different flavourings and amounts of liquid are added to vary the basic sauce. There are four basic thicknesses of roux sauces. The amounts of fat and flour stay the same for each one; it is the amount of liquid that changes. 25g fat + 25g flour + one of: THICK binding coating stewing pouring 125ml milk/stock 250ml milk/stock 375ml milk/stock 500ml milk/ stock THIN

How to make a basic white roux sauce 2. Take off the heat. Add milk gradually, stirring all the time. 1. Melt fat. Add flour and seasoning. Cook for 1 minute and do not allow to burn. 4. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then serve. 3. Return to the heat. Keep stirring to prevent lumping.

Variations on basic pouring sauce (500ml) Extra ingredients Goes well with Parsley Add 2 teaspoons chopped parsley Bacon, fish Mustard Add 1 teaspoon made mustard, 2 teaspoons vinegar Fish Cheese ¼ teaspoon mustard (added to roux), 50g grated cheese added at the end and allowed to melt: do not return to heat Fish, cauliflower Mushroom Add 50g sautéed mushrooms after the liquid has been added and then simmer for 5 minutes Steak, roast beef

Other traditional sauces Food Sauce(s) that go well with food Beef Pepper (steaks), horseradish (roast beef) Pork Apple Lamb Mint Turkey Bread sauce or cranberry Goose

Fruit coulis Desserts look good if you decorate them with a simple fruit coulis. Purée highly coloured fruits such as strawberries or raspberries, add a little icing sugar and then pour to the side of the dish.

Convenience sauces Convenience sauces are available in many different forms—canned, bottled, dried, frozen or in cartons.  Advantages: Speed up the preparation and cooking time of some dishes. Useful for those with poor cooking skills.   Disadvantages: They can be high in sugar, salt and other additives. They can also sometimes be expensive and often lack flavour.

HERBS AND SPICES Herbs and spices are used in cookery to add flavour to foods and sometimes make the foods look more appetising. Listed below are some common herbs. Read your textbook to find out their uses. Bay leaves Basil Caraway (seed) Cayenne pepper Chives Cinnamon Cloves Fennel Garlic Ginger Mint Mustard Nutmeg Oregano Paprika Parsley Pepper Rosemary Sage Thyme