1. Chapter Six Part Three - Soups
Stocks, Sauces, & Soups
Chapter Six
Part Three - Soups

2. Intro
Soups are often served at the beginning of a meal and give the chef an opportunity to make a good first impression
Preparing soups helps you learn more about basic culinary techniques, seasonings, garnishing, and serving foods

3. Basic kinds of soups
There are two basic kinds of soup—clear soups and thick soups.
Clear soups include flavored stocks, broths, and consommés. (chicken noodle soup, minestrone, French onion)
Thick soups include cream soups and purée soups. (bisques, chowders, cream of tomato, lentil, and split pea soup)
There are many variations of these basic soups:
Dessert soups (like a chilled strawberry soup)
Fruit soups (like gazpacho, a chilled tomato soup)
Cold soups (vichyssoise, a chilled potato soup from France)
Traditional regional soups (New England clam chowder)

4. Preparing soups Soups must be cooked properly
Most are cooked to a gentle simmer and stirred occasionally
Cooking too long causes loss of nutrients
Finishing techniques are important when preparing soup for service. Soups should also be garnished just before service.
Stock or broth is the basic ingredient in clear soups. Broth is made from a combination of water; vegetables; beef, fish, chicken, or veal; mirepoix; and bouquet garni.
One type of clear soup is consommé. This is a rich, flavorful broth or stock that has been clarified.

5. Clear soups Stock or broth is the basic ingredient
Review: Broth vs. Stock
Consommé is a clear, rich, flavorful broth or stock that has been clarified
It is clarified with a clearmeat, which is a mixture of ground protein, mirepoix, tomatoes, egg whites, and oignon brûlé (“burnt onion” – French term for a charred onion that adds flavor and color to a liquid)
The impurities rise to the surface of the broth in the form of a raft, and the result is pure, clear, and clarified

6. Consommé

7. Thick soups Two kinds – Cream Soups and Purée Soups
Both made with liquid and either sachet d’épices or bouquet garni
Then a puréed main ingredient is added to provide the main flavor

8. Thick soups – cream soups
Cream soups are thickened with an added starch, such as roux
You can use a béchamel or velouté as the base
Must be thick with a smooth texture
Should never be boiled because the milk fat will break down and the soup will become watery
One important type is bisque; another is chowder

9. Bisque
A cream soup usually made from pureed shellfish shells, such as lobster, shrimp, or crab
Shells are pureed along with the vegetables, making the texture slightly grainy
Then the soup is strained and finished with cream, then garnished and served
Pale pink or red
Flavor of shellfish

10. Chowder Hearty, thick soups made similarly to cream soups
Not pureed before the cream is added
Usually thickened with roux and typically include large pieces of the main ingredients (usually potatoes and seafood) and garnishes

11. Thick soups – purée soups
Thickened by the starch found in the puréed main ingredient, such as potatoes
Coarser than cream soups
But should be liquid enough to pour from a ladle
Examples
Split pea soup
Baked potato soup
Butternut squash soup

12. 6.3 Summary
There are two basic kinds of soup—clear and thick. Clear soups include flavored stocks, broths, and consommés. Thick soups include cream and purée soups.
Stock or broth is the basic ingredient in clear soups. Consommé is a rich, flavorful broth or stock that has been clarified.
Cream soups are made with a thickener, such as roux. The main flavor in cream soups should be the major ingredient.
The main difference between a purée and cream soup is that cream soups are usually thickened with an added starch.
Purée soups are thickened by the starch found in the puréed main ingredient (such as potatoes).
There are many kinds of soup, including cold soups, fruit soups, and vegetable-based soups.