Soups Made Simple

By Kristen Thorpe

Is there anything better that enjoying a warm bowl of rich soup on a cold day? The tastes, the textures, the endless varieties, and let's not forget the comfort food factor. While soups are often thought of as a wintertime food, there's no reason they can't be a year-round favorite. Many of the heartier soups can be a complete meal. And for the hottest days, you can always switch to chilled soup if you prefer. Below are some of are some of the basics about the types of soups you can make.

You can actually break down the types of soups in a few simple ways, most frequently by soups made with a stock base and those that can be made without stock. Additionally there is the option of fruit soups. Soups made with stock include broth, bouillon, and consomm. Soups that may be made without stock can include puree, cream, bisque, and chowders.

When creating your own meat-based soup stock, any of your favorite meats would be a good starter. Anything including beef, turkey, lamb, chicken, veal, fish, etc. would work fine. Using dark-colored meats will produce brown stock while white soup stock is made from light-colored meats. Vegetables commonly added to soup stock include onion, celery, and carrots. Soups in this category include beef vegetable, chicken soups, tomato soups, cabbage soups, and broth's.

If you're making a rich thick puree or cream type soup you'll find they can be a perfect main course for a light dinner or afternoon luncheon. Create such classics as creamed corn or creamed broccoli, split pea, oyster or lobster bisque, bean or potato puree, clam chowder, and much more.

Then there are the fruit soups - these are delicious chilled soups that are perfect on a hot summer day. Refreshing varieties include cherry, honeydew melon, strawberry, peach, and cantaloupe. Some cold soup recipes will list fruit juices as a mixer while others use a vegetable-based soup stock in the recipe.

There's nothing like well-made, scrumptious, homemade soup to make any meal complete. Remember to top your creamy soups with a simple garnish for that finishing touch. Serve soups like bean or onion in a covered soup dish, while your cream soups are best served in a round, flat soup bowl. Don't be surprised if everyone asks for seconds. - 17274

About the Author:

Your soup is finished, now how about something fun for dessert? You can bake special treats with these Kaiser La Forme Plus Nonstick Steel Tartlet Pans. It's fun making creative desserts when you own quality professional quality bakeware.