Thursday, January 28, 2010

Soups Made Simple

By Kristen Thorpe

There's a lot to love about a cup of delcious soup. Some people love the many flavors and textures, others the warmth and comfort. Lots of soups are so hearty they actually make a complete meal. Of course, in the summer heat, there is always the option of choosing from the cold soup favorites. Here are just a few of the basic types of soups you can create yourself.

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.

If you're making your own stock, you can choose to make it meat or vegetable based. Meats often used are beef, lamb, turkey, chicken, veal, and fish. If you use dark color meat such as beef you will end up with the darker, brown color stock while your lighter meats such as fish and poultry will result in a white, clearer soup stock. Vegetables favored for flavoring stock are typically celery, onion, and carrots. These based are most commonly used for soups like tomato, cabbage, chicken, beef, vegetable soup, and broth's.

Being much thicker and richer, and generally quite nutritional, a puree or a cream soup can often be served as a main course, especially for a luncheon or a light dinner. These soups include varieties such as split pea, bean or potato puree, cream soups such as corn, broccoli or mushroom, bisque of oyster or lobster, and clam chowder.

Fruit soups are a wonderful chilled alternative enjoyed year-round, but especially in the heat of summer. Varieties include strawberry, peach, melon, cantaloupe, and cherry. You'll find certain cold soup recipes use vegetable based stock and others list fruit juice in the ingredients instead. Either makes a wonderful vegetarian dish.

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.

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