Soups, a must have for healthy Diet

Soups, a must have for healthy Diet

Aim of making soups

To prepare an appetizing, economical and easily digestible dish by extracting nourishment and flavor from the solid to the liquid.

Stock is the foundation of all good soups. Stock is made by putting solid food into cold water and by a long slow process of cooking extracting the nourishment into the liquid. The best stocks are made from meat and bones together, eg., white consommé. Since this is expensive for household purpose as well as for institutional feeding, bones and leftovers are used. The following stocks are adequate as well as economical.

Everyone loves soups, do you know how to make soup?

There are different types of soups vegetable soups,non-veg soup etc...
Do you know the ingredients to make the veg and non veg soup ?
i will tell the ingredients use to make different types of soups..................

 1) Bone stock use any kind of bones, cooked or uncooked. Place in a pan. Cover with cold water, add a little salt and bring to the boil. Simmer gently to allow the  scum to form on the surface then gently remove it. A little cold water could be added occasionally to accelerate the process. Skim well and for each 600 mill of liquid added one onion, one carrot and a bouquet garni. Put the lid on and simmer very slowly for at least 2 to 3 hours. Strain, cool quickly and use. 

Meat and bones not only contribute flavor but body. Body is largely made up of gelatin and other soluble products  extracted from meat and bones.

            Depending up on the size of the bones and the way  the are cut, stock from meat bones simmered from 4 to 10 hours and poultry from 2to 6 hours. The best bones to use for stock are those from young animals. These contains more gelatin and the marrow contains more flavoring ingredients. Shin and knuckle bones are best with neck bones. The bones are best cut into 4 lengths and split.

         To make 5 litters of good stock use 2kg of meat bones, 6 litters water, 12 kg of flavorings vegetables. in a brown stock, the meat, bones and vegetables are first browned. In a white stock, they are not browned also avoid using highly coloured vegetables such as carrot, beans etc.

2) Vegetable stock use an mixture of vegetables, the outside leaves of cabbage, cauliflower stalks, celery stalks and leaves, shell of peas, etc. all these must washed thoroughly  to free them of grit, sand and worm. Shred vegetables and add to cold water. Cover and boil for 20 to 30 minutes. Strain and use.

3) Fish stock  cover the fish bone, skin, head and other trimmings with water or milk and water. Add 1 small onion, 2 cloves, half a bay leaves and sprig of parsley. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain and use.

4) Emergency stock dissolve meat or yeast extract in boiling water or in pot liquor.  Pot liquor is the water in which meat, poultry, fish ,vegetables, macaroni, etc., have been boiled for the table where the purpose is tom retain as much nourishment and flavor in the solids as possible. This is done by putting the solids into hot water but still some nourishment and flavor escape into the liquid. This liquid can be used as a substitute for stock

                                            No stock will keep for very long because stock is a good medium for bacterial growth great care must be taken in its preparation and storage in hot climates stock should be stored in a refrigerator and boiled to prevent spoilage. Cool quickly by emptying into shallow and clean bowls. Stock the contain starchy food should not be used after 12 hours .

5) Consomme A clear soup prepared from beef, chicken or game stock, garnished with a variety of ingredients. This can be served hot or chilled. Consomme takes its name generally from the garnish, e.g. consommé julienne-consomme garnished with boiled matchstick-like strips of vegetables such as carrots, beans, turnips, etc. consommé Royal- consomme garnished with savoury custard cubes.

6) Broth a good stock cooked with diced meat, vegetables and rice or barley and served with the soilds. Some of the nourishment is retained in the soilds by putting them into tepid liquid. Broths are also different from ordinary soups in having the thickening put in at the beginning and cooked with the other ingredients. Examples: scotch broth, minestrone,escudella-catalina, etc

7) Potage or soup These terms cover a wide variety of soups,eg, potage bortsch, potage minestrone, potage mulligatawny, soupe au gumbo, soupe aux rognons, etc

8) Puree A soup thickened by its main ingredient and passed through a sieve. Milk or a little flour blended with milk is added to prevent the puree from separating, but not as a thickening. The consistency of the soup should be like crème. Generally served with fried cubes of bread.

9) Cream A soup of cream consistency which is generally made with vegetables puree mixed with white sauce. It can be finished with cream if desired.

10) Veloute A thick soup made from white stock and roux, finished with a liason of yolks and cream

11) Chowder An American soup resembling a stew made of meat, fish or vegetable with milk, salt pork and various seasoning. Crackers are generally added just before serving. Examples: prawn chowder, oyster chowder, pork chowder, vegetable chowder.

12) Bisques These are thickened fish soups generally made from shellfish and fish stock and thickened with cream. Diced fish is served in it.

13) Coulis A term ofter used for thick soup made with a puree of shellfish.

14) Gumbo A regional dish that originated from the American south.