Potage Documentaire

Soups

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The number of different soups and their possible further range of new creations is virtually unlimited; in effect they can utilize either singly or in combination almost any of the available food commodities.

Historically soups are derived from preparations, which were meals in themselves; although they still perform the same function in some cases, they can more importantly serve as the first course in the menu where their function is to stimulate the appetite but not satisfy it. They should be of delicate flavour and a clean natural colour; thick soups should not be too heavy in texture. In all cases where soups are part of a set meal they should have a clear relationship to the following dishes; repetition of ingredients, colour and flavourings need to be avoided. Where choices of soup are offered it is wise to offer a selection drawn from some of the categories as shown in the following classification.

The more robust soups are best for lunch while the clear soups and light creams, veloutes and bisques are better suited to dinner. Some account also needs to be taken of seasonal pressures — the more substantial hot soups can be popular in the winter months whilst cold soups are a welcome addition to summer menus.

Any ingredient used should be fresh and of good quality; the making of soups should not be the opportunity for using poor-quality trimmings. Due attention also needs to be paid to any stocks used; again these should be of irreproachable quality.

Hot soups need to be served very hot and any accompanying garnish should be added when serving; cold soups should be served chilled rather than at room temperature.

CLASSIFICATION

Soups can be classified into two main categories:

a) clear soups and

b) thick soups.

Clear Soups — Consommés and Bouillons

These soups are prepared from stock, flavoured with various meats, poultry, game or fish, with vegetables, herbs and seasonings. Consommés are clarified and should be crystal-clear when finished. They may be served plain or with a garnish. Bouillons are carefully cooked and clear without being clarified and can be served plain or with a garnish.

Thick Soups — Potages lies

Unpassed Soups — Potages, Soupes, Broths

These soups are prepared from vegetables cut in varying shapes, cooked in stock, sometimes with the addition of cereals and pieces of meat or poultry, and served unpassed.

These soups are made from fresh or dried vegetables cooked with stock and sometimes with the addition of meat, poultry or cereals. The ingredients act as the sole thickening agent and, as the name implies, they are passed. Ungarnished soups of this type should be served with croutons as an accompaniment. Puree-based soups are better designated Potage when included on the menu; when finished with cream it is in order to designate them as a Crème.

These soups are prepared from a base of roux diluted with the appropriate flavoured stock and cooked with the addition of blanched vegetables, meat, poultry, game or fish. They are passed, finished with a liaison of egg yolks and cream and are invariably garnished.

These soups must be of a smooth consistency and it is essential that they are finished with cream. There are three acceptable methods of preparation:

a) The classical method using approx. 50% Béchamel, 25% puree of the appropriate cooked ingredients and 25% of the appropriate stock and finished with cream.

These soups are made specifically from raw shellfish, vegetables, fish stock, wines, herbs, and seasonings, thickened with rice, passed and finished with wine and cream.

These soups are mainly of British origin and are usually prepared from a base of roux diluted with stock and cooked with the addition of vegetables and meat. They are passed and are usually garnished.

These are a number of soups, which do not easily fit into the previous classifications.

This includes specially prepared cold soups as well as those, which can be successfully served cold as well as hot.

Garnishes and accompaniments for soups also cover a wide variety of commodities and possible combinations, ranging from simple vegetable shapes to small patties, raviolis, quenelles and cooked meats and cheese. They should, however, without exception be small, neat and dainty and appropriate to the soups which they garnish or accompany. The following have been selected as those in need of a more detailed explanation. Other items such as cheese straws can be found under their appropriate reference.

When estimating the required amount of soup for a given number of covers it should be calculated on the basis of five portions per liter of soup.

a) That they be as clear as possible. For Consommés this means absolute clarity obtained by careful attention to the methods incorporated in clarifying, and for Bouillons, by very gentle and careful simmering to obtain a liquid, which is as clear as possible without actually having to clarify it.

b) That consommés be completely free of fat except where this is derived from an added garnish such as a cooked chiffonade or bone marrow.

c) That in all cases the colour should be appropriate to the main ingredients used and that this should be naturally obtained by careful attention to correct ingredients and preparation and cooking times. Only where absolutely necessary should artificial colouring be used. No consommé or bouillon should ever be dark brown in colour.

d) That if garnished, this should not be overgenerous. In general 100 –120 grams. of a single item or a combination of items is sufficient for ten covers that means for 2 liters of consommé or bouillon.

The repertoire of clear soups and bouillons is very extensive and the following have been chosen as a representative cross-section of the better-known ones.

These types of soup are almost invariably based on cut vegetables cooked in stock and when finished are served as they are without being passed. Because of this it is essential that care is taken in the cutting of the vegetables; they should be neat and even shapes as required by the particular soup. Also the soup should not be over-garnished. In general the proportion of the vegetables and any other garnish should be no more than one-third the quantity of the finished soup. If over-evaporation should take place it is only necessary to add sufficient stock to balance out these proportions.

Typically, these soups are of a more substantial nature and thus are perhaps more suitable for lunch.

These soups are prepared from a base of either fresh or dried vegetables, which also acts as their thickening agent.

The actual pureeing or passing of the soup is very important and the finished result should always be very smooth and fine — a coarse granular texture tends to make these soups more like their older counterparts which, as dishes in themselves, were just mixed vigorously to break down the cooked ingredients. Puree-based soups should be first passed through a sieve, liquidizer or soup machine, and then finally passed firmly through a fine strainer. This final passing also helps to remove any remaining hard bits of fiber.

These soups must not be too thick or stodgy; this can easily be rectified by a little extra stock. Conversely they should not be watery — this is best taken care of by making sure that the original proportions of vegetables to liquid are correct. Thickening with starches such as corn flour to correct wateriness is not really satisfactory, as it tends to alter the particular texture of a puree.

Generally speaking these soups are better for inclusion on luncheon menus. The addition of 2d1 of fresh cream per 2 liters, however, allows them to be designated as cream soups and in this form they are also very suitable for dinner menus bearing in mind that those prepared from dried leguminous vegetables place a greater strain on the digestive system.

Good-quality dried pulses such as split peas, haricot beans and lentils, of the current season, do not require soaking. They provide their own natural colour and recourse to artificial colouring should not be necessary.

The essential qualities of these types of soups are an extremely velvety and smooth texture and a light, delicate flavour. The requirements for producing these results are excellent stocks, well-chosen ingredients, careful simmering, and above all careful finishing with a liaison of egg yolks and cream. Once the liaison is added the soup needs to be carefully reheated but on no account must it be allowed to boil; this would result in a granular texture and the whole particular quality of a veloute would be ruined. The should not be too thick and again this only needs the addition of a little stock at the final stage if deemed necessary.

Veloute style soups are best suited to dinner menus. The egg yolks of the liaison may be omitted and the soup finished only with 2—3d1 of fresh cream per 2 liters of soup. They can then be designated as Crèmes.

These soups are exemplified by their extremely smooth, creamy texture and a light creamy appearance. Classically, this exceptional quality of creaminess was imparted by using Béchamel as 50% of the total volume of the soup. In modem times however, most cream soups as such are prepared as a veloute and finished with 2—3d1 of excellent fresh cream per 2 liters of soup.

Well-prepared, smooth puree-based soups finished with cream, as well as veloute style soups finished with cream instead of a liaison, can also be designated as cream soups.

Conversely, cream soups 387—393 and 398—399 can be finished with a liaison of egg yolks and cream and be designated as veloutes.

The term Bisque is almost always used these days to denote thick soups prepared from crustaceans although these can with some justification be referred to as Coulis. Even though it is possible to prepare these soups from cooked crustaceans the finished result is never so good as when the raw article is used. Allow 750—800g live lobster, crayfish, Dublin Bay prawns, small crabs, prawns or shrimps for 2—2½ liters of finished soup; it is not really possible to prepare larger quantities from these amounts and still maintain the necessary quality.

It should be remembered that a large proportion of the flavour of crustaceans is contained in their shells and it is for this reason that after the flesh is cooked the shells are always well-pounded or crushed before being returned to the soup; this ensures that maximum flavour is extracted. This also explains why Bisques prepared from molluscs such as clams or scallops are never really successful; it is not useful to pound their shells as there is a little in them to speak of and the flavour of the actual shellfish

In recent years these mainly British soups seem to have suffered an eclipse in popularity, perhaps because of the bad reputation of the so-called Brown Windsor Soup. Nevertheless the following selection of brown soups have much to offer in terms of flavour and robustness and thus are ideal for placing on luncheon menus. Their excellence depends solely on the use of correctly prepared and well-flavoured stocks, good ingredients and careful slow cooking. The dark brown colour usually obtained from the use of gravy browning is not necessary; a naturally light reddish-brown can be obtained by paying attention to detail .and has a more pleasing appearance.

For the hot summer months especially, cold soups can be a welcome addition to either luncheon or dinner menus. Flavoured consommés, well chilled and lightly jellied are very suitable and many of the veloutes and cream soups are equally so, if served well flavoured, with extra cream and not too thick. In addition, there is a wide range of soups especially created for serving cold only. Generally all cold soups are best if ungarnished or at the very most with a simple compatible garnish.