HOW TO MAKE A SOUP
On our HOW TO pages we describe the general guidelines for making several kinds of soups. In this review we will generalize even more, now to discuss how to make a soup of any kind. This discussion will naturally focus more on how to cook the ingredients perfectly to get the best flavor in your soups.
Cooking the vegetables and other ingredients need to be done with good timing so that you get all the things tender at the exact time at the end of cooking. There should also be an optimal flavor development during the cooking time (often the flavor is refreshed by addition of some fresh mirepoix and bouquet garni at the end of cooking). However, when it comes to timing, it is simply crucial for making a good soup. Before you start cooking, you should find out for how long your ingredients must be cooked to get to the perfect tenderness. Then you can plan at which points you will start adding the ingredients so they all come together perfectly at the end.
Texture of the soup is achieved by using the correct ingredients as well. If you want a thick soup, you need to use some starchy vegetables (potatoes, or rice, or beans) and maybe even purée the soup. If your soup isn't thick enough at the end of cooking you can try adding a little starchy flour and cook for another 2 minutes.
Seasoning of the soup is also important. We already mentioned the addition of bouquet garni or freshly chopped veggies at the end of cooking to further enlighten the flavor. You can also add some meat, poultry, lemon juice, herbs, tomato paste, or some flavorful sauce.
If you are making a broth you need to make sure that the impurities released from the ingredients and floating to the surface are removed as soon as possible. This is to prevent their influence on the flavor of the soup. Just take a spoon and skim the surface of the soup so it becomes free of all impurities. You can also prevent formation of excessive waste by trimming the ingredients of the bad parts (e.g. fat, blemishes, etc.) before you cook them.
As a last point in soup making you need to give it an esthetical bolster that is at the same time edible and flavorful. Garnishes can also be combined to the soup so that they give a contrasting or strong flavor, just to give a brief novelty sensation when eating a whole bowl of soup. Simple garnish as olive oil, parmesan cheese, chopped herbs, or croutons are the tested and nice classics. However, you should think synergy here. Maybe for your soup you don't get better with these garnishes but with something more substantial. You can actually serve a soup with some pasta like tortellini filled with a contrasting or complementing ingredients. You can garnish the soup with something that gives it more color and special look or flavor. Whatever you do bear in mind that the garnish gets as hot as the soup.
Serve the soup at the right temperature - the thinner soups should be serve very hot since they lose their heat fairly quickly, and the thick soups at a lower temperature so they don't feel too hot in the mouth. The thin soups can also be served in cups so that their heat is conserved better. Thick soups can be served in larger bowls. Do not delay serving the soup so it loses the heat before your guest or client has a chance to taste it at its optimum!