Lifestyle
Soups and Stews—Meant to be Shared
There is nothing more satisfying than coming into the house on a
cool day in Autumn or a snowy winter's eve and having the sweet
aromas of a bubbling soup filling the house. My wife and I love
soups and stews and have them at least twice a week, during the
colder seasons. I even eat a hot cup of soup in the summertime,
call me crazy, I love them. So, what’s the best soup? In my mind
it’s the last one you made. There is an old Spanish saying, “Of love
and soup, the second is better.” But why choose, be in love, eat
soup, love soup. It’s comfort food at its best.
Food historians tell us the history of soup is probably as old
as the history of cooking. The existence of soup is said to go
as far back as 20,000 B.C. Boiling was not a common cooking
technique until the invention of waterproof containers, which
happened to have been found in a cave in China. Animal hides
and watertight baskets of bark were used before this. The act of
combining various ingredients in a large pot to create a nutri-
tious, filling and simple to make food was inevitable. This made
soup a good choice for all people.
Soups (and stews, pottages, porridges, gruels, etc.) evolved
according to local ingredients. Advancements in science enabled
soups to take many forms…portable, canned, dehydrated and mi-
crowave-ready. Pocket soup was carried by colonial travelers, as it
could be reconstituted with a little hot water. Canned and dehy-
drated soups were available in the 18th century. This was done by
boiling seasoned meat until a thick, resinous syrup was left that
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By Rod Michael
could be dried and stored for months at a time. These supplied
the military, covered wagon trains, cowboy chuck wagons and the
home pantry. Advances in science have also led to the adjustment
of nutrients to fit specific dietary needs; low salt, high fiber and
medicinal herbs to name a few.
With the changing of the seasons and with the first breath
of warm weather, a cook’s thoughts will naturally start to lean
towards a wonderful cold soup. The refreshing chill and tang to
these as a first course or starter, is a wonderful nudge to one’s
appetite. The main thing to remember is that a cold soup must be
really cold, just as a hot soup must be really hot, to be good. Have
your cups and bowls chilled to get it right. A quick way to get
soup very cold is to pour it into a bowl and place it in the freezer.
When it is just at the point of forming ice crystals, remove and
let it stand in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Soups
chilled in this way are really cold and do not have the chance to
absorb the odors of other foods in the refrigerator while in the
lukewarm stage. Remember, that almost any soup that is good
hot is good cold except for mixed vegetable soups and broths with
barley or rice. A black bean soup, with a slice of lemon and some
sherry added is wonderful chilled—so is borscht topped with a
dab of sour cream. Add a pinch of curry powder to cold cream of
asparagus soup and you’ll have an unusual and interesting flavor.
Cold potato soup, made with a little extra sour cream and a good
sprinkling of chopped chives, makes Vichyssoise sit up and sing.
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