Prepare, Cook and Finish Soup Dishes

Prepare, Cook and Finish
Soups

Prepare, cook and finish soups

Contents

Soups .............................................................................................................................................................3
Smooth soups ............................................................................................................................................3
Chunky soups.............................................................................................................................................3

Preparation of Soup.......................................................................................................................................4
Ingredients................................................................................................................................................. 4
Preparation Methods ................................................................................................................................4
Velouté ......................................................................................................................................................4
Purees ........................................................................................................................................................4
Creams ....................................................................................................................................................... 5
Broths & Potages .......................................................................................................................................5
Brown Soups..............................................................................................................................................5
Bisques....................................................................................................................................................... 5
Consommés ...............................................................................................................................................5
Miscellaneous Soups .................................................................................................................................5

Quality points of Soups .................................................................................................................................6
Storage........................................................................................................................................................... 7

Service Temperature .................................................................................................................................7
Tasting fresh soups....................................................................................................................................7
Volume Chart.............................................................................................................................................8
Overcooking............................................................................................................................................... 8
Finishing and Presenting Soups.................................................................................................................8
Garnishing Soups .......................................................................................................................................8
Garnishes for soup.....................................................................................................................................8
Healthy Options.............................................................................................................................................9
Basic Soups and Extensions .........................................................................................................................10
Soup Classification.......................................................................................................................................11

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Prepare, cook and finish soups

Soups

Soups are a comforting way to easily incorporate healthy vegetables and water in your diet. Soothingly
chilled in summer, warming in colder weather, people have been eating soup-style meals for thousands
of years - in fact, ever since the invention of the cooking pot.

Soups have evolved from rustic combinations of water, meat scraps and vegetables simmered together
over a fire, to the light, elegant dishes seen in fine restaurants today, but the hearty meal-in-a-bowl
soups we now enjoy are not that far removed from those consumed in ancient times.

Smooth soups

Broths and consommés are clear soups based on stock. Sometimes served with a few lightly cooked
morsels floating inside, they are a good choice for starter courses.

Pureed soups have a smooth creamy texture, although they do not necessarily contain cream. They
make good starters or, when served with bread and a hunk of cheese, can be a satisfying lunch.

Bisques as served today are reddish-coloured seafood soups based on crustaceans, wine and cream.
They are particularly associated with French cooking.

Japan's miso soups are made by blending a spoonful of fermented soybean paste with hot dashi or
water from the soup pot and carefully incorporating this mixture back into the pan.

Classic chilled soups include East European borsch (made with beetroot), Spanish gazpacho (tomatoes,
cucumber, bread and olive oil) and ajo blanco (almonds and bread), French vichyssoise (potato, leek and
cream), and Bulgarian tarator (yoghurt, cucumber and walnuts).

Chunky soups

Chunky soups such as Italy's minestrone are a mixture of broth and solids that may include vegetables,
pasta or grains, beans or legumes, and pieces of meat, poultry or fish. The solids make the soup filling,
so while a small portion is suitable for serving as a starter, a generous bowl is a one-dish meal.

Chowders are a type of rich chunky soup that usually include seafood. Typically associated with
American cooking, they can be based on stock, tomatoes or more famously milk, and often include
potato.

Good stock can help you produce wonderful soup, but it is by no means essential. If the soup
ingredients have bold flavours and are cooked in a manner that enhances them (say fresh broccoli
quickly boiled then pureed with its cooking water), stock could dilute and detract from the intense, pure
taste created. Other soups, such as gazpacho, simply do not require stock.

Soups, unlike Sauces are a dish in their own right. Soups may be served as a meal on their own, or as a
first course on a menu.

The place that soup has on a menu means that they are one of the first dishes to be eaten by the
customer.

This is very important as they can influence the whole meal. 3

© Tim Webb 2009

Prepare, cook and finish soups

Preparation of Soup

Ingredients

The ingredients used in soup production should always be of the highest quality and freshness. It is
important to ensure that fruit and vegetables used are fully ripe to ensure that as much flavour as
possible can be extracted but not so far ripe that they are over-ripe and approaching being spoilt.
Quantities should also be checked as should the cut of meat or poultry used.

Re using ingredients to make soup will always result in an inferior product which will lack flavour and
freshness.

If you identify any problems with the ingredients you are using, the problem should be reported to you
line manager immediately.

Preparation Methods

There are 3 main preparation methods for soup:

Béchamel and Purée
50% béchamel, with 25% puree of cooked vegetables and 25% stock.

Purée / Cream
A puree soup finished with cream

Velouté
A velouté soup finished with cream

Velouté
Velouté are prepared from a Blond roux base, which is diluted with the appropriate flavoured stock.
They are cooked with the addition of vegetables, meat, poultry, game or fish. This soup is prepared in
the same way as a Veloute sauce.

Once cooked the soup is taken off the boil a Liaison is added to finish.

They are always passed and finished with a liaison of egg yolks and cream (in a ratio of 3 parts cream to
1-part egg yolk) and are usually garnished.

Never re-boil a Velouté soup or the Liaison may split.

Purees
Purées are prepared from vegetables, cereals and pulses cooked with stock and sometimes with the
addition of meat, poultry. Once cooked the soup is sieved or liquidised. The ingredients act as the sole
thickening agent and are always passed. Garnish with Croutons fresh vegetables & pulses

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Prepare, cook and finish soups

Creams
These soups must have a smooth consistency and must be finished with a proportion of cream.

They may be Stock and vegetables which have been passed and finished with cream, milk or yogurt
Could be a vegetable puree combined with a Béchamel and finished with cream or they could be a
veloute finished with cream

Broths & Potages
They are prepared from vegetables cut in varying shapes. Sometimes they may be cooked in stocks,
with the addition of cereals and finely cut pieces of meat or poultry. Made from un-thickened stock.
They often contain cereal such as Pearl Barley or Rice. Sweated Broth’s contain Fish or Shellfish called
Chowders. They are skimmed, re-seasoned and served.

Brown Soups
Brown soups are mainly English in origin and are usually prepared from a brown roux base diluted with
brown stock, which is then cooked with the appropriate meat and vegetables.
These soups are passed and usually garnished.

Bisques
Bisques are prepared from shellfish, vegetables, fish stock, wine, herbs and seasoning.
They are generally thickened with rice, then passed and finished with wine and cream.

Consommés
Consommé is prepared from fortified quality stocks flavoured with various meats poultry, game and fish
together with vegetables, herbs and seasoning.

They are cooked out and strained through muslin cloth, skimmed, re-seasoned and then served with an
appropriate garnish.

Miscellaneous Soups

Also known as unclassified soups, examples are:

Mulligatawny Soup (curry flavoured).
Kidney Soup, Turtle Soup, Oxtail Soup.
French Onion (Beef Stock based).
Fish Bisque (Shellfish i.e. Lobster).
Cold Soups served chilled.

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Prepare, cook and finish soups

Quality points of Soups

Freshly made soups are generally cheap to make, and the preparation and production times are short
for most soups.

Fresh soups are also known to have a strong and distinctive flavour.

You should only use fresh and top-quality ingredients to ensure that your fresh soups are well flavoured,
of the right consistency and colour.

The qualities of a good soup are:

Be of a good, recognised flavour and taste.
Have seasoning, which compliments the main flavours.
Be free from grease and scum.
Have a good defined colour.
Be of a definite consistency, i.e. not lumpy or thick.
Stimulate the digestive juices.

It is important to follow the recipe instructions to ensure that soups are of good:

• Texture • Appearance
• Aroma • Consistency
• Flavour

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Prepare, cook and finish soups

Storage

Fresh soups which are not intended to be used immediately after cooking should be chilled down within
90 minutes of being taken from the stove and refrigerated below 5°c.

Service Temperature
Fresh soups should be kept for service at a temperature of above 70°C to ensure the soup is safe to eat.

Hot Soups should be served at 90°c (194°f).
Cold Soups should be served at 3°c (37°f).

Tasting fresh soups
Never use your fingers to taste soup (as some chefs do): not only is this extremely unprofessional, but it
is also very unhygienic. This practice can also contribute to cross-contamination. When tasting fresh
soups, you should only use the spoon once.

Do not taste soup from the ladle and then return it to the soup: this is very unhygienic.

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Prepare, cook and finish soups

Volume Chart

No of Covers Volume of Soup reqd.
1 250ml
4 1 ltr
10 2.5 ltr
25 6.25 ltr
50 12.5 ltr
75 18.75 ltr
25 ltr
100

Overcooking

Over cooking a soup is a common problem.
As a result, a soup may become too thick, or lose its flavour and colour by prolonged cooking.
It is important to always follow a recipe until you are competent to know each stage and cooking time
for most of the general soups produced by your organisation

Finishing and Presenting Soups

During the service period soups can evaporate and the consistency must be adjusted to ensure quality is
maintained.

A 250ml ladle is usually used to serve soup.

Garnishing Soups

The main garnish may be added to the soup or kept separate and added to the bowl before the liquid is
added.
It is important to keep the garnish at the correct temperature

Garnishes for soup

There are many ingredients that can be used as an attractive garnish for soup, but whatever you choose
it should complement the flavour of the liquid. To boost the protein content, you might consider adding
a poached or soft-boiled egg, finely chopped bacon, ham, or chicken, grated cheese or toasted nuts.

Croutons, nuts or crisp bacon provide a pleasant textural contrast to soup. Gazpacho is traditionally
garnished with finely chopped crunchy vegetables, while ajo blanco is often served with juicy green
grapes floating in it.

Light and pretty options include a dollop of cream, soured cream or yoghurt, or a sprinkling of chopped
herbs.

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Prepare, cook and finish soups

Healthy Options

There are several ways in which soups can be made healthier. Increasing the amount of vegetables in
the dish will improve the dish, but care should be taken to ensure that the dish does not become
unbalanced.

Similarly, the stocks can be made with less fat and skimmed during production. The use of butter can be
further limited and the use of oil minimised during sweating and production. Butter can be replaced
with oil when making a roux, however, this will affect the flavour.

The soup can also be finished with crème fraiche or yogurt rather than cream. This again will lighten the
soup, but care should be taken to correct any flavour change caused by these ingredients.

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Prepare, Cook and Finish Soups P

Basic Soups and Extensions

Basic Cream Soup

Base Base
Stock and vegetables, vegetable puree Stock, fresh
and béchamel
Finished with Finished wi
Cream, Milk or yoghurt Croutons, c

Cream of Cream of Cream of Carrot &
Green Pea Mushroom Tomato Coriander

© Tim Webb 2009

Puree Soup Broth Soup

h vegetables, pulses Base
ith Stock, meat/fish, cut vegetables
chopped herbs Finished with
Chopped herbs, grated parmesan

Potato Lentil Scotch Minestrone Hot & Sour
Soup Soup Broth Soup Soup

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Prepare, Cook and Finish Soups Base Passed
Strained
Soup Classification Stock Unpassed
Passed
Classification Passed
Clear Passed
Passed
Broth Stock
Cut vegetables

Puree Stock
Velouté Fresh vegetables
Cream pulses

Blond roux
Vegetables
Stock

Stock and vegetables
vegetable puree and
béchamel velouté

Bisque Shellfish
fish stock

Miscellaneous soups which
are not classified under the
other headings

© Tim Webb 2009

or unpassed Finish Example
Usually garnished Consommé

Chopped parsley Scotch broth
Croutons Minestrone

Lentil soup
Potato soup

Liaison of yolk and cream Velouté of chicken

Cream, milk or Cream of vegetable
yoghurt Cream of fresh pea
Cream of tomato
Cream
Lobster soup
Crab soup

Mulligatawny
kidney

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