Soup

“ If one could run here and there in the market—'A pound of your best veal, monsieur'—'A bunch of those fine turnips, and a stick of celery, madame'—well, truth obliges me to admit that it is possible the soup would have a finer flavour, but there would not be the satisfaction of seeing it grow out of a few onions a crust of bread, and a pinch of salt. And that is a satisfaction which I am favoured with tolerably often. Well, Périne, my child, it interests you—this occupation—does it not? Do you think you will ever learn to make soup? ”

“ Of course, I am speaking now of an everyday vegetable soup, which, after all, is the best and most nourishing, especially in a warm climate, when one often feels disinclined to eat hot meat. I know a family whose midday meal consists of soup, light puddings, and fruit. No meat at all during the hot months—but then the soup is stronger than a joint would be. It is the very essence of the meat. The secret of making good soup is in the boiling. You cannot put your meat on and let it boil so long, and then say it is soup that you strain off. No; it requires as much attention as any other dish. ”

“ One is glad to know that the soup was good; for, as Sir Henry Thompson said in "Food and Feeding," "the rationale of the initial soup has been often discussed," and the best opinion is that the function of the soup is to [161] fortify the digestion against what is to come. A man who is to dine on boiled lamb, veal pie, and rice pudding needs all the fortifying he can get. With some of us it would indeed be a "decisive" dinner—the last which we should consume on this planet. ”

“ Add to that the curious fact that no Irishwoman can make a good soup until she has been taught by years of experience, and we have the first problem in the dangerous process of dinner-giving staring us in the face. A greasy, watery, ill-considered soup will take away the appetite of even a hungry man; while a delicate white or brown soup, or the purées of peas and asparagus, may well whet the appetite of the most pampered gourmet. ”

“ Skim the soup thoroughly when it first begins to boil, or it will not be easy afterwards to render it clear; throw in some salt, which will assist to bring the scum to the surface, and when it has all been taken off, add the herbs and vegetables; for if not long stewed in the soup, their flavour will prevail too strongly. Remember that the trimmings, and the bones of fresh meat, the necks of poultry, the liquor in which a joint has been boiled, and the shank-bones of mutton, are all excellent additions to the stock-pot, and should be carefully reserved for it. ”

“ Really good soups demand time for preparation and skill in seasoning. The writer, Thomas Fuller, once said, “Love has its charms, but only soup so well nourishes the young, stokes the fires of manhood and comforts the old.” ”

“ We hope we have now put the common cook into possession of the whole arcana of soup-making, without much trouble to herself, or expense to her employers. It need not be said in future that an Englishman only knows how to make soup in his stomach, by swilling down a large quantity of ale or porter, to quench the thirst occasioned by the meat he eats. ”

“ Soup is of very ancient date. Rebecca and Jacob ate of a pottage, in which the meat was cut into small bits before the muscular fibres had cooled and become hardened, and stewed in milk, thickened with meal and herbs. The famous French gastronomist, the Marquis de Cussy, was orthodox in his gastronomy, fed well, but heeded the church. His favourite soup in Lent was an onion soup, composed of a score of small bulbs, well cleaned, sliced, and put into a stew-pan, with a lump of fresh butter and a little sugar. ”

“ While the soup for to-day is cooling that you may take off the fat, put the butter into a frying-pan with the sliced carrots, turnips, and onions, and fry to a light brown. Now, add a pint of the skimmed stock, and stew the vegetables tender; stir in the flour wet with water; and put all, with your cooled stock, over the fire in the soup-kettle. Season with sugar, cayenne and salt; boil five minutes; rub through a colander, then a soup-sieve, heat almost to boiling, and serve. ”

“ Thrown in a little time before,
The soup from the fire I move,
Then seldom a better soup is seen,
Than the old familiar Soup Pea Green.
Since first I began my household career,
How many my dishes have been!
But the one that digestion never need fear,
Is the simple old soup Pea Green.
The giblet may tire, the gravy pall,
And the turtle lose its charm;
But the Green Pea triumphs over them all,
And does not the slightest harm.
Smoking hot in a smart tureen,
A rare old soup is the true Pea Green!
Punch. 1852.
“Official Routine.”
(A New Song to an old Tune, as sung in the War Office.) ”

“ A very nice soup is made simply with the peas without any meat, by the addition of a fried onion, for that soup you would peel and slice an onion and put it in the bottom of the soup kettle with a tablespoonful of butter or drippings,—beef drippings or poultry drippings,—and fry it light brown ”

“ The Germans, like the French, would not consider a dinner complete without soup: no matter how humble the meal may be, soup nearly always forms a part of it. They have, besides the ordinary meat and vegetable soup, a sweet milk soup thickened with flour and flavoured with apples, almond soup, chocolate soup, wine soup flavoured with vine leaves, potato soup flavoured with prunes or apples, and a variety of fruit soups altogether unknown to us. ”

“ Soup making is an art that is well worth cultivating. The expert soup maker will obtain delicious flavors by adding bits of many kinds of left overs—almost anything that is found in the refrigerator in the way of fruit, vegetables, and pieces of meat. With the coming of the gas stove, many people have given up soup making. These various left overs add much to the flavor of the soup and can be used in a thickened soup which is like the bouillon strained and thickened. The thickening may be flour, arrowroot, cold cereal, sago, tapioca, or rice. ”

“ We were at the Orphan’s School in time to taste their food, which consists of a basin of soup, one pound of meat, one ounce of oatmeal, and one pound and a half of white bread. The soup is of a thinnish nature, and strongly flavoured with pleasant aromatic herbs, the whole forming, no doubt, a very wholesome and nutritious food, and well adapted to the climate. Their beverage, which is the one of the soldiers, is called Quielyë and Chtschy in Russian, and Quataee in the Polish language. ”

“ They have made soups of all kinds, from Russian batwigne to the cabbage soup of France. The mouth feeds upon the reputation of the greatest men, from cutlets à la Soubise to black pudding à la Richelieu. ”

“ Soup contains the essence of meat Flavor, and we eat it at the beginning of a meal because this Flavor stimulates the appetite, which in turn causes the digestive juices to flow freely. The richer the soup is in Flavor, the more it stimulates the appetite. The beef extracts sold in little jars are, if made by reputable firms, among the most valuable appetizers—invaluable, in fact, in a country in which the science of making savory soup is so little understood or practised as it is in the United States. ”

“ To say you have none is an annoyance. Never tip the plate in order to dip up the last spoonful of soup. In partaking of soup, or imbibing any liquid, do so noiselessly. Be sure not to spread the elbows while using knife and fork. Keep them close to your side while cutting meats.
Never try to dispose of the last mouthful of soup, the last morsel of food. "It is not expected," says one writer, "that your plate should be sent away cleansed by your gastronomic exertions." On no account cool any drink or soup with the breath. Never pour tea or coffee into the saucer to cool it. ”

“ She was sure of that soup, cunningly made of left-over crusts of black bread, roasted crisply in the oven and then ground up with a bountiful seasoning of onions and various other more discreetly sustaining herbs. ”

“ A purée of old peas or carrots makes an excellent soup.
I have only to add to my chapter on soups, that it is an excellent plan to have the bones of a sirloin of beef or roast leg of mutton, the remains of a hare, or, in fact, any thing of that kind, put into a large deep earthen pan, with rather more than enough water to cover them, a couple of carrots sliced, and perhaps a leek or an onion. The pan should then be carefully tied down, or have a cover fitted on it, and it should be put into an oven after the bread has been drawn, and suffered to remain all night. ”

“ The choice of two kinds of soup may be offered. Grated Parmesan cheese may be passed with clear soups, dice of fried bread with cream soups, and toasted cracker biscuits with any [25] kind of soup. One ladleful of soup is sufficient for each person, and a second portion is not offered. An anecdote is told of a punctilious person who, being asked if he would be helped again to soup, answered, “Thanks, not to-day.”
Hors d'œuvres, which are radishes, celery, olives, etc., are passed after the soup. Salted almonds are taken at any time through the dinner. ”

“ The number of soups which can be made from soup stock is practically unlimited. They are formed by the admixture, chiefly of vegetables cut into small pieces, of starchy materials, mashed peas or beans, particles of potato, fragments of parched bread, and in fact almost any nutritive and palatable substance which the cook may wish to employ. ”

“ The value of soup as food cannot be overestimated.
In times of scarcity and distress, when the question has arisen of how to feed the largest number of persons upon the least quantity of food, the aliment chosen has always been soup. ”

“ A good soup is at once economical and healthful, and of the first importance in the construction of a dinner. Soup should be made the day before it is to be eaten, by boiling either a knuckle of veal for a white soup, three or four pounds of beef, with the bone well cracked, for a clear consommé, or by putting the bones of fish, chickens, and meat into water with salt and pepper, and thus making an economical soup, which may, however, be very good. ”

“ We order the meat to be cut into mouthfuls, that it may be eaten with a spoon: the knife and fork have no business in a soup-plate.
*** Some of our culinary contemporaries order the haut goût of this (as above directed, sufficiently relishing) soup [222] to be combustibled and bedevilled with a copious addition of anchovies, mushrooms, truffles, morelles, curry-powder, artichoke bottoms, salmon’s head and liver, or the soft part of oysters or lobsters, soles cut in mouthfuls, a bottle of Madeira, a pint of brandy, &c. ”

“ A purée is made by rubbing the cooked ingredients through a fine sieve; an ordinary thick soup is made by adding various thickening ingredients to the soup stock; clear soups are, properly speaking, the juices of meats, served in a convenient and appetizing form. ”

“ Strain the soup through a hair-sieve into a clean pan, and let it drain closely from the meat. When it is nearly or quite cold, clear off all the fat from it; roll the head lightly round, leaving the tongue inside, or taking it out, as is most convenient, secure it with tape or twine, pour the soup over, and bring it gently to boil upon a moderate fire; keep it well skimmed, and simmer it from an hour to an hour and a quarter; then lift the head into a deep pan or tureen, add the soup to it, and let it remain in until nearly cold, as this will prevent the edges from becoming dark. ”

“ The great variety of vegetable purées, which can be easily made and blended with light animal broths, admits of daily change in the matter of soup to a remarkable extent, and affords scope for taste in the selection and combination of flavors. The use of fresh vegetables in abundance—such as carrots, turnips, artichokes, celery, cabbage, sorrel, leeks, and onions—renders such soups wholesome and appetizing. ”

“ SOUP The foundation of all excellent soup is a stock made from beef. For a dinner company heavy soup is not so desirable as a good, clear, rich soup, and I add a tried recipe from "Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving," called:
AMBER SOUP. A large soup bone (two pounds) ; a chicken; a small slice of ham; a soup bunch (or an onion, two sprigs of parsley, half a small carrot, half a small parsnip, half a stick of celery) ; three cloves; pepper; salt; a gallon of cold water; whites and shells of two eggs, and caramel for coloring. ”

“ When mixed with salt and the other additions by which soup is usually seasoned, and tinged somewhat darker by means of roasted onions, or burnt bread, it forms the very best soup which can, in any way, be prepared from one pound of flesh. ”

“ SOUP MAKING The art of soup making is more easily mastered than at first appears. The young housekeeper is startled at the amazingly large number of ingredients the recipe calls for, and often is discouraged. One may, with but little expense, keep at hand what is essential for the making of a good soup. Winter vegetables—turnips, carrots, celery, and onions—may be bought in large or small quantities. The outer stalks of celery, often not suitable for serving, should be saved for soups. At seasons when celery is a luxury, the tips and roots should be saved and dried. ”

“ Soup being the first course served at all ordinary dinners, we make it the basis for preliminary remarks. Nothing more palatable than good, well-made soup, and nothing less appetising than poor soup. Now to attain perfection in any line, care and attention are requisite, careful study a necessity, and application the moving force. Hence, cooking in all its branches should be studied as a science, and not be looked upon as a haphazard mode of getting through life. ”