THICKENING SOUP.–Though skinny, clear soups are most popular by some and are significantly fascinating for his or her stimulating impact, thick soups discover a lot favor when they’re used to type a considerable a part of a meal. Apart from giving consistency to soup, thickening often improves the flavour, however its chief objective is to present nutritive worth to this meals. In actual fact, each time a soup is thickened, its meals worth is elevated by the ingredient thus added. For that reason, it’s advisable to thicken soups when they’re desired for every other objective than their stimulating impact.

The substance used to thicken soups could also be both a starchy materials or meals or a puree of some meals. The starchy supplies typically used for this objective are plain flour, browned flour, corn starch, and arrowroot flour. Any one among these ought to be moistened with sufficient chilly water to make a mix that may pour simply, after which added to the new liquid whereas the soup is stirred consistently to stop the formation of lumps. A enough quantity of this thickening materials ought to be used to make a soup of the consistency of heavy cream.

The starchy meals which are used for thickening embody rice, barley, oatmeal, noodles, tapioca, sago, and macaroni. Many uncommon and fancy types of macaroni will be secured, or the plain types of Italian pastes could also be damaged into small items and cooked with the soup. When any of those meals are used, they need to be added lengthy sufficient earlier than the soup is eliminated to be cooked totally.

Purees of beans, peas, lentils, potatoes, and different greens are particularly fascinating for the thickening of soups, for they not solely give consistency, however add nutritive worth and taste as effectively. One other wonderful thickening could also be obtained by beating uncooked eggs after which including them rigorously to the soup simply earlier than it’s to be served. After eggs have been added for thickening, the soup shouldn’t be allowed to boil, as it’s liable to curdle.

KEEPING STOCK.–Soup inventory, like many different meals, spoils fairly readily. Subsequently, to be able to hold it for at the least a number of days, it should obtain correct consideration. Always, the vessel containing inventory ought to be tightly closed and, particularly in heat climate, the inventory ought to be saved as chilly as attainable. Inventory that’s heavy sufficient to solidify right into a jellylike consistency when it’s chilly will hold higher than inventory that continues to be liquid. The addition of salt or any spicy flavoring additionally helps to maintain inventory from deteriorating, as a result of these supplies act as preservatives and forestall the motion of micro organism that trigger spoiling. Micro organism could also be saved from getting into soup if, as an alternative of eradicating the grease, it’s allowed to type in a strong cake excessive. Regardless of which of those precautions is taken to stop inventory from spoiling, it ought to be heated to boiling level as soon as a day when it’s to be saved for a number of days.