Soup and Stews
Recipes
- Soup is a savory
liquid food that is made by boiling ingredients, such as
meat, vegetables and beans in stock or hot water, until
the flavor is extracted, forming a broth. Boiling
was not a common cooking technique until the invention
of waterproof containers about 5,000 years ago.
- Over the centuries,
the terms gruel— a thin porridge— and potage have become
separated from broth, and stock and their refinement,
consommé, have all been used to describe this
pot-boiling cooking method. The terms have shifted
over time, but the modern definition of soup and stew
were established in the eighteenth century. Soups
usually are more liquid, while stews are thicker;
contain more solid ingredients. Stews are cooked
in covered containers for longer periods of time, at a
gentle boil with less water and at a lower heat.
- Traditionally, soup is
classified into two broad groups: clear soups and thick
soups. The established French classifications of
clear soups are bouillon and consommé. Thick soups
are classified depending upon the type of thickening
agent used: purées, which are vegetable soups thickened
with starch; bisques are made from puréed shellfish
thickened with cream; cream soups are thickened with
béchamel sauce; and veloutés are thickened with eggs,
butter and cream. Other ingredients to thicken
soups and broths include rice, flour, and grains.
Stew
A stew is a common food made of
vegetables and meat in some sort of broth or sauce. The
line between stew and soup is a fine one, but generally a stew's
ingredients are cut in larger pieces, and a stew is more likely
to be eaten as a main course than as a starter. There are
exceptions though — an oyster stew is more like a soup, for
example. Stewing has a long tradition in cookery.
Popular recipes for regional stews, such as gumbo,
bouillabaisse, Brunswick stew, and burgoo, became common during
the 19th century and have increased in popularity during the
20th century.
Soups
and Stews have always had a place on our dinner table. Here are
our recipes used often from Thom's Recipe File...
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