SOUPS AND SOUP-MAKING

THE origin of soup lies in the obscurity of the Dark Ages, for it is one of the earliest culinary preparations we meet with. We read of a mess of pottage in the Bible, and it is recorded that when Duguesclin fought William of Blancbourg he ate three wine soups in honour of the Holy Trinity.

Grimod de la Reynière said that soup was to dinner what a portico is to a palace or an overture to an opera: it is not only the commencement of a feast, but should give an idea of what is to follow. In France one always gets the perfection of soups and broths, because a French cook will make a delicious soup from a bunch of herbs and water in which an egg has been boiled, which proves that a good soup may be made almost from anything.

The great factor in making soups is the careful preparation of them, to thoroughly understand the difference between bouillon and consommé and to have a pot-au-feu, stock-pot, or soup-digester, always on the stove. Bouillon is a beef broth; the consommé is the same which has been doubled with veal and fowl, the former to give it gelatine, the latter to give it flavour. The water in which meat, poultry, or fish has been boiled makes a good foundation for soups, adding gravy, meat, bones, poultry trimmings and ham bones; the stock or water should double the

meat, a quart for every pound.

In soup-making

it is important to have a good wire sieve instead of a colander, which cooks are so fond of using.

On the stock of course greatly depends the goodness of the soup, whether brown or white. I consider that a portion of cooked meat flavours the soup more highly than when only raw meat is used.

One of the chief things to remember is to keep the flavours equal and not to allow any one in particular to predominate. Salt is best added just before taking the soup off the stove, as it is apt to harden the meat and prevent the flow of the juices. Fat should never find its way into the stock-pot by any chance.

The stock should always be made the day before it is wanted and the ingredients simmered for about ten hours, after which it should be strained through a hair sieve into a basin and the fat skimmed off next day. After removing the fat a damp hot cloth must be passed over it to absorb every particle of fat, and the piece at the bottom of the basin, where there is generally a little sediment, must be cut off, when the stock must be returned to the stock-pot or digester with the addition of the flavourings.

When soups are boiled they will never clear without the adjuncts of the whites and shells of eggs and a jelly bag, though the latter is not necessary, as a table napkin dipped in hot water and laid over a tammy sieve answers the purpose much better. A few giblets boiled in with the other ingredients give richness as well as a good colour when clear soup is required.

Skimming is another necessity which so many

cooks are so fond of shirking. The sans-graisse soup-ladle is a most useful addition to the kitchen, by which stock can be obtained without any fat which might be on the top. The ladle is plunged rapidly into the stock, bottom part first, until the stock reaches the top of the spout outside, then bent a little to the side, where the spout is, so as to facilitate the liquid running up. (See Plate II.)

A tiny pinch of sugar stirred into the soup when it is ready for table is often an improvement, but of course much depends upon the quantity of saccharine matter the vegetables contain.

I have only given recipes for a few soups, as in the multitude of cookery books most excellent ones are to be found, and the few I have selected are the most popular at present.

Bonne Femme Soup

Take two lettuces, two leaves of sorrel, four sprigs of tarragon, four sprigs of chervil; wash and shred them finely. Cut a cucumber in half, peel it and cut it into thin slices, and then shred it with a sharp knife. Melt in a stewpan half an ounce of butter and place in the shredded vegetables, and let these stew for five minutes. Sprinkle them with half a salt-spoonful of salt and a salt-spoonful of castor sugar. Watch to see the vegetables do not discolour. Put into a saucepan a quart of white stock and let it boil, and when it is quite boiling pour it into the stewpan with the vegetables and let all boil gently for ten minutes till the vegetables are tender.

Take the pan off the fire

and let it cool a little, then add a liaison of the yolks of three eggs well beaten, into which a gill of cream has been stirred, and strain through a sieve into a stewpan. Warm up and serve.

Calf's-tail Soup

Cut two calves' tails into three or four pieces. Put a piece of butter the size of a pigeon's egg into a stewpan with a turnip, two carrots, three onions, a head of celery, a bouquet garni, and half a pint of white stock. Add the calves' tails and cook till the bottom of the stewpan shows a light glaze; keep stirring; then add a couple of ounces of flour, which must be well stirred in; then add a quart of white stock, stir every now and then till it boils, skim well, and then let it simmer till the tails are tender. Take out the tails, add a little salt, cayenne, and the strained piece of a lemon; strain through a sieve, and put into the tureen with the pieces of calves' tails. Give a boil up and serve. A glass of sherry and a table-spoonful of cream improve this soup.

Lambs' tails can be used in the same way to make lamb's-tail soup.

Cauliflower Soup à la Spagna

Take a large cauliflower, boil, and divide it into neat little branches; cut a turnip and a carrot into small egg-shaped pieces the size of olives. Add a sliced truffle and some sliced celery, and boil; then drain and place them in a stewpan with six ounces of