It is astonishing what a number of soups may be made
of this clear soup. Sago, rice, macaroni, vermicelli nou-
illes, pearl barley, tapioca, and semolina may all be boiled
separately, then dropped into it, and the soup will then be
called after the name of the distinctive ingredient. When
spring vegetables, young turnips, carrots, or leeks are put
into clear soup it becomes prmtaniere, or spring soup.
When these same vegetables are softly stewed in butter
and cut into shreds it is jidiemie. When savoury custard
(cut into diamonds or stars^ is put into it, it is soup royale.
if Brussel sprouts are introduced it is Flemish soup; if
crusts of bread, it is croute au pot; if homely vegetables, it
is soup d, la paysanne; if poached eggs, it is Colbert’s
soup. And so we might go-on : jardiniire, brtinoise, chif-
fonade, macidoine, nive}'naise, and others are all clear soup,
with veiy slight differences.
If there are any girls belonging to this class who try to
follow my instructions, and make some clear soup in the
way I have described, I know quite well what the result
will be. The soup will be excellent, bright, clear, and
good, but they will feel that it has been a great trouble to
make. I should not be surprised if their state of mind
were similar to that of the charity-boy mentioned in
Pickwick, who, when he got to the end of the alphabet,
said, “Whether it is worth while going through so much
to learn so little is a matter of taste. / think it isn’t.”
After all, important as cookery may be, there are other
things to be done in the world ; and though we might be
willing to make the best clear soup for high days and
holidays, it is more than probable that few would be able
to give the time to it very often. Therefore, it will be an
advantage to learn an easier and cheaper way of preparing
it, so as to achieve very nearly, though not quite, as satis-
factory a result.
T he easier method is to use stock made of Liebig’s
Extract of Meat, instead of stock from fresh meat. A
small quantity of this extract dissolved in a little boiling
69
Clear Soups.
water will supply a clear straw-coloured liquor, which
tastes quite sufficiently of meat, and which may easily be
converted into excellent soup. Of course the difficulty
here is the flavouring. We must so flavour this extract
of meat stock that no one shall know what it was, but shall
if they think anything at all about the matter, regard it as
a matter of course that the stock for the soup was made
in the usual way, “ with trouble and charges,” to use an
expression of Izaak Walton's.
Whatever vegetables are used in flavouring this soup
must be cleansed thoroughly and boiled separately. A
little soaked gelatine may be boiled in the liquid, which
must be skimmed thoroughly ; and as soon as it tastes
pleasantly, and before the vegetables are soft, the liquid
must be strained off for use. ✪ Clear Soup
Page 43 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1882. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
It is astonishing what a number of soups may be made of this clear soup. Sago, rice, macaroni, vermicelli nouilles, pearl barley, tapioca, and semolina may all be boiled separately, then dropped into it, and the soup will then be called after the name of the distinctive ingredient. When spring vegetables, young turnips, carrots, or leeks are put into clear soup it becomes printaniere, or spring soup. When these same vegetables are softly stewed in butter and cut into shreds it is julienne. When savoury custard (cut into diamonds or stars^ is put into it, it is soup royale. if Brussel sprouts are introduced it is Flemish soup; if crusts of bread, it is croute au pot; if homely vegetables, it is soup d, la paysanne; if poached eggs, it is Colbert’s soup. And so we might go-on : jardiniire, brtinoise, chiffonade, macidoine, nivernaise, and others are all clear soup, with veiy slight differences.
If there are any girls belonging to this class who try to follow my instructions, and make some clear soup in the way I have described, I know quite well what the result will be. The soup will be excellent, bright, clear, and good, but they will feel that it has been a great trouble to make. I should not be surprised if their state of mind were similar to that of the charity-boy mentioned in Pickwick, who, when he got to the end of the alphabet, said, “Whether it is worth while going through so much to learn so little is a matter of taste. / think it isn’t.” After all, important as cookery may be, there are other things to be done in the world ; and though we might be willing to make the best clear soup for high days and holidays, it is more than probable that few would be able to give the time to it very often. Therefore, it will be an advantage to learn an easier and cheaper way of preparing it, so as to achieve very nearly, though not quite, as satisfactory a result.
T he easier method is to use stock made of Liebig’s Extract of Meat, instead of stock from fresh meat. A small quantity of this extract dissolved in a little boiling
Clear Soups.
water will supply a clear straw-coloured liquor, which tastes quite sufficiently of meat, and which may easily be converted into excellent soup. Of course the difficulty here is the flavouring. We must so flavour this extract of meat stock that no one shall know what it was, but shall if they think anything at all about the matter, regard it as a matter of course that the stock for the soup was made in the usual way, “ with trouble and charges,” to use an expression of Izaak Walton's.
Whatever vegetables are used in flavouring this soup must be cleansed thoroughly and boiled separately. A little soaked gelatine may be boiled in the liquid, which must be skimmed thoroughly ; and as soon as it tastes pleasantly, and before the vegetables are soft, the liquid must be strained off for use.
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Clear Soup