The spirit of cookery

From broths, as described in the foregoing, to soups, is so small a step in transition, consisting mainly in dilution, that in culinary works many recipes for mere broth are headed as recipes for clear soup. To recite any of them would be a useless repetition, as they contain unaltered all the virtues and faults, particularly as to bones, which have been fully discussed above. As regards soups, we shall offer a classification upon the basis of their characteristic ingredients, and shall take care to carry through a practical nomenclature. For in this chapter of soups the abuse or misuse of names is even greater than that which prevails in respect of other culinary productions. Not only are well-established names of original soups taken away from them, but they are applied to others, sometimes several in succession, which have no character in common with that which originally received the name. This is well proved, e.g., by the case of Brunoise soup. True soup of that name requires as an essential ingredient of lentils, and we should therefore have to Addition of bread to soups treat it under a chapter on soups made with leguminous seeds. But most English cookery-books omit the lentils entirely, and give recipes which do not materially differ from those of julienne or jardiniere. One even adds Italian paste,* which is quite inappropriate ; another omits this paste also, and has no attempt at specificity of any kind. In correction of this abuse of otherwise well-grounded names, all soups should be referred, if possible, to their original culinary names, and Brunoise, in particular, should be removed from the section of jardiniére and similar soups, and classed with soups made with leguminous seeds. Some authors exhibit a tendency towards the excessive use in soups of cream, wine, and lemon-juice; these additions are not rarely made to hide or counteract inferior quality as regards savour, particularly in preparations from which meat is excluded; we advise that all such additions should be used with discretion, and always sparingly; wine is an enemy to clear soup; sherry, in particular, makes it bitter and compromises its savour. The Addition of Bread in Various Forms to Soup. The addition to clear soup or broth of bread, in the form of broken or cut pieces, of toast cut in dice, or fried bread in similar shape (croutons), yields a soup which the French term soupe au pain. This is a convenient soup, because it may be quickly prepared ; supposing you have a good broth ready, and have removed from it the vegetables and fat, or you have made a standard broth according to our recipe, it is only necessary to pour the hot liquid over the prepared bread in the soup-tureen. To a litre of broth, sufficient for > four persons, should be added 60 grm. of bread in any form,f i therefore 15 grm. (2 oz.) for each person ; convenient forms I * Cf. Gouffe, loc. cit., p. 370. I . t The long loaf of bread which is used by French cooks for this purpose 18 by them termed a ‘ flute ’ — Jlule cl potacje. On this, as on clear soup with bread, cf. Gouffe, loc. cit., p. 50.