Soup Mechanics - 10 Tips for Making Every Pot of Hot, Hearty, Homemade Soup a Success
I've met a few rare people from time to time who were born with the gift of what I call "food chemistry." These talented folks can prowl through a pantry, refrigerator, or freezer, scavenging some of this and some of that, and prepare a dish fit for a king. None of these folks I know is professionally trained, and most of them didn’t have food mentors to show them success by example. Yet, they manage to create manna out of the most mundane ingredients. I must tell you right up front that I am not one of them. However, after years of experimenting with soups, I have learned to succeed in making delicious hot and hearty soups out of just about anything, even when an accident or mistake makes it look like a pot of soup is doomed for the garbage disposal. I don’t have that elusive "food chemistry" gift, but I might have something called "soup mechanics," and you can have it, too.
What Is a Hot and Hearty Soup? These ten soup mechanics tips apply primarily to soups whose basic ingredients include legumes, yellow and green vegetables, onions, rice, pasta products, and optionally, meats. These soups can be described as including “everything but the kitchen sink.” You can find great recipes for these kinds of soups anywhere and everywhere just by searching “chicken vegetable soup” or “beef vegetable soup” or “minestrone” or “vegetarian pea soup.” You may want to start out with one of the recipes you find, or you may want to start from scratch, which is what I do.
I make hot and hearty soups from whatever happens to be in my pantry, in my refrigerator, and in my local farmers’ markets. I often start my soups with one of the Manischewitz cello soup mixes, simply because these mixes are so flavorful and nutritious. But you don’t have to use these convenient soup starters. Let your imagination be your guide, and let your willingness to experiment overcome your fear of failure. Believe me, with these soup mechanics tips, you’ll be able to overcome almost any accident or mistake.
Here are ten tips for making every pot of hot and hearty homemade soup a big success.
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1 • Start with the Right Soup Pot
Just as a durable house can’t be built on a faulty foundation, a pot of hot and hearty soup can’t be created in a flimsy pot. The long cooking time and low heat required to create a successful soup demand a heavy-bottomed soup pot large enough to hold at least four quarts. Also make sure the pot has a tightly fitting lid so you can choose to make your soup covered or uncovered.
2 • When a Soup Recipe Calls for a Stock Base, Make Your Own
Not all soups require a stock base. Onion and tomato soups come to mind right away. But when a soup recipe calls for stock, make your own. The liquid stock you buy in a can or paper container, as well as the commercially available soup bases that are powders or pastes, are convenient but they are also expensive, often laden with preservatives and salt, and too predictable in the tastes they lend to a soup.
Stock is easy and cheap to make. And it’s fun. Plus, while you make it, your kitchen will smell heavenly. Here are some of the best stock-making methods I’ve found to meet almost any soup need.
- Beef Stock from Kaylin's Kitchen
- Fish Stock from Group Recipes
- Chicken Stock from the Food Network
- Vegetable Stock from The Stone Soup
While these methods are tried and true, experiment with whatever you have on hand. Keep in mind that early cooks used whatever was available to them, whether the ingredients came from the wild, a seasonal garden, or from scraps of previous meals.
3 • Make Liberal Use of Garlic and Ginger
Although garlic and ginger have their distinctive and powerful tastes, they are also flavor enhancers, bringing out the essences of other flavors they join. We can use garlic and ginger to create their own signature tastes and aromas, but we can also use them to help blend other tastes and aromas into a unique soup signature.
Garlic, in moderation, complements almost anything, bringing out the best flavors of the other ingredients. Even if a soup recipe doesn’t call for garlic, you can be confident about mincing two or three cloves of garlic into the soup without worrying about a garlic taste. The garlic will just amplify the other tastes and aromas.
Ginger is a slightly different story. I use ginger as a flavor enhancer mostly in vegetable and chicken soups. It can deliver a bite, like garlic, but also it can deliver a certain sweetness. When using ginger as a flavor enhancer as opposed to a dominant taste, just ask yourself if you want a slightly sweet and sweetly aromatic aspect to your soup.
4 • Cook a Hearty Soup Low and Long
Don’t be in a hurry. Slow cooking gives soup its unique blend of flavors. The longer meats, vegetables, herbs, and spices comingle in hot liquid, the more complete their combined flavor. Once you get the soup ingredients up to a boil, lower the heat to the lowest possible temperature just to keep a gentle simmer going throughout the cooking process.
5 • To Cover or Not To Cover the Soup Pot?
You may cook the soup covered or uncovered depending on the outcome you want. Leaving the lid off will make liquid evaporate faster, potentially creating a thicker and more flavorful soup. Leaving the lid on reduces the rate of evaporation; the soup ingredients may be finished, but the broth may not be rich enough (comingled enough) for your liking. I always cook my soups uncovered, keep an eye on them, and adjust ingredients as needed through a low and long cooking process.
6 • Use Fresh or Frozen Ingredients Instead of Canned
Although the concept of soup precludes the idea that almost “anything goes,” there are some prepared foods that should remain crossed off your list of soup ingredients.
Let’s define fresh and frozen. Both terms refer to foods you buy or use that have not been enhanced with preservatives or flavor and color enhancers and have not been already cooked and processed. Fresh and frozen foods may come from either your garden or your grocer.
Canned foods have already been cooked through and through and lend little flavor and nutrition to the wonderful co-mingling of flavors in the soup-making process. There are some exceptions, such as canned tomatoes, which I use from time to time to add texture and taste. But I’m also mindful of what went into the can along with the tomatoes. As far as canned green beans, green peas, corn, carrots, and potatoes go, choose fresh or frozen preparations over these already over-cooked versions. The fresh taste you will achieve is well worth the effort.
7 • Give Soup Time To “Mature” in the Refrigerator
Like great stews, curries, and lasagnas, hearty soups taste even better after they've been in the refrigerator for a half a day or so and are then reheated. There’s more to this phenomenon than just extending the time of the co-mingling of flavors that begins in the hot soup pot. For a professional chef’s point of view, read this delightfully delicious co-mingling of words that lend insight into why some foods taste better after cooling and reheating.
8 • Fixing Watery Soup
As I did not inherit the food chemistry gene, I didn't inherit the one for masterful soup either. And, as soup was not a staple in our family, I had no early soup mentor. Mostly, I learned from trial and error, making plenty of watery soups along the way. When I say watery, I don’t mean light, thin, tasty broth, as in a consommé, but broth that looks alright but has no flavor. Rather than throw away a pot of hot nourishment, I experimented with adding ingredients late in the cooking to bring bland and watery into tasty and rich. If you have a lifeless broth, try adding drained canned tomatoes, a cup of finely shredded cabbage, a package of fresh-frozen mixed vegetables or corn, or a cup of cooked kidney or white beans, or all!
9 • Fixing Too Salty Soup
I need to say here that I don’t cook with salt, ever. There are so many great herbs and spices, plus natural tastes in foods, that I don’t feel I need to add salt to soups. However, sometimes you may make a mistake, like adding the salt a recipe calls for and then using a homemade stock that you may have added salt to. It does happen. Here are three ideas for fixing soup that is just too darned salty.
Wash and cut up a big potato into about six pieces. Boil the pieces in the soup for about a half an hour, pick them out, and discard them, or eat them if you like salted boiled potatoes.
As you would do for fixing watery soup, add finely shredded cabbage, cooked beans, rice, or pasta. All of these will absorb salt in a pleasing way.
If the soup is still too salty, serve it over unsalted rice or pasta.
10 • Fixing Soup when the Bottom of the Soup Pot Burns
I hate this one! While I was learning to make soup, I would scrape the burned stuff off the bottom of the pot, hoping for something good to happen. The fact is that any cook will leave the heat on too high or not attend the pot, and vegetable and meat matter will burn to the bottom, at some time or another. If this happens, don’t stir the pot. Just decant what’s left on top, like you would a good wine to leave the sediment behind, and start again in a fresh pot with what you've saved from the burned pot. If you scrape the bottom burned food into the rest of the soup, everything will taste of burn.
Having Soup Fun with Leftovers - This Is My Kind of Guy!
Have fun and experiment while knowing that you have these tips to get you off to a good start and, if necessary, get you back on the track after a seeming derailment.
© 2012 Sally's Trove. All rights reserved.
Recipes appearing in Sally’s Trove articles are original, having been created and tested in our family kitchens, unless otherwise noted.
Comments
Victoria, I love that video, too. I'm not sure how "real" it is, although all of it makes excellent sense, and I'm totally entranced with the girl at the end.:)
Thanks for reading and leaving your awesome comment.
Great hub. My partner is a soup master but we can all benefit from your useful suggestions above. Voted up and useful
Great tips!
Watery soup? Toss in some instant rice. ;-)
I used to make soup more often in the past. I love the potato trick to rescue too-salty soup. I learned that one years back: my ex used to "help" by adding salt when I wasn't looking....
Back in the days before microwave ovens, when we had to cook our frozen vegetables in a saucepan with water, I used to pour off and freeze that water to use as a soup base, or stock. Since I no longer boil veggies, but nuke them instead, that option has gone bye-bye.
But, I think I just got hungry for some of my home made vegetarian yellow split pea soup.
Oh, and prevent that stuck-to-the-bottom burned accident by using a slow-cooker. ;-)
Bon apetit!
Voted up, interesting and useful...shared as well.
I love making soups and usually make at least one huge pot of it once a week during the winter months. Using fresh or frozen vegetables is a healthier choice too as there is so much sodium in the canned vegetables. Excellent tips!
Nothing like soup on a cold day. I like #10. All this time, I suffered with the burned stuff at the bottom of my pot by scraping it while I cooked, then fishing it out. I never thought of moving the soup to another pot. DUH! Voted up and everything else. Bookmarked, too!
I've done the same thing, Arlene. And it totally ruined the flavor. Double DUH! :-)
You're so cute, Victoria Lynn. I'm telling you. I've got quit a few bookmarks on recipes and cooking techniques from HubPages. Who needs the ancient Betty Crocker Cookbook and the pricey magazines? I'm collecting like crazy, and it's all in one convenient place.
There's no buying good soup anymore...one has to make it or plan on eating lots of carrots boiled in water. God help us if the price of carrots goes up. I love to make soups in the winter as well using as many fresh ingredients as possible and working with either a beef, vegetable or chicken stock broth as a base. I have also found that sweet Italian and hot Italian saugage brown in the same fashion as hamburger adds a lot of flavor on the meat ingredient side of the equation. The slow simmering is absolutely essential to attaing the flavor you desire as is a generous use of the garlic and ginger. Bay leaf can also be quite effective in some of the recipes. Thanks for sharing...very well done just liek the soup! WB
@annart, TY so much. Having a soup master in your life who finds worth here is awesome.
@MsLizzy, thanks so much for sharing! It's so interesting how relationships can influence soup. :) I'm a great lover of vegetarian yellow split pea soup. Maybe you will share your recipe? Or maybe you have and I missed it?
@Just Ask Susan, TY for sharing how you make soup and what you think of fresh/frozen vs canned. And TY for the good words!
@Arlene, I live for being able to add value to someone's life. No more scraping up the burned soup at the bottom of the pot for you! TY so much for your comment and votes.
Excellent tips. Soups are a great use of leftover produce, and leftover meat. A chicken carcass makes a great base for broth. It's also very important not to use canned veggies, because the flavor won't be right, and you'll end up with mush. Voted up!
That was the most delicious Hub I've read in a long time. Hot soups are one of the few things that make winter tolerable! Thanks for sharing your brilliant, hard-earned ideas. :)
I like to keep a gallon freezer bag in my freezer for left over vegetables. Once the bag is full I add it to a jug of V8 juice, throw in some cooked meat and simmer for an hour or so. I do use soup bases but only at the end and add a little at a time until I get the flavor I want. I think most people use too much of this product and over power the flavor of the vegetables. My favorite soup is called Hunter's Soup and the idea originated from what ever the hunter bagged being thrown into a pot with what ever the wife had on hand. I like to use a combination of beef, pork and chicken in this vegetable laden soup.
You've renewed my enthusiasm for soup-making with this hub. I've found some wonderful flavor combinations by using what I have on hand and throwing it together.
What a great hub! We love soups and stews, especially when the weather gets cold. I keep an ice cream tub in my fridge freezer, and add leftover rice, pasta, and vegetables until it is full, then I season to taste with our favorite herbs and voila - a meal for "free!" Lots of good tips here - thank you.
Great tips for soup making!! My grandpa called the pantry dishes "make-em-eat-it"! I have made some of my best soups by throwing in what I have at the house!
I love this hub! I'm a great fan of soups, but don't usually have the patience to cook them long and slow. I have to learn to overcome my quick-fix leanings! :)
Thank for sharing these excellent tips for making great soup. A couple of weeks ago I had the very last point happen to me when making gravy! YUCK! I guess you either learn or you burn.:) HE HE
@Wayne Brown, yes, yes, yes to everything you said! Especially the part about there's no buying good soup...certainly not commercial soups, anyway. However, I found a super website the other day where you can buy homemade chicken soup from Grandma! I haven't tried it yet, since it's rather pricey, but I love the concept.
http://www.grandmaschickensoup.com
Thanks for adding your suggestions and for leaving the good words!
@homesteadpatch, you are so right. The worse thing you can do is add canned veggies to a hot and hearty soup. Thanks for the up vote!
@annemaeve, thank YOU my wonderful daughter for the inspiration that led to this Hub. (I still have Ghost of Chicken and Miracle Soups to write about.)
@Stump Parrish, I love the idea of the gallon bag in the freezer and then V-8 as the liquid. What a smart idea in terms of taste and no-waste.
@L.L. Woodard, sounds like you like to experiment, too. We never know what a new ingredient or method might bring to the table. So glad your enthusiasm is renewed!
@Avamum, thanks for sharing your ice cream tub approach! So, you're not making a soup, but something more like a casserole or one-dish meal? Love it!
@mpoche4, your grandpa had the right idea, for sure. Using only what's in the pantry can be a hugely creative process. There's a radio cooking show I enjoy where the host asks a listener for five ingredients existing in the listener's refrigerator and then concocts an on-the-spot recipe for using those five. It's really amazing what can be done by combining ingredients "on the fly." Thanks so much to you and your grandpa. :)
Thanks for these useful tips. I like soup, particularly over the winter months.
@Feline Prophet, I love your comment. You are so the kitty. Such patience for some things, but little patience for others. You are not pouncing on a mouse here. When you're faced with the need for long and slow soup cooking, curl up with a good book, purr, and knead a pillow until the soup is done. :)
@hazelwood4, YUCK about the gravy. That is horrible! I think you are right about this soup-making aspect of life: learn or burn. :)
Yumm, great tips! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for reading and commenting, sabrani44.
So many great tips, Sherri! Love the ones about how to make soup less salty or less watery. The tip about fixing soup that has a burnt bottom is the best, though! I love making soup and have to agree that long, slow simmering and allowing the flavors to deepen in the fridge are right on. Rated up! Best, Steph
Hate to admit to not making my own stock. But I have improved my soup with a splash of wine. It just makes it all taste so rich. For some reason, though I am a ginger nut, I have not added it to any of my soups! (Slaps self in forehead) Next chicken soup will have ginger for sure. Voted up for yummy!
I'm with you, Lady_E. In the winter I make at least one pot of soup a week, usually more. Soup is a wonderful main course for any lunch or dinner, but it's also a great snack and much better for you than a piece of apple pie. *sigh*
@Steph, thanks so much for your awesome comment! I was pretty sure I'd find some interest out there about what I've learned in my own kitchen when it comes to making good soups and rescuing accidents. As we know, and I like the way you put it, flavors "deepen in the fridge," but until I found that article from the Reluctant Gourmet I had no idea about the chemistry or physics underlying this tried and true practice. And thanks for the up!
@Dolores, I'm so glad you mentioned the wine. Sherry is nice, too, or a splash or two of balsamic vinegar added toward the end of the cooking time. LOL about slapping yourself upside the head about ginger...I do that when I find out the obvious has eluded me, so you've got company! I buy ginger by the two-pound bag, keep it in plastic in the fridge's vegetable bin, and always manage to use it up before it goes bad. I put ginger in almost everything! Thanks for your lovely comment. :)
With the colder temps of winter settling in, this hub reminds me of these warm, comforting meals, many of which I've had the pleasure of sharing with you.
When I think of ginger, ginger snaps come to mind. I never would have guessed it is used for actual meals :) I so love the soup you taught my granddaughter to make with ginger.
As far as burnt offerings, I once made a meal where I burned the meat. I salvaged the meat that didn't burn, but alas, the burnt taste permeated even that. Nothing I did saved it.
Looking forward to breaking bread and enjoying your soups again!
Trish, I just love your rich comment. Thank you my friend for sharing your thoughts and memories. And I must ask...has your beautiful granddaughter made that soup for you and her mom? :) Love always. ~Sherri
Hi Sherri,
Wow, I love this article. It is very well written, professional with lots of great tips. I'm craving soup now. And it also gave me an idea for a new hub - so thank you very much!
Sharyn
Sharyn, TY for the good words. When you write that hub, let me know...I'll link to it from here. :)
Sally's Trove,
Once again I learned allot. Ginger is my favorite but in soup - hmmm, I now have a new appreciation of making soup. Thank you! Will give it a try. As a new wife, I really must get out of my career girl lifestyle and actually cook - this will get me motivated. Thank you!
Go for it, GmaGoldie! Hearty soups are so very easy to make. And thanks for the good words. :)
never would of thought of using the potato to pull the salt out of the dish, that is a brilliant idea I will be trying myself.
Marntzu, so glad you find this info about the potato pulling the salt out of the liquid helpful!
Hello I'm new to hubpages, this is a great great useful piece. Thank you for that.
You are welcome, robotmonster. :)
I love using fresh garlic and ginger. I use them everyday.
A very informative hub! Thanks for sharing! :)
I love all of your suggestions! They are very practical and handy! I will definitely be sharing this as well as making some soup!
kittyjj, a woman after my own heart! Garlic and ginger are not only flavors in and of themselves, but they are flavor enhancers, bringing out the subtleties of many other foods. Plus, there's some evidence that both of these are good for your body, overall. Thank you for commenting!
Alecia, TY so much for sharing. Practical and handy they are, and thanks for commenting and pointing that out. I'm guessing you're going to be trying something new with these soup starters and tips. Go for it!
Victoria Lynn 4 months ago
Great hub! I love the video. Makes it look easy. I've gotten pretty good over the years at throwing things together to create a dish;I think watching my mom all my life helped a lot. She's amazing at it. I love soups, and you've given some great tips here. I've never thought of thickening with grated potatoes. Good to know about a potato soaking up too much salt. Excellent article!