49
votes
Dispensing fair shares of inhomogeneous soup
Maybe take a cue from Ramen and prepare the broth and the add-ins separately. Evenly distribute the add-ins in bowl, then top with broth and garnish.
- 73.8k
41
votes
How do I make my blended soup a more appealing colour?
Of course “appealing” is quite opinion-based, so let’s look at the problem in a slightly more neutral “how can I avoid the colors mixing when I blend the soup”.
In short, you can’t.
If you have a ...
- 58.6k
31
votes
Accepted
What is the best culinary practice surrounding the water used to soak beans, pulses and rice?
That water may contain all sorts of fungicides, dust, contaminants, rodent feces, insects, and so on. The process of production of beans is far from sterile. If you wash the beans thoroughly before ...
- 3,013
29
votes
Accepted
What is the best way to turn soup into stew without using flour?
I wouldn't actually call a soup with thickened liquid "a stew", for me a stew is a cooked dish with very little liquid altogether, be it thick or thin.
Because of this, I would suggest a ...
- 136k
28
votes
What is the best way to turn soup into stew without using flour?
Let's leave aside the question of what separates a soup from a stew (there's no real answer, only mostly arbitrary opinions - which seems to be a somewhat widely shared belief around here: https://...
- 2,480
28
votes
How do I make my blended soup a more appealing colour?
The Turquoise Room (at the La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona) has a "signature soup", which is actually two soups ladled into a single bowl: a bright yellow corn soup, and a darker brown ...
- 1,718
24
votes
Accepted
When turning instant soup into liquid soup, how can I optimise dissolution?
Add the water incrementally. It's probably enough to add just a bit, stir, then add the rest, but you can break it up a bit more if that doesn't work.
A clump of powder or a lump of paste won't ...
- 58.2k
24
votes
Accepted
How do I remove oil from soup?
The easiest way, is to cool (fridge) it down and remove the hardened fat that should have floated to the top.
You could try doing while the soup is hot by using a shallow spoon and spoon the liquid ...
- 20.5k
24
votes
Accepted
How can I increase white wine shelf life specifically bought for cooking?
Freeze it in cubes and use it as required. Wine should be low-alcohol enough to freeze in a regular freezer, although you might find you get 'slushier' parts – if you do, these will have a higher ...
- 11.9k
23
votes
Where did my fennel go?
Fennel is a fairly delicate flavor. I can see how caramelized onion and tomato would easily over power it. The bulb actually provide the most delicate flavor of fennel. If you want a more ...
- 73.8k
22
votes
Accepted
Chicken soup has split. Can it be repaired
Pureed chicken and water is not a stable emulsion, no. There's nothing in there that binds the fat or suspends the meat particles. Most recipes for chicken soup do not call for pureeing the actual ...
- 10.6k
21
votes
Accepted
If I am blending parsley for soup, can I use the parsley whole or should I still remove the stems?
There is a lot of flavor in parsley stems, as is true of most "soft" herbs. In my kitchen, if it is soft/palatable, I use it.
- 73.8k
20
votes
Accepted
Common ingredient to thicken the soup
There are lots of potential thickeners, but you often need to select the one that works best with your given need (temperature, if it has dairy, resulting mouthfeel, etc).
In your case, you're ...
- 80k
19
votes
Accepted
What kind of cooking method was used for the chicken in my ramen?
Perhaps the chicken was done Chinese-style, fresh from the wok, rather than pre-cooked. That would give 'tender' & flavour too.
Use chicken breast straight from the fridge. You want it really ...
- 29.7k
18
votes
Can I make a neverending Soup in an instantpot?
I've actually tried it. It didn't work very well for me, but it might work better for you.
The problem is, cookers like the Instant Pot are designed for quick pressure cooking first and foremost. ...
- 26.9k
17
votes
Imitating the flavour of canned cream of mushroom soup
What you are describing as a "mushroom" flavor is most likely umami, loosely translated as "savory". It is a flavor that comes from glutamates, which are found in foods like meat, ...
- 2,288
15
votes
What is the fastest way to cool hot soup?
Ice bath.
Put a bunch of ice in your sink or in a container large enough to place your soup pot in. Add enough water to cover the ice. If the soup pot is large or wide, you can speed up the cooling ...
- 32.1k
15
votes
Can I make a neverending Soup in an instantpot?
I agree with Sneftel's answer that the quality is likely to degrade over time due to contents settling and breaking down into stuff that doesn't taste good.
But just to add a thought regarding safety: ...
- 32.1k
14
votes
Accepted
A stock question for British catering professionals
I buy tubs of Knorr stock powder from restaurant supply stores here in the uk, it's a different product from their cubes, and has a very different flavor, there's also a paste. It may be worth having ...
- 75.4k
14
votes
What is the best culinary practice surrounding the water used to soak beans, pulses and rice?
The other reason to discard the soaking water is (theoretically) limiting flatulence.
According to The Bean Institute and other sources:
Soaking overnight and then discarding the soaking water ...
- 61.4k
13
votes
Accepted
How much time does it take to boil salmon?
It just has to get to 145F for safety, and in boiling water that happens really fast. 5-10 minutes is totally believable. On top of that, fish is really unpleasant when overcooked, so you really want ...
- 58.2k
13
votes
How can I increase white wine shelf life specifically bought for cooking?
Small bottles.
These bottles are 187 ml which is 6 ounces each. This 4 pack costs $2. You will use one bottle to cook and discard what you don't use from that bottle. The other 3 will wait their ...
- 6,626
12
votes
Accepted
What does soffritto do to minestrone?
A soffritto is the Italian cousin of the French mirepoix. Both consist of small cubes of root vegetables and onions.
The gentle “sweating” in fat enhances the sweetness of the vegetables and brings ...
- 58.6k
12
votes
Accepted
How to keep seasonings from separating in soup
You could use a bouquet garni.
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Bouquet-Garni
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouquet_garni
The bouquet garni... is a bundle of herbs usually tied together with
string ...
- 6,626
12
votes
Where did my fennel go?
Most vegetables starts to lose their natural flavor when cooked too long, which could be the case for your fennel, and the flavor would be even harder to notice after pureeing with rich tomato-butter-...
- 3,591
11
votes
Scaling up water for cooking soup
1.5 litres for 4 servings is 375ml per serving (plus some volume from the veg which I'll ignore) assuming no water boils off. That's a sensible portion. I reckon my soup bowls hold just a little less ...
- 43.7k
11
votes
What's the key to making thick soups?
Make your favorite vegetable soup. Remove 1/4 and puree in blender. Return to the rest of the soup. If it is not yet think enough, increase the amount you remove and puree until you find the ...
- 73.8k
11
votes
Accepted
Making tomato mix thicker without surge in calories
Your primary option if you want to add a thickener, you can use any hydrocolloid you wish. I will not list them here again, since it isn't necessary that every single question on thickeners on the ...
- 136k
11
votes
How can I increase white wine shelf life specifically bought for cooking?
There are 'bag in box' wine packages around, easy to find in some places but harder to find in others.
With those no air comes into the container keeping the wine good for a much longer time.
They ...
- 2,072
10
votes
Help me rescue my bland soup
If too much water is the culprit, then its a simple matter of reducing the soup on the stove top. Just put it in a pot and boil it with the lid off(so the water escapes) until you reached a desired ...
- 8,863
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