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The secret to good soup

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maggiecon
maggiecon Posts: 412 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
edited 16 September 2014 at 3:39PM in Old style MoneySaving
Sorry if this has been discussed before but I couldn't find anything.




I am trying to find the secret to making a good tasty soup. I have attempted to make soup so many times over the years and it never turns out well. It is always very bland and nothing like the soup you get in cafes/restaurants.


I have had some limited success with Carrot and Coriander soup but that's it. Is it the stock I am using? Is it the ratio of liquid to vegetables? I would really love some tips/suggestions


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  • pm2326
    pm2326 Posts: 1,096 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    edited 8 September 2014 at 7:23PM
    Hi

    Are you adding any spices/herbs to your soups?

    I make a butternut squash soup which is

    1 squash diced
    1 onion diced
    1 pint veg stock made with a stock cube
    1 tsp black pepper
    sml piece ginger
    1 garlic clove
    pinch chilli flakes

    cook until squash is soft then blend until preferred thickness

    ...its anything but bland.
  • softpad
    softpad Posts: 1,239 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Good stock is essential and I usually add roasted onion
    MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOUR
  • madvixen
    madvixen Posts: 577 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    Good stock and lots and lots of seasoning. I remember making my Mum's lentil soup for the first time and it was horrible, nothing like hers tasted. I'd added the same amount of pepper that I would to a plate of food not realising that I needed to add so much more as it was much larger in volume.

    What sort of soups do you like?
  • If it's bland it's possible that you're not reducing adequately. Add no salt and simmer till the flavours are intense enough, then season
  • Horace
    Horace Posts: 14,426 Forumite
    I make a soup out of carrots, onion, tomatoes, pearl barley and water. I never use a stock cube or salt but do add lots of herbs and a lot of black pepper. I cook in the slow cooker all day until all the veggies are soft and I use my stick blender to blend it so it looks better (I still have a few lumps in it).

    I don't have any complaints from my chums and it always tastes nice with a bit of a kick to it.
  • JIL
    JIL Posts: 8,835 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I used to make bland soup until I made some on a vegetarian cookery course.
    I now chop all my veges, I was advised to always use four or more varieties. Use a big pan and warm up a bit of butter or some oil. Add the veg and swet it over a low heat for as long as twenty minutes. Then you can add herbs, spices, etc. Top up with a good stock and simmer until the vegetables are cooked through. Taste and adjust seasoning. You can blend half, none or all. Add cream, grated cheese, cream cheese etc.
    Frugal in Cornwall has a soup recipe she posted yesterday that I make into a vege version and its very good.
  • meritaten
    meritaten Posts: 24,158 Forumite
    I like to use roasted veg - roasting brings out the flavour. but, you can make very tasty soup by adding stock cubes - just remember that most of them can contain salt, and don't add salt until you have tasted the soup at the very end of cooking.

    I always make sure I have vegetable stock cubes - if my soups or gravies taste a bit bland I can add one or two and it transforms the flavour.
  • There's nothing like a soup made with homemade stock. Thrifty use for vege odds and ends, or a carcass if you have one, just need to simmer it for a lot longer than you might think.

    After that, only just cover the soup ingredients with the stock. You can always add a little more liquid later on.
  • Lilyplonk
    Lilyplonk Posts: 1,145 Forumite
    I'm with meritaten on this one - unless you've managed to get a good amount of strong home-made vegetable stock, you will need Veggie Stock Cubes - even alongside a chicken stock. I get through more of these than any other cubes.

    I also like to add a couple of sticks of celery with the onions when sweating-off the veggies. I read somewhere that onions, carrots and celery are considered akin to 'the holy trinity' when it comes to soup/stock- making.
  • I agree lilyplonk and I have been making HM for over 50 years.my favourite is parsnip and apple and I always add a bit of grated nutmeg to this one.I have a book one of my friends bought me a couple of years ago called The Soup Bible and its got some fabulous stuff in it. I daresay you could get it from the library.But adding stuff like herbs or spices as you go along is the key after all you can add but not take away:)My basic soup always starts with a handful of diced onion sweated in the pan first until translucent.I always have celery in the fridge and a bendy stick or two diced up makes a lot of difference as well.I have soup almost daily as its either lunch with cheese and crackers or starter before dinner in the evening..Great way to use up any odds and ends of past-their -best veg as well.
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