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Sensational Soup

Ask someone about his or her favorite food when the temperatures drop to freezing or below—maybe with a little snow and wind thrown in—and chances are good that a lot of them are going to say soup. When you're chilled to the bone (and if you live in a snowy climate, you know what that phrase means), there's nothing like a bowl of hot soup to warm the body and spirit. A pot of soup or stew simmering on top of the stove brings a steamy warmth to the kitchen, disperses delicious aromas throughout the house, and provides a splash of color to a season that can often get a little dreary. (If you live in a warmer climate, soups can still brighten your day — for example, our delicious Grilled Gazpacho — but you're missing a classic "comfort food" experience.)

Soups are part of many of our weekly menus, with recipes reflecting personal tastes and preferences, nutritional values, and even family culture and heritage. We all have our favorites, but when it comes to these stovetop concoctions, there's great advice to be followed in the classic children's French folktale, "Stone Soup." In this story, a hungry traveler tells a village of peasants (who have told him that there is nothing to eat) that he will make a delicious soup from nothing but stones and share it with them. Water is added to a kettle with a stone, and then, one by one, the villagers make seemingly insignificant contributions — a carrot, a little meat, and other ingredients in response to the traveler's comments that the items will make this Stone Soup the best ever. In the end, of course, they all share a delicious pot of soup. There are two great lessons about cooking soup to take from this story: one, that when it comes to soup-making, anything goes—and two, soup always seems to taste better when enjoyed with others.

A good soup warms the belly and the spirits. In fact, the first restaurants—located in Paris—were so called because they sold hearty soups to restaurer (restore) patrons. But we're not only talking a hot mug on a cold day. There's a soup for every occasion and every taste. Whether it's a light consommé served as the first course of a special meal, a refreshing fruit soup on a warm afternoon, or a hearty stew in the midst of a snowstorm, soup fits the bill. And when you make your own soup you can customize—chunky or smooth, spicy or mild, light on onions, heavy on garlic, hot or cold, and, of course, seasoned to perfection.

Fantastic, memorable soups require an artful use of seasonings. Let Frontier help you broaden your soup horizons! Here’s some expert soup and soup seasoning info.

Nutrition, special diets...and kids!

Soups offer a tasty meal packed with nutrition for all members of the family, especially children who sometimes tend to avoid vegetables. For the younger set, vegetables are often more palatable in soup or stew than when served by themselves on a dinner plate. Soups also offer nutritious fare for special diets, including vegetarians or people who need to watch their salt or fat intake. Decreasing—or even eliminating — salt is easy with the help of herbs and spices. And, while many soups are naturally low in fat, the fat in heftier varieties, such as ham and bean, can be easily reduced by refrigerating the soup. (As the soup chills, the fat rises to the top and solidifies. It can then be removed with a spoon or spatula before reheating. Same great flavor, but much lower in fat!)

Affordable fare

And soup's wealth of nutrition comes without a lot of expense. A beef roast that would typically feed the family for one or two meals can be stretched to provide several meals when used as an ingredient in soup. The grains, beans, rice, pasta and vegetables in your soup recipes are relatively inexpensive ingredients that help you create healthy meals, even on a tight budget.

And don't think that your big pot of soup or stew has to be eaten for days at a time. Just make more than you'll need and freeze the rest for a quick meal at a later date. First chill the soup in the refrigerator, and then place in freezer containers. (Because liquids expand when they freeze, you'll want to leave about 1/4 inch headspace at the top.) Though many will last a few months, most soups are best when served within a month of freezing. When ready to serve, thaw soup in the refrigerator and then reheat. If your cream soup has separated during freezing, simply whisk after defrosting.

Quick Links

Broth Powders and Soup Mixes
Instant Soup Mixes
Dehydrated Beans
Dried Vegetables
Soup & Chili Recipes

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Soup vocabulary

With so many culinary influences from around the world, it's no wonder we have such a wide glossary of terms when it comes to soup. What are the differences between soup and stew, broth and bisque, puree and potage?

Basically, soup is a combination of foods (meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, beans, grains, etc.) that are cooked in water or broth. By definition, soups contain more liquid than stew. While stew may feature the same basic ingredients as soup, it differs in that it's cooked in a covered pot for a much longer period of time and at a lower, simmering temperature. In stew, the cooking liquid and the natural juices of the other foods are combined during the boiling-down process, and a thicker end product is the result.

Soups are generally classified as clear soups or thick soups. Clear soups include broth (also sometimes called stock or bouillon), which is made by simmering meat, fish, grains, or vegetables in water, and then skimming off the fat and straining out the ingredients. Broth can be enjoyed on its own, or as the base for other soups, sauces, or gravies. Consommé is a more refined broth that is clarified through additional strainings and cooked down for a more concentrated flavor.

Stocks are defined by their color. White Stock is made from poultry, veal, or fish, while Brown Stock comes from beef, beef bones, or a combination of beef and veal. While the terms broth and stock are often used interchangeably, some cooks claim that stock is actually made from just water and bones.

Thick soups include cream soups, purees, and bisques. Cream soups rely on a combination of milk (or cream) and flour for the base, while a puree is thickened with pulp or starch, typically from a vegetable source. A thick soup made with pureed shellfish and milk or cream is called bisque.

And potage? Apparently, it was a staple in the peasant diet in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, and consisted of meat and vegetables that were boiled in water until they formed a thick soup. Hmmm. Sounds like stew to us!

Soup Herbs, Spices & Other Seasonings
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