Soups are made from meat, fish, and vegetables, with
water or milk ; seasoned or flavored with any or every
kind of vegetable, sweet herbs, spices, currj^ powder,
catchups, aromatic sauces, and with some kinds of fruit.
They are served thin and clear, or thickened with vegeta-
bles or cereals, and with or without meat.
Soups are classified and named in various wa3's, accord-
ing to material, color, quality, etc. Soups with stock have
meat as the basis. Soups without stock are made of fish,
vegetables, and milk. They are sometimes called soup
maigre. Soups are named from flie principal ingredient,
or an imitation of the same, as Potato, Onion, Beef,
Mutton, Chicken, Gumbo, Macaroni, Okra, Ox-tail, Gib-
let, Cock-a-leekie, Lobster, Mock Turtle, Mock Bisque,
etc. ; or from the color, as Clear, or Amber, Brown, and
White ; or from the consistency, as Thin soups and Purees ;
or from the quality, as simple Broths, Bouillon, and Con-
The Boston Cook Book.
121
somme ; or from the season of the year, as Julienne ;
or from the people who nse them, as Scotch Broth, French
Pot-au-feu, Indian Mullagatawnej^ ; or from the name of
the makers, or in any wa}' one's fancy and invention may
suggest. But from the scores, yes, hundreds of receipts
in the cook-books, which seem so bewildering to the be-
ginner, a few simple rules may be deduced which will
make the process of soup-making intelligible ; and when
once the foundation is laid, you may build and enlarge as
3^ou choose.
Do not be discouraged because you have not all the
dozen or more ingredients mentioned in most receipts.
You will find many of them may be omitted with a per-
fectly satisfactory result. Much depends upon what is
omitted, though, as Potage a la Heine without chicken, or
Julienne without vegetables, or Mullagatawney without
curr}" powder, would disappoint those who think only
of the name ; but, called by any other name, you would
find them very good soups.
Soups with Stock.
Soups made with stock include all the varieties made
from beef, veal, mutton, and poultr}'. Perhaps a glance
at the meaning of the word stock will make clear its appli-
cation to cookery. Stock is from the Anglo-Saxon stician^
to stick, and the idea of fixedness is expressed in all its
forms. Stock in trade or business means the money or
material laid b}^, or stored^ stocked^ jixed^ as a source of
supply, ready for use at any time ; and in the business
of soup-making, stock is the material stored or prepared
in such a way that it may be kept or fixed for use in
making different kinds of meat soup ; or, more definitely,
it is a liquid containing the juices and soluble parts of
meat, bone, and vegetables, which have been extracted
by proper cooking. This liquid is more or less solid when
cold, according to the gelatinous nature of the ingredients.
It varies greatly in quality, owing to the manner in which
it is prepared and the material used.
122
The Boston Cook Book.
Page 75
Presented as published in 1884. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Soups are made from meat, fish, and vegetables, with water or milk ; seasoned or flavored with any or every kind of vegetable, sweet herbs, spices, curry powder, catchups, aromatic sauces, and with some kinds of fruit. They are served thin and clear, or thickened with vegetables or cereals, and with or without meat.
Soups are classified and named in various ways, according to material, color, quality, etc. Soups with stock have meat as the basis. Soups without stock are made of fish, vegetables, and milk. They are sometimes called soup maigre. Soups are named from the principal ingredient, or an imitation of the same, as Potato, Onion, Beef, Mutton, Chicken, Gumbo, Macaroni, Okra, Ox-tail, Giblet, Cock-a-leekie, Lobster, Mock Turtle, Mock Bisque, etc. ; or from the color, as Clear, or Amber, Brown, and White ; or from the consistency, as Thin soups and Purees ; or from the quality, as simple Broths, Bouillon, and Con-
The Boston Cook Book.
somme ; or from the season of the year, as Julienne ; or from the people who use them, as Scotch Broth, French Pot-au-feu, Indian Mullagatawnej^ ; or from the name of the makers, or in any way one's fancy and invention may suggest. But from the scores, yes, hundreds of receipts in the cook-books, which seem so bewildering to the beginner, a few simple rules may be deduced which will make the process of soup-making intelligible ; and when once the foundation is laid, you may build and enlarge as you choose.
Do not be discouraged because you have not all the dozen or more ingredients mentioned in most receipts. You will find many of them may be omitted with a perfectly satisfactory result. Much depends upon what is omitted, though, as Potage a la Heine without chicken, or Julienne without vegetables, or Mullagatawney without curry powder, would disappoint those who think only of the name ; but, called by any other name, you would find them very good soups.
Soups with Stock.
Soups made with stock include all the varieties made from beef, veal, mutton, and poultry. Perhaps a glance at the meaning of the word stock will make clear its application to cookery. Stock is from the Anglo-Saxon stician, to stick, and the idea of fixedness is expressed in all its forms. Stock in trade or business means the money or material laid by, or stored, stocked, fixed, as a source of supply, ready for use at any time ; and in the business of soup-making, stock is the material stored or prepared in such a way that it may be kept or fixed for use in making different kinds of meat soup ; or, more definitely, it is a liquid containing the juices and soluble parts of meat, bone, and vegetables, which have been extracted by proper cooking. This liquid is more or less solid when cold, according to the gelatinous nature of the ingredients. It varies greatly in quality, owing to the manner in which it is prepared and the material used.
The Boston Cook Book.