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Peanut Soup
Since the many really good preparations of nuts, in the form of nut butter, have been put on the market, nut soups may be quickly made. These soups are said to have a distinctly meaty flavor, that of nuts being partially transformed in the blending with the other ingredients. For an emergency soup the following is one of the most easily made: 1/2 cup of peanut butter; 1 pint milk; liquor strained from 1 pint of oysters. Salt and paprika.
Rub the peanut butter to a smooth paste with a little of the milk, and add, stirring thoroughly, the remainder of the milk (heated); put over the fire and simmer slowly until it thickens, then add the hot oyster liquor, which has been brought thoroughly to a boil and skimmed. Add the seasoning and serve with saltine crackers.
Instead of the oyster liquor the juice may be strained from a can of tomatoes. Bring it to a boil, and add a pinch of soda before putting it with the milk and nuts.
A three-ingredient emergency soup that depends entirely on the quality of the peanut butter and on keeping the milk below a boil. It makes about three cups, enough for three or four small first-course servings.
- The hinge: never boil the milkPeanut butter thickens milk quickly and the solids catch on the bottom the moment it goes past a simmer. Use a heavy pan over low heat, or a double boiler, and stir until the mixture coats a spoon — five to eight minutes is enough.
- Peanut butterThe "nut butters put on the market" around 1900 were generally ground peanuts, often salted but not sweetened, and without the stabilisers of later brands. Use a natural grind with no added sugar; a sweetened commercial spread will make the soup taste like dessert. Stir the jar well, since the oil separation matters here.
- Oyster liquorOne pint of shucked oysters yields roughly half a cup to a cup of liquor, depending on how they were packed. Strain it through a fine sieve or damp cloth to catch shell grit, then boil and skim as directed — that step removes the coagulated protein that would otherwise cloud the soup.
- SaltOyster liquor is very salty and varies from batch to batch. Season only after the two liquids are combined.
- The tomato variationThe pinch of soda neutralizes enough acid to keep the milk from curdling. A pinch means well under 1/8 teaspoon for this quantity; more will give a soapy, flat taste. Adding the hot tomato juice to the milk mixture rather than the reverse also helps.
- ConsistencyIf it tightens too much on standing, thin with additional hot milk. Peanut butter soups continue to thicken as they cool.
- ServingSaltines are the period accompaniment; the salt and crunch are doing real work against a soup that is soft in both texture and flavor. Paprika should go on at the table, where its color survives.