Home › Soup's On! › Beer Soup-1
Beer Soup-1
A hot beer soup in German style is similar to an English posset, being 1 quart of mild beer simmered with 2 slices lemon, a clove, a bit of cinnamon and sugar to taste. This is strained onto 4 beaten eggs and 1 cup of cream; all beaten to a creamy frothiness and poured over a slice of toast in bottom of warm tureen.
Or you might make it with canned milk instead of cream, or plain milk.
I PINT BEER I CUP WATER SALT AND SUGAR
A hot beer custard in the old posset manner: spiced beer strained onto eggs and cream, whisked to a froth and poured over toast. It stands or falls on temperature control.
- The hinge: never let it boil after the eggs go inPour the strained hot beer into the beaten eggs and cream in a thin stream while whisking hard, then keep the mixture below a simmer. Beer is acidic, and acid plus direct heat will scramble the eggs into threads rather than thickening them.
- What "mild beer" meansIn older usage 'mild' generally meant a fresh, unsoured beer rather than a particular style; in practice a low-hopped, malty, modestly alcoholic ale works best. A heavily hopped or sour beer will read bitter or curdled alongside the sugar and cream.
- QuantitiesA quart is 4 cups; with 4 eggs and a cup of cream that comes to roughly 6 cups of soup, enough for four as a first course. Note that the recipe's own closing line gives a smaller measure — a pint of beer with a cup of water — so the two sets of quantities in the text do not agree.
- Egg safetyThe hot beer alone may not carry the mixture to a safe temperature once cold cream is added. If you are serving anyone vulnerable, use pasteurized eggs, or bring the finished soup to 160F on an instant-read thermometer while stirring constantly.
- Canned milkThe "canned milk" of the period is normally unsweetened evaporated milk, richer than plain milk but thinner than cream. Condensed milk is sweetened and will overwhelm the dish.
- Spicing and sugarOne clove and a small piece of stick cinnamon are enough for a quart; more and the soup tastes medicinal. Start with two tablespoons of sugar and adjust after the eggs are in, since the cream mutes sweetness.
- The toastUse a firm, dry-toasted slice of rye or country bread, not soft sandwich bread, which dissolves. Warm the tureen or bowls first — the soup cools fast and is unpleasant lukewarm.