Soups & Broths

Soup is the prelude of the dinner; it is a healthy, light and stimulating food, agreeing with every one, especially children and old people. The basis of soup is broth, and therefore it is on this article that one's whole attention must be borne. There are two kinds of soup, fat and lean; they are divided into clear and thick; the garnishings for these soups are either composed of crusts, vegetables, creams of game or poultry, eggs, fish, quenelles, timbales, chiffonades, finely minced herbs, crustacean, farinaceous, etc. These two kinds of soups are divided into six chapters: First, Bisques; second, Consommes and Garnishings; third, Creams; fourth, Cosmopolitan or Mixed; fifth, Fish; sixth, Purees. Purees may be made into creams by using less butter and adding instead cream and egg-yolks, while creams can be turned into purees by suppressing the cream and egg-yolks, and stirring in, when ready to serve, a piece of fresh, fine butter.