Soup/Potage/Suppe/Zuppa/Shorba/Sopa/Marmites/Soep

A soup is a flavourful and nutritious liquid food generally served at the beginning of a meal or a snack.These are the second course on the French Classical Menu and are referred to as "potage". Soups will have textures, colours, and flavours depending upon the type of soup made,while stock would just be white or brown and usually always a liquid with no texture.

Classification of Soups Fig 1.1

Broth: It is a liquid food preparation, typically consisting of either water or an already flavored stock, or broth may be defined as a stock-based soup which is not thickened. It is served unpassed and garnished with chopped herbs, vegetables, or meats. e.g. minestrone, scotch broth etc.While serving broths as soups, one should add reduced stock or glaze to give body to the soup.

Consomme: A consomme is a clear soup which is clarified with egg whites. It is an old saying that if one can read the date on the dime of thrown in four litres of consomme. it is named after the garnish used in the soups.

e.g.

Beef Consomme:

• Brunoise – A brunoise of leeks, carrots, turnip, celery, peas and chervil
• Celestine consomme – Julienne of savory crepe, traditionally thickened with tapioca for clarity.
• Julienne consomme – Julienne of leeks, carrots, turnips, celery, cabbage, sorrel and chervil.

Chicken Consomme:

• Caroline – Royale, rice and chervil
• Mimosa – Sieved white and yolk of hard-boiled egg

Fish Consomme:

• George Sand – White fish and crayfish quenelles, morels, carp soft roe on croutons made from French baguette.

Game Consomme:

• Saint-Hubert – White wine, game and lentil royale, julienne of game.

Cream: A cream soup is a passed thick soup. it may be vegetable based or even meat based but most commonly vegetables are used to prepare cream soups. classical recipes thickened with bechamel and finished with cream.

Note: Modern trends , however, avoid bechamel usage because of health reasons and to retain the delicate flavours of the veggies.

E.g. Cream of mushroom, cream of tomato, cream of chicken etc. Some more classic cream soups are as under:-

• Creme Dubarry – Cauliflower
• Creme de Celeri – Celery
• Creme de Tomates – Tomato
• Creme Solferino – Tomato & Potato
• Creme Portugaise – Tomato & Rice
• Creme Palestine – Artichoke
• Creme Soubise – White onion
• Creme de Poireaux – Leek

Veloute: A veloute is a thick soup, which is thickened with blonde roux, passed and finished with a liaison. They may be vegetable or chicken stock based.

E.g.Chicken Veloute.

Puree: Puree soups are thick soups made by cooking and then pureeing vegetables or ingredients used in soup.

E.g. Lentil soup, potato soup, pumpkin soup, green peas soup.

Chowder: Chowders are not strained and traditionally they are seafood-based soups thickened with potatoes and finished with cream or milk originated from USA. 

E.g. Manhattan Chowder, Prawn Chowder, Oyster Chowder.

Bisque: It is a shellfish-based soup, which is passed and  may  be garnished with dices of the seafood used. Traditionally it is thickened with rice and finished with cream.

E.g. Lobster Bisque

Cold Soups: These soups are served cold but not chilled. chilling would dull the flavours and the soup would taste bland.

E.g. Jellied consommes, Gazpacho, Vichyssoise, Cold Cucumber Soup

International Soups: They represent the region of origin. These again do not form a seperate classification various international soups are as under:

Sno.	Name of the Soup	Origin
1	Avgolemono	Greece
2	French Onion	France
3	Gazpacho	Spain
4	Green Turtle	England
5	Manhattan Clam Chowder	USA
6	Minestrone	Italy
7	Mullygatwny	India/Srilanka
8	Scotch Broth	Scotland
9	Shark’s Fin	China
10	Tom-Yum	Thailand