SOUP ACCOMPANIMENTS AND GARNISHES

65. The soup course of a meal is a more or less unattractive one, but it

may be improved considerably if some tempting thing in the way of a garnish or an accompaniment is served with it. But whatever is selected to accompany soup should be, in a great measure, a contrast to it in both consistency and color. The reason why a difference in consistency is necessary is due to the nature of soup, which, being liquid in form, is merely swallowed and does not stimulate the flow of the gastric juices by mastication. Therefore, the accompaniment should be something that requires chewing and that will consequently cause the digestive juices, which respond to the mechanical action of chewing, to flow. The garnish may add the color that is needed to make soup attractive. The green and red of olives and radishes or of celery and radishes make a decided contrast, so that when any of these things are served with soup, an appetizing first course is the result. It is not necessary to serve more than one of them, but if celery and radishes or celery, radishes, and olives can be combined in the same relish dish, they become more attractive than when each is served by itself.

66. RADISHES AND CELERY.--Before radishes and celery are used on the table, whether with soup or some other part of a meal, they should be put into cold water and allowed to stand for some time, so that they will be perfectly crisp when they are served. In the case of radishes, the tops and roots should first be cut from them, and the radishes then scrubbed thoroughly. They may be served without any further treatment, or they may be prepared to resemble flowers, as is shown in Fig. 8. This may be done by peeling the red skin back to show the white inside, and then cutting the sections to look like the petals of a flower. Little difficulty will be experienced in preparing radishes in this artistic way if a sharp knife is used, for, with a little practice, the work can be done quickly and skilfully.

67. Celery that is to be served with soup may be prepared in two ways, as Fig. 9 illustrates. The stems may be pulled from the stalk and served separately, as in the group on the right, or the stalk may be cut down through the center with a knife into four or more pieces, as shown at the left of the illustration. The first of these methods is not so good as the second, for by it one person gets all of the tender heart and the coarse outside stems are left for all the others. By the second method, every piece consists of some of the heart and some of the outside stems attached to the root and makes a similar serving for each person. Whichever way is adopted, however, the celery should be scrubbed and cleansed thoroughly. This is often a difficult task, because the dirt sticks tightly between the stems. Still, an effort should be made to have the celery entirely free from dirt before it goes to the table. A few tender yellow leaves may be left on the pieces to improve the appearance of the celery.

68. CRACKERS.--Various kinds of wafers and crackers can be purchased to serve with soup, and the selection, as well as the serving of them, is entirely a matter of individual taste. One point, however, that must not be overlooked is that crackers of any kind must be crisp in order to be appetizing. Dry foods of this sort absorb moisture from the air when they are exposed to it and consequently become tough. As heat drives off this moisture and restores the original crispness, crackers should always be heated before they are served. Their flavor can be improved by toasting them until they are light brown in color.

69. CROUTONS.--As has already been learned, croutons are small pieces of bread that have been fried or toasted to serve with soup. These are usually made in the form of cubes, or dice, as is shown in the front group in Fig. 10; but they may be cut into triangles, circles, ovals, hearts, or, in fact, any fancy shape, by means of small cutters that can be purchased for such purposes. The bread used for croutons should not be fresh bread, as such bread does not toast nor fry very well; left-over toast, stale bread, or slices of bread that have been cut from the loaf and not eaten are usually found more satisfactory. If the croutons are not made from slices already cut, the bread should be cut into slices 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, and, after the crusts have been closely trimmed, the slices should be cut into cubes. When the cubes have been obtained, they may be put into a shallow pan and toasted on all sides quickly, placed in a frying basket and browned in deep fat, or put into a frying pan and sautéd in butter. If toast is used, it should merely be cut in the desired shape.

Various methods of serving croutons are in practice. Some housewives prefer to place them in the soup tureen and pour the soup over them, while others like to put a few in each individual serving of soup. A better plan, however, and one that is much followed, is to serve a number of croutons on a small plate or dish at each person's place, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, for then every one may eat them in the way preferred.

70. BREAD STICKS.--A soup accompaniment similar in nature to croutons, and known as bread sticks, is made of pieces of bread 1/2 inch wide, 1/2 inch thick, and several inches long. These are toasted on each side and are served in place of crackers. A number of them are shown in the back row in Fig. 10. Variety in bread sticks may be secured by spreading butter over them before the toasting is begun or by sprinkling grated cheese over them a few minutes before they are removed from the oven. Bread sticks are usually served on a bread-and-butter plate to the left of each person's place at the table.

71. PASTRY STRIPS.--A very appetizing addition to soup may be made by cutting pastry into narrow strips and then baking these strips in the oven until they are brown or frying them in deep fat and draining them. Strips prepared in this way may be served in place of crackers, croutons, or bread sticks, and are considered delicious by those who are fond of pastry. Details regarding pastry are given in another Section.

72. SOUP FRITTERS.--If an entirely different kind of soup accompaniment from those already mentioned is desired, soup fritters will no doubt find favor. These are made by combining certain ingredients to form a batter and then dropping small amounts of this into hot fat and frying them until they are crisp and brown. The accompanying recipe, provided it is followed carefully, will produce good results.

SOUP FRITTERS

Beat the egg, and to it add the milk, salt, and flour. Drop the batter in tiny drops into hot fat, and fry until brown and crisp. Drain on paper and serve with the soup.

73. EGG BALLS.--To serve with a soup that is well flavored but not highly nutritious, egg balls are very satisfactory. In addition to supplying nutrition, these balls are extremely appetizing, and so they greatly improve a course that is often unattractive. Careful attention given to the ingredients and the directions in the accompanying recipe will produce good results.

EGG BALLS

Mash the cooked yolks, and to them add the butter, salt, and pepper, and enough of the uncooked yolk to make the mixture of a consistency to handle easily. Shape into tiny balls. Roll in the white of egg and then in flour and sauté in butter. Serve in the individual dishes of soup.

74. FORCEMEAT BALLS.--Another delicious form of accompaniment that improves certain soups by adding nutrition is forcemeat balls. These contain various nutritious ingredients combined into small balls, and the balls are then either sautéd or fried in deep fat. They may be placed in the soup tureen or in each person's soup.

FORCEMEAT BALLS

Cook the bread crumbs and milk to form a paste, and to this add the butter, beaten egg white, and seasonings. Pound the chicken or fish to a pulp, or force it through a food chopper and then through a purée strainer. Add this to the first mixture. Form into tiny balls. Roll in flour and either sauté or fry in deep fat. Serve hot.

75. AMERICAN FORCEMEAT BALLS.--A simple kind of forcemeat balls may be made according to the accompanying recipe. The meat used may be sausage provided especially for the purpose or some that is left over from a previous meal. If it is not possible to obtain sausage, some other highly seasoned meat, such as ham first ground very fine and then pounded to a pulp, may be substituted.

AMERICAN FORCEMEAT BALLS

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the onion finely chopped. Fry for several minutes over the fire. Soak the bread in water until thoroughly softened and then squeeze out all the water. Mix with the bread the egg, salt, pepper, nutmeg, parsley, and meat, and to this add also the butter and fried onion. Form small balls of this mixture and sauté them in shallow fat, fry them in deep fat, or, after brushing them over with fat, bake them in the oven. Place a few in each serving of soup.

SOUP

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS

(1) (a) Mention the two purposes that soups serve in a meal, (b) What are the qualities of a good soup?

(2) (a) Mention the two general classes of soup. (b) Explain and illustrate how to choose a soup.

(3) Why is soup an economical dish?

(4) (a) Explain in full the meaning of stock as applied to soup. (b) For what purposes other than soup making is stock used?

(5) (a) What is the value of the stock pot? (b) What care should be given to it?

(6) Mention some of the materials that may be put into the stock pot.

(7) (a) Why are the tough cuts of meat more suitable for soup than the tender ones? (b) Name the pieces that are best adapted to soup making.

(8) (a) What proportion of bone to meat should be used in making soup from fresh meat? (b) For what two purposes are vegetables used in soup?

(9) Explain briefly the making of stock from meat.

(10) (a) Why should the cooking of the meat for stock be started with cold water rather than with hot water? (b) What disposal should be made of meat from which stock is made?

(11) (a) Of what value are flavorings in the making of soups? (b) What precaution should be taken in the use of flavorings?

(12) Explain how grease may be removed from soup.

(13) How may soup be cleared?

(14) (a) For what purposes is thickening used in soups? (b) Mention the materials most used to thicken soups.

(15) What precaution should be taken to keep soup or stock from spoiling.

(16) What point about the serving of soup should be observed if an appetizing soup is desired?

(17) What kind of dish is used for serving: (a) thin soup? (b) thick soup?

(18) (a) What is a cream soup? (b) Give the general directions for making soup of this kind.

(19) (a) How may the soup course of a meal be made more attractive? (b) In what ways should soup accompaniments be a contrast to the soup?

(20) (a) Explain the making of croutons. (b) What is the most satisfactory way in which to prepare celery that is to be served with soup?

ADDITIONAL WORK

Plan and prepare a dinner menu from the recipes given in the lessons that you have studied. Submit the menu for this dinner and give the order in which you prepared the dishes. In addition, tell the number of persons you served, as well as what remained after the meal and whether or not you made use of it for another meal. Send this information with your answers to the Examination Questions.