Excerpt from High Class Soups author: Chef Wright

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There are thousands of different style and flavors of soups, yet they all break down into three categories. The first is called clear soups which are mad from stocks or broths and consommés, the second set of soups are referred to as thick soups. These break down to 2 more categories, Cream and Pureed. Cream soups are constructed by cooking your main ingredient in cold water or stock. When the main ingredients are tender it is all pureed together and finished off with some cream to add body and richness. Pureed soups are constructed by cooking the main ingredients in the same fashion as above only the main ingredients are only pureed with part of the cooking liquid thus controlling the thickness of the soup.

We have identified the 3 main types of soups so now lets see how there constructed First we will talk about the broth which is the basis for all soups.

Procedure for preparing broth:

1. Cut the main ingredient whether it me meat or mirepoix (mirepoix is a combination of diced carrots, onion, and celery)

2. Brown the meat in small amount of oil or sweat the mirepoix as necessary

3. Place meat or mirepoix into a sauce pot; add just enough cold water or stock to cover ingredients. Add bouquet or sachet of spices to pot. (Bouquet refers to a group of spices such as thyme, basil and rosemary tied together with butchers twine. A Sachet is basically the same only can be used with a greater variety of spices by taking 2 layers of cheesecloth placing spices in the center then forming a purse and tying closed)

4. Bring liquid slowly to a boil and reduce to a simmer and cook. Skimming occasionally, until the main ingredient is tender and flavor fully develops.

5. Carefully strain through a colander lined with cheesecloth to remove all ingredients and maintain the clarity of the broth.

6. The next step is the most important in regards to food safety. If you are not using the broth rite away you will need to fill a sink with ice and place the vessel, you strained the broth into, into the sink and fill the sink with water. Doing this will cool the broth quicker giving the bacteria that causes food borne illness less time to form. Once the liquid has reached 40° F. cover loosely and place in refrigerator.

Recipes for several broths are located in the cookbook. Next is the consommé, a consommé is just a basic broth that has been clarified.

Procedure for clarifying broth:

The broth or stock must be cold and free from all grease to clarify. The cooling process in the refrigerator will have caused a solid layer of fat to form on the surface just remove it and discard. The cold broth or stock is added to a mixture known as clearmeat. Clearmeat is a mixture of lightly beaten egg whites, ground meat, chicken or fish, mirepoix , herbs and spices, and an acidic product usually tomatoes, lemon juice or wine.

In a stock pot combine the broth or stock with the clearmeat mixture and slowly bring to a simmer. As the mixture simmer the egg whites release a binder that will slowly attach to any impurities and other clearmeat ingredients in the broth pulling it to the top forming a raft. You will want to cut a hole on the center of the raft to allow the liquid to bubble letting it cook the clearmeat mix completely. The longer it simmers the more flavors it releases into the broth. Simmer for 2 hrs.

Next line a strainer with several layers of cheesecloth and slowly pour it through removing all of the impurities in the broth. Next is to completely remove any grease, to do this cool broth down completely and remove all the solidified fat from the surface the result will be a rich flavorful crystal clear consommé.

Thick soups- there are two types of thick soups; Cream soups and Pureed soups.

Process for cream based soups;

1 Simmer the main flavoring ingredient in a white stock (chicken stock) with seasonings until tender.

2 Remove from heat and puree with a food mill or blender. Remember liquid is hot and steam expands so leave the center out of the top of blender and cover with a clean towel.

3 Once purred pour it into a pot. If the puree is too thick you can adjust by adding hot whit stock till you reach the desired constancy. Then finish by adding milk or cream just before serving. Something to remember is that milk adds richness and flavor but it is also a thinner. Cream adds richness and flavor without the thinning properties.

Tip: If you are using soft leafy vegetables like spinach, corn, or broccoli, these cook faster and do not give time for flavor to develop, bring the stock to a boil first letting the flavor develop with the seasonings. Then add your main ingredient simmer until tender.

Tip: If you are using hard vegetables like carrots, celery, or squash you will want to sweat them with butter not letting them brown before adding any liquid.

Tip: Never add cold milk or cream to any hot soup it will sour and curdle quickly. Always heat the milk or cream first. Do not boil the soup after the cream or milk has been added.

Lets Talk Stocks

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No i am not talking about stocks and bonds, that's boring. Stocks are the ground work for many things in cooking. From soups, sauces to brazing liquids, these are very important ingredients. First let me say, there are several good store bought stocks and broths but keep in mind they are all very high in sodium. Nothing is as good as a start from scratch stock, remember your grandma's chicken soup, bet that did not come from a can. I will show you how easy it is and later we will incorporate some of these stocks into fresh soups.

First there are 2 main stocks used in restaurant cooking, beef(or veal) and chicken. Have you gone into a store and seen they have veal and chicken bones for sale and wondered what they are for? well you just found out

For chicken based stock you will need;

a large pot
about 2 pounds of chicken necks or bones
3 quarts water
1 1/2 cups mirepoix (1/2 cup diced onion, 1/2 cup diced carrot, and 1/2 cup diced celery)
fresh rosemary
fresh thyme
salt and black pepper

In large pot over medium heat melt about 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine add mirepoix and saute till it reaches a nice golden color. This is called caramelizing. It helps release all of the oils in the vegetables that hold all the good rich flavor. Once the mirepoix is a nice and brown color add in the chicken bones and let them saute in for 5 min. Next add in Thyme and Rosemary, 1 stalk of each if using fresh. If you want to use dried remember that dried herbs have a more condensed flavor therefor they are stronger. So you can substitute a 1/2 teaspoon of each and mix in well. Next slowly add water to the pot stirring as you do to make sure you get any of the flavor that has stuck to the bottom of pan. Bring to a rolling boil for about 5 min. and reduce to a medium heat and let cook for about an hour. Now any time you make stocks there will be a fatty layer that forms on the top as it simmers take a spoon and skim it of carefully because it is hot and will burn you.


After cooking is done remove from heat and remove bones from pot and discard them. Line a colander with cheese cloth, or if you have a fine mesh strainer that will work, drain broth into a large container so all you have is a nice clear liquid.

Following these steps will yield about 2 quarts of fresh stock


To make a good beef stock all you do is substitute either veal or beef bones and follow the same steps.

Lesson in Cutlery

I keep referring to knives, today we are going to discuss the different types of knives in the industry. Quality, you get what you pay for, so going out to by a 30 dollar set of knives will not cut it. If you are a serious cook, aspiring cook, or want to be a chef you can buy full sets of quality knives for $130.00 - $1500.00 from companies like Hinckel, Wustoff, and Shun. I recommend for the beginner or just the home cook who would like quality knives buy what you need. There are several department stores that sell them at a substantial discount. Kohles.com ,for example, sells Hinckel and Chicago Cutlery at 45% off.

We will be reviewing different styles of knives i have put together in my collection. Keep in mind that these are what work best for me and are the basic that every chef caries in their cutlery bag.

1. The paring Knife-
There are several different styles

This is a flat edge paring knife which is used for garnishes like segmenting citrus fruits. The flat edge of this type knife makes it easy to cut straight and evenly to keep a uniform shape and size in your final product.

The standard paring knife which is used for everything else from coring tomatoes and other vegetables to chopping and dicing shallots. This type of is a must have in any level cooks arsenal.

2. The utility knife - A multiple purpose tool

Shown here are two different size utility knives the first one (the white one) is a 5 inch Bakery- Chef brand with a anti microbial handle. the 5 inch is good to use if you are wanting to take apart a roasted chicken or duck and can also be used to cut small to medium size vegetables.

The other is a 10 inch blade utility which is real nice to cut cooked meats like ham, flank steaks and virtually anything else. I like its longer blade for this purpose because these cuts of meat are larger and the the blade is not flexible like a meat slicing knife.

3. The Santoku -

This knife originated in japan and is considered to be the general purpose knife in the kitchen. You can find them ranging in sizes from 3 to 7 inches with a sheep footed blade which makes cutting through anything including bone easier.

4. Serrated Bread Knife -

Seen here is a 8 inch blade, These knives a very inportant if you bake fresh bread or even if you buy whole loaves of bread. The serrated edge lets you cut through cleanly where a smooth blade will smash the bread.

5. the steel- This is a diamond tip carbon steel, rather inexpensive you can usually find them in any kitchen supply store between $15.00 and $20.00. Knife maintenance is very important, even the most expensive knife out there has to sharpened. Blades get dull and Even get nicks in the blade from use. This is natural so don't think there is something wrong. A good sharpening steel will help prevent this from happening. I hope i have increased your knowledge about the different uses and the importance of quality cutlery. Everyone talks about the quality in the food but as you now see the quality starts with the knife.

Last time we talked about chopping and dicing onions. Now the next technique we need to talk about is the julienne. The word julienne of french origion meaning to cutin tinto square strips 1/8 of an inch x 1/8 of aninch by 2 inces. To do this you need a sharp knife, I recomend a 51/2 inch to 7 inch santoku knife. We will use a carrot for this demonstration because it is the most diffacult.
1. Peel carrot and cut both ends off.

2. Cut carrot into a squre by taking your knife down one edge of the vegitable then rotate placeing the flat side down on the board. then continue until it is squared on all sides.

3. Now cut the carrot into 2 inch sections

4. Next cut the carrot into 1/8 inch sheets lenghtwise

5 now lay sheets out flat and cut into 1/8 inch strips

Now you have nice julienned carrots which will jazz up any salad or any dish of sauted vegitables.

How important is technique

The biggest most important thing about preparing food in the upscale food industry is Technique. This may seem like a scary work but don't let i frighten you. When preparing food for this stage of the industry every thing has to be picture perfect, not at home. I am going to review some of the different techniques used to make you preparation go easier and faster. When you read my recipes you will see it calls for chopped, diced or minced onions. Yes there is a difference. Chopped= a thicker random cuts on the onions into larger pieces, Diced= precision cutting so that everything is uniform in size, and minced = the finest cut which is almost the same as shredding. Now when preparing food for the cooking stage remember the more uniform you product is in size the more evenly it will cook.

chopping onions;
1. Peel a medium size onion and cut in half

2. Place onion cut side down on your board.

3. With a sharp knife, sharp knives are a real important part of food preparation, Slice through the center of the onion twice horizontally carefully not cutting all the way through the other side.

4. Now take your knife place the point where your cut stopped at the heel of the onion on you horizontal cut. Make 4 equal vertical cuts strait down evenly spaced across the surface of the onion. You will end up with a onion octopus which is all still connected at one end.

5. Take your knife and cut across your vertical cuts starting at the end spacing them and equal distance apart. approx. 1/4 inch.

Following these tips will result in an evenly diced onion. I know it sounds complicated but with practice you will end up cutting onion in a fraction of the time and with no tears. lol......
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Fine Dining Cooking Made Easy

First Let me tell you a little about me, I am Jesse Wright born in New England in 1971. I was born with a Passion for food and helping people enjoy the different pleasures the flavors can bring. At the age of 5 my mother had me standing on a chair teaching me how to cook. I have spent most of my life working in the food industry. I moved to Florida in 2007 where i worked under the top Master Chefs in the state writing recipes and menus. After working in a 5 star private club in Saint Petersburg, Fl. preparing food for Governors and Mayors ect.... I thought to my self why should only people who can spend $40 and up per plate be able to appreciate this quality food. I decided to sit down and put a cookbook together with recipes and preparation explanations. Follow the recipes step by step and you will see the success. The first cookbook in this series is Five Star Dining on A One star budget it is available on cd-rom ($12.00) and in print ($10.00). Contact me at firefighter_0376@yahoo.com for information.

Throughout the week i will be posting different recipes and cooking tip so keep checking back.
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