Wow! Great lesson, and fantastic videos. Here I am just sitting down to breakfast, and I can hardly wait for lunch so I can make one of these amazing looking soups. My mouth is watering!

This is a prime reason why, i love this cooking school.i'm learning so much,great lesson.My compliments too the chef's.

Are the pots and pans used in the videos brand new?? If not, what is the secret to keeping them looking brand new? BTW,, great lesson!

The pots used in this particular lesson are from Le Creuset. Their stuff is one of our favorite brands in the kitchen. I do have to confess though, that the pots were brand new which is part of the reason why they looked so clean and shiny :-) The size we used in the video was the 4qt. Cheers!

Garlic cloves vary considerably in size. When a recipe calls for a 2 cloves of garlic, I am never quite sure how much garlic I should actually end up with. If I use two small cloves, it is often the same or less than I would get from one large clove. Obviously, personal taste is the key, and I like garlic, but also don't want to overpower a dish. When YOU say crush two cloves of garlic, how much are you really suggesting?

Indeed, you are correct that the amount of garlic one uses in a dish really comes down to personal preference. Whenever we suggest a particular amount we are assuming the cloves are not too big nor too small...just somewhere in the middle, but again I would not over think it. Cheers!

Or is that synchronicity? This is such an appropriate lesson for me right now. I have a project of converting some soup recipes I have that use the technique of adding heavy cream at the end of the cooking to render it "creamed". This has never worked for me because of several factors. I am trying to be mindful of calories and fat, these soups tend to split or separate when the milk product is added or when they are reheated and it does not make the soup thicker, which is something I enjoy. I have come to associate a certain amout of thickness with these soups.

Now, using a bechamel or veloute does not necessarily mean that the soup is going to be low calorie or low fat, but i can play with that and use lower fat milks, but it does make the soup more stable and adds that thickness and mouth feel.

With encouragement, hints and the ratios of ingredients in this lesson it should make it that much easier to get these recipes into shape to make the sort of stable and rich tasting soups I am going for.

Other than color retention as mentioned in this lesson, what are the benefits of blanching? What is the process of blanching? For how long should a product be blanched for? BTW - excellent lesson!

You are in luck Brian, as we have an entire lesson called "Cooking Vegetables in Water" and there is an a whole topic on how and why to blanch vegetables. You might also want to watch the lesson on "Preserving Vegetable Pigments". Hope this helps. Cheers!

Thanks Dawn! I hadn't made it to that lesson yet, but will be sure to get right on it!! You and all the Rouxbe staff are excellent!!

I just started the lessons and I am very glad I did for I am a big soup person!! Living in Minnesota you gotta love soup and with this lesson I am going to try the tips out and see how much my family will love my soups now!! Thank you for such a great lesson.

It's amazing how easy it is to make delicious soup after watching this video and following the steps. I made cream of broccoli soup and it was delicious. I don't think I've had better. Thank you for the lesson!

I am having a great time making up soup recipes. A good portion of the products and produce required for some of these soup recipes simply aren't available here. I am quickly learning what substitutions work, and what doesn't, what blends together and what doesn't, and which of our available spices and herbs add to the final taste of the soup.

I have also had fun blending two left over soups together to sample the end result. Today I combined some left-over New England Clam Chowder with some left-over silky Thai Coconut Squash soup and added a dash of HOT curry powder. The result was phenomenal and my wife thought for sure I had made another amazing soup from scratch. She had no idea it was left-overs. Confidence in the kitchen is a wonderful thing.

What I like about this lesson is understanding ratios in cream-based soups. It allows me to create soups that fit my needs based on who is at my table.

Great lesson! I made a spinach soup according to your techniques and could't believe it was just spinach! I also appreciated the proportions of ingredients that you mentioned. Greetings from Brasil!

Great basic lesson. I would like to know if a roux-based soup can be frozen, and if it breaks down upon thawing. Would the dairy be added after thawing? Because I'm single, it makes sense to make large pots of soups and save them as individual servings. Thanks!

Yes, many roux-based soups can be frozen. If adding cream, I would generally add it afterwards (unless you are freezing leftovers). Just note that soups that contain green vegetables will not always be as vibrant after being reheated etc. Also, some vegetable tend to break down a bit when frozen, some potatoes for example, so that's just something to keep in mind. I say make a soup that you like and then freeze some of it and see how it holds up in comparison to when it was fresh. Hope this helps. Cheers!

p.s. When titling your questions, it is better to use a descriptive title, that way when other users are searching through the forum for help they can find potential answers/questions easier. Hope you don't mind me saying that, it just makes it easier and more helpful for everyone :-)

My bad about the title. Thought that was where I would put my "handle".
Thanks for the response.

I really really REALLY loved this lesson! For some reason I have never been able to make a decent soup. I made a soup tonight that was wierd, but awesome. I wanted to make cream of broccoli soup, but I didn't have any broccoli, so I used broccoli and red clover sprouts. Actually very good :) Thank you Rouxbe!!!!!

I was trying to make a cream of sauerkraut soup with swiss cheese and brats. It tasted great when I finished but, there was a sticky residue on the spoon (after stirring) and on the side of the pot. What happened? Is this filler or something from the cheese? Are there certain cheeses you SHOULDN'T use in soup? Please help.
Dennis

It is best to use cheese that has a high fat content and is suitable for melting. Low-fat cheese won't produce as nice of a texture. Perhaps it was the type of cheese you used or perhaps the cheese may have curdled slightly because of the acidity in the sauerkraut. Was the soup grainy at all? Next time, make sure to use full fat melting cheeses and temper them into the soup. Cheers!

Hi All,

I have the recipe below for a cream of snapper soup. I don't want to use the cream but want it to be a creamy consistency like the cauliflower soup that was part of the Roux-Based Soup lesson. I'm wondering how I'd go about adapting the recipe using the techniques learnt in that lesson. After sweating the leek, carrot, potato and garlic in the butter, would it work if I added some flour so that I was making a roux? After adding half the fish, I thought I could then add the water and wine, just as I'd add the stock or milk when making a roux-based soup. Then continue on with the original recipe.

I'm of two minds whether this would work as the potato is a starch so it might end up being too thick. I guess I'm trying to use the techniques I've learnt in the cooking lessons so that I can adapt or create new dishes. This is my first go at it so I'm a bit nervous and would love some advice so that I know I'm on the right track. Thanks

INGREDIENTS

60g butter
500g snapper fillets
1 leek
1 carrot
1 potato
1 clove garlic
375ml (1½ cups) dry white wine
375ml (1½ cups) water
salt
pepper
125ml (½ cup) cream
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
METHOD

Remove skin and bones from fillets. Melt butter in pan, add washed sliced leek, chopped carrot, peeled and sliced potato and crushed garlic. Cook, covered, 5 minutes. Cut fish into 2.5cm (tin) cubes, add half the fish to saucepan, cook further 1 minute. Add wine and water, bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer covered 20 minutes. Puree soup in blender, a portion at a time. Return to saucepan, add remaining fish, cream, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered 5 minutes; stir in chives and parsley.

Well, lot's of variables to deal with here, such as size of leek, carrot and potato. You're on the right track thinking that adding flour (you'll need about 2 Tablespoons) will help AND that the starch of the potato will thicken the soup. I'd do both for assurance.

Remember that pureeing the carrot will affect the end colour, which would not be a negative. The recipe calls for a lot of wine, so make sure to simmer off its alcohol before adding the water. If you want to avoid cream altogether, substitute the water with milk or stock. Also, make sure to cut the vegetables small so they cook quickly and to a soft texture.

Other than that, have no fear. Your fear is not knowing how it will turn out. My experience tells me you're ready to go. My experience also tells me that once you make this soup you'll have ideas on how to improve the dish, and that's why we cook, we pay attention to what happens in the kitchen AND THEN take that experience to the table. Have a nice soup, Gabrielle.

Gabrielle,

It will be interesting to learn how your soup turns out. Please keep us all updated. I wonder about simmering the snapper for 20 minutes. It seems like that might be a little too long. You might want to saute the snapper cubes to the desired doneness and set aside, adding the snapper to the soup just before serving.

Thanks for the advice Tony and Leigh. I'll try and give it a go this weekend if I can. Will let you know how it goes if it turns out ok.