10 soup secrets:

1. A soup often comes first in a meal, be careful not to overdo it with salt, heat and lingering flavors.
2. If you want a light soup with mild flavors, fry the ingredients on low heat and for a longer time. Cooking them this way until they are almost transparent will result in a very elegant soup.
3. If you want a soup with deep, rustic flavors, brown the vegetables on medium to high heat.
4. If you are in a hurry, chop or slice the ingredients into smaller pieces.
5. One way of catching the flavor of a soup is to taste three table spoons in rapid succession (unlike when you are tasting a saltier, richer sauce).
6. If adding wine to a delicate soup, avoid oak aged wines which tend to dominate more than you’ve bargained for.
7. When making mushroom soup it’s a great idea to mix fresh and dried mushrooms. The dried kind will have developed different, rich flavors.
8. When diluting a soup to the desired consistency, avoid using cream or broth. Both ingredients can have a large – and, at this stage, undesired – impact on the flavor.
9. If you want a truly smooth soup use a blender, not a stick/immersion blender. You do not want any lumpy surprises…
10. Don’t forget the garnish. A soup seldom looks exciting all by itself and something crunchy goes great with all that smoothness.