It is written that the chefs of France in the time of Louis, Le Grand Monarque, devised bouillon and consommé because mastication was considered vulgar. In reality, the French use of broth in cookery was occasioned by necessity. For France at that time was lacking in oil, butter, and the animal fats used with spices by other nations for the production of moist dishes of richness and flavor. The French learned many things in cookery from the Italians, but neither the ancients nor the Italians had ever made any application of the broth of meat in general cookery.

The origin of soups in their simpler forms dates back to the childhood of the world. Tyler, in his "Early History of Mankind," refers repeatedly to flesh cooked by the process of "stone-boiling," in the paunch or hide of the slaughtered beast; and he says, "For drink they have the broth of the meat." According to the historians, those peoples who cooked their food in this way ranked a grade higher in civilization than they who simply broiled or roasted their meat over the fire, the earliest and simplest form of cookery. When we feel that the larger part of a day is too much time to be consumed in making soup stock, it may be comforting to consider for a moment the time and labor involved in "stone-boiling." Into the hide were put water and the flesh to be cooked and then the stones, made hot in the fire, were dropped in to remain until they became cool, when others were put in their places.

Soups are classified first, in accordance with the presence or absence of "stock" as a foundation. By stock, in soup making, is meant those juices and soluble portions of meat, or fish, together with soluble portions of bone and vegetables, which have been extracted by slow cooking and stored for future use. This material is more or less solid after it has become cold, according to the gelatinous nature of the ingredients and the proportions of meat or fish and water it contains. Bouillon and consommé belong to this class of soups.

Soups, made without stock as a basis, are called soups maigre, from a French word meaning lean, or poor. The pottage for which Esau sold his birthright was probably a soup of this kind, being made of the red lentils of Egypt. Many soups of this class, however, are often made with stock as a part of the liquid. The following outline may serve as a guide to the proper understanding of the subject:

Soup Guide

Fruit soups are quite generally used on the continent of Europe, more particularly in Germany. In this country they are used chiefly as an appetizer, or at a luncheon. Besides the general names given above, soups receive special names from their color: as white, brown, or amber; or from the garnishing used, as macaroni, noodle, or julienne.

Soups are thin or thick according to the absence or presence of material that gives body, or consistence to the liquid. This material is either roux, blond or brown, according of the color of the soup, meunière, i.e., flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot mixed with water, one tablespoonful of the former to four of the latter, egg yolks beaten and diluted with cream or milk, two yolks to half a cup of liquid, or starchy material, as barley, rice, sago, tapioca.

Thickenings for soups: Roux, Meuniere, Egg yolks, Grains, Tapioca, etc

Roux may be added to any soups that have not been clarified. It is usually added to soups made of the legumes, or potatoes. Stir a little of the hot soup gradually into the roux, and when smoothly diluted stir the mixture into the soup kettle; stir continuously until the soup boils, then let simmer ten minutes. Add the meunière in the same manner as the roux, but let cook at least twenty minutes in the soup. Arrowroot may be used in a clear soup - a level tablespoonful to a quart - flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot may be used in other soups. To beaten yolks of eggs diluted with liquid add gradually a little of the hot soup, then stir into the soup, which should not be let rise to boiling point, stir until the egg looks cooked, then turn at once into the tureen. If the soup boils after the egg is added, it will present a curdled appearance. Rice or barley is often cooked in a chicken or mutton soup: sago and tapioca may be used in almost any soups, excepting cream soup, purées and the like. These may be cooked in a little water and added to the soup, or cooked in the stock.

A clear soup is a most fitting and agreeable prelude to a ceremonial dinner. It is a savor to health before any dinner, as it is quickly absorbed by the linings of the stomach and gently stimulates that organ to take care of the more substantial nourishment that is to follow. A cream soup, purée, bisque, or chowder is substantial in itself and may fittingly form the chief article of a meal for rich or poor alike.