Know your Soups

Nutritious food is mandatory for leading a healthy life. However, there may be times when we lose our appetite and simply cannot intake solid food despite trying to do so. People suffering from ill health, old and weak senior citizens as well as children often avoid chewing on food and seem grow weaker still.

Soups are a convenient way of feeding such people. It can be made highly nutritious by peppering it with a variety of ingredients which enhance our health. Soups frequently double up as appetizers as well.  However the consistency of soups differ greatly and soups can be divided into a number of types depending on their dietary qualities as well as the thickness of the liquid.

Broths- These are clear soups made up of  delicious stock. Chicken or other kind of meat bones are added to the stock in order to enrich it with protein. Other food items like grains, vegetables or slices of fish and poultry may be used to thicken it as well. There is no hard and fast rule for preparing a broth and the soup itself may be supplemented with various kinds of additives as well as flavoring in order to supplement a complete meal with the broth.

Cream Soups- These soups are prepared as the broths but have added cream in it. Milk is also used frequently instead of cream specially when the person taking the soup is forbidden from eating high calorie food products.

Bisque- These are thick and rich soups which contain shell fish in them. Shrimps, lobsters, prawn and crabs are added in good amounts in order to enhance the flavor. Vegetables are also included in bisques more often than not.

Chowders- These are often found in the menus of many fine dining restaurants. Sea food remains the main ingredient of such soups with the vegetables and crackers liberally added to the fare.

Purees- These are thick soups with absolutely no solids visible in them. They are prepared by boiling the vegetables till soft and then straining the liquid from the pulp. This serves admirably as food for babies and old people who have lost their natural dentures.