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Soup

To Clear Soups

A method for clarifying soups by removing fat and forming a clear broth.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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To Clear Soups

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the stock

  1. Remove all fat from the stock.

Clarify the soup

  1. Beat the egg thoroughly with the cold stock.

  2. Heat gradually while stirring to prevent the egg from settling until it boils.

  3. Boil for 5 to 10 minutes until a scum rises.

  4. Add a little cold water, then strain carefully through a cloth and wire strainer.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Egg (shell and white)
Its white coagulates as it heats, trapping cloudy particles so they can be strained out clear.
Stock
Forms the body of the soup, and is clarified so it becomes clear rather than cloudy.

The step that matters

Heating gradually while stirring. If the egg settles and heats unevenly, it can set in lumps or scorch on the bottom before it has trapped the cloudy particles, leaving the soup cloudy. Gentle, constant stirring keeps the egg suspended until the raft forms as the stock comes to a boil.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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