"There are, alas, many people who don't know how it is possible to make soup without opening a can, just as there are people who don't know it is possible to make pancakes without buying a package of pancake mix, or cornbread without a prepared mix. Soup used to be a regular item on the household cooking list. Everyone who knew how to boil water knew how to make soup, and actually soup making is easy, fun, and a good way of using up odds and ends."
Salley Sherwin (7 Steps to Rock-Bottom Food Costs: A Guide to Kitchen Economy, 1976)
(Available online for free from the Internet Archive)
Basic Soup Stock.
To make a basic stock, put bones into water, adding about one ounce vinegar per quart of water up to a maximum of four ounces vinegar no matter how much more water you use. Vinegar draws out the calcium from the bones and you won't taste it when the soup is done. Add bay leaves (one or two), or basil, or thyme, or dill weed, or combinations of them, or any herbs you like; let the stock simmer a few hours, about two or three, longer if you like. Strain out the bones and return the stock to the pot.
Any meat on the bones can be picked off and returned to the pot; vegetables and any other thickeners you may wish can also be added at this point: grains such as oats, barley, rice; beans, potatoes
Stock may also be made without bones, just from vegetables or a vegetable alone.
Dry Bean or Pea Soup
Serves 4
- 1 cup dry beans or peas
- 1-1/2 quarts cold water
- Ham bone
- 1 small onion, chopped
- Few stalks celery and leaves
- 1 tablespoon flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
Boil beans or peas in half the water for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let soak 1 hour, or overnight if more convenient.
Add rest of water, ham bone, onion, and celery. Simmer until beans or peas are tender.
Remove bone. Put soup through a sieve or food press.
Cut any meat from bone into small pieces. Add to soup. Stir in flour mixed with a little cold water. Cook soup until thickened and hot. Season.
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