Friday, July 2, 2010

Thicken A Soup Chowder







A thick, creamy chowder soup.


There is nothing better than a hot bowl of freshly prepared chowder soup on a cold day. The rustic, creamy flavors of a chowder are comforting, but they can be hard to replicate for home cooks. Thickening agents such as cornstarch, white rouxs, various grains and even vegetables are usually the most popular choice. For that perfect creamy effect, a home cook can take a simple ingredient out of their pantry to create a mouth-watering soup.


Instructions


Using Instant Mashed Potato Flakes


1. Add your prepared chowder to a large stock pot. Bring soup to a slow simmer. You should only see a slight amount of bubbles coming to the surface. Do not boil your soup at this point.


2. Measure a 1/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes. Stir the flakes in slowly and allow the mixture to simmer and the flakes dissolve entirely.


3. Measure out an additional 1/4 cup of potato flakes. Add flakes to the soup until you have reached the desired consistency, but never boil the mixture.








Using Raw Potatoes


4. Place prepared chowder in a stock pot and bring to a simmer. Grate potato and measure out 3 tbsp.


5. Add grated potato to soup. Stir completely and then allow to simmer for 15 minutes.


6. If soup does not thicken, add more grated potato.


Using Dry Bread


7. Remove the crust from a dry Italian or French bread loaf.


8. Dice up bread in small batches or use a food processor to create breadcrumbs. Add breadcrumbs in small batches to your soup. Allow to simmer in between additions to reach desired consistency.


9. Allow to simmer in between additions to reach desired consistency.

Tags: desired consistency, prepared chowder, additions reach, additions reach desired, Allow simmer between, between additions