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"THERE are several reasons for including soup very frequently in the family menus.
It stimulates the flow of the digestive juices (thus preparing for the care of the
heavier part of the meal which is to follow); it acts as an appetizer; it contains valuable
salts from fruit and vegetables or has stimulating and nourishing qualities if made from
meat. A cup of soup will act promptly as a pick-me-up, relieving fatigue and helping
one to greater enjoyment and benefit from the dinner that follows.
Or soup may be so nourishing that it is almost a meal in itself. This makes it par-
ticularly valuable for luncheon, or for a supper dish when dinner is served at mid-day.

The most nourishing soups are those that are made from fresh meat, although there
is very considerable nutriment in the soup that is made from meat left-overs, bones, etc.
A milk soup is, of course, very satisfying, and various additions may bring up the food
value of the soup.

There is real magic in the soup pot. It is economical in using so many little odds
and ends that would otherwise be thrown out. A spoonful of peas, a little dish of
stewed tomatoes, a single stick and some leaves from a bunch of celery, an odd onion,
a spoonful of gravy—these will all prove acceptable additions to the ‘‘soup of the day.”’

To come down to the basis—we want some stock each day as the foundation for the
luncheon or dinner soup. Sometimes there will be beef or mutton stock available
if the meat has been boiled, or if the bones, thin ends and trimmings and the left-overs
have been put into the pot with a little cold water and simmered gently for two hours
or more. ‘The bones of a roast fowl, treated in the same way, will give a very delicate
and delicious stock; then there will be vegetable stock, either the water in which veget-
ables have been boiled, or a little vegetable stock made for soup purposes.

Now the importance of treating these ofter-wasted portions of the roast, steak, etc.,
so as to retain every possible bit of nourishment they contain, cannot be over-estimated.
The rule for meat stock is always the same. Put meat on in cold water, cover it well, and
keep it simmering at a very low temperature, for at least the first hour. If it boils,
the tissues will harden and will shut up in the meat the juices we want to draw out.
Cut up the meat in small pieces; if you are using a knuckle joint or shin bone, crack the
bones, and once again—allow plenty of time to cook it very slowly. Do not add season-
ing until the end. If you are just preparing a bowl of soup for next day from some bits
and bobs that are on hand, strain off your liquid into a bowl, and when it is cold, skim
off the fat, which will have hardened on the surface; it can be saved for use as dripping,
and your liquid is then ready to be heated, seasoned, added to as desired, and served.

For vegetable stock, save the water in which any vegetables are boiled, except those
which have been cooked in their skins. If too much water has not been used (and it
is really very foolish to “drown” any vegetable unnecessarily) a lot of very valuable
minerals will go into the soup. This vegetable stock may be combined either with
milk or any meat stock, or the liquid from two or three vegetables, delicately seasoned,
may give a very happy blend of flavours. Add left-over bits of the vegetables them-
selves.

Most people are very fond of some of the starch or cereal additions that also mean
additional nourishment—rice, pearl barley, tapioca, vermicelli or any of the Italian
pastes, diced potatoes or tiny cubes of toast (which suggests an excellent use to which
we may turn that almost hopeless left-over, the slice or two of toast).

Any vegetable makes good stock for soup, including the outer leaves of cabbage or
lettuce, the tops of celery or beets, and, of course, spinach and all the other greens,
carrots, tomatoes, squash, onions, etc.

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