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What is a Bouquet Garni?

I have a recipe that calls for a bouquet garni. What is it??????

Six question marks? No one we know is that interested in a bouquet arni. But itis a collection of herbs !traditionall" fresh parsle"# fresh or dried th"me# and ba"

leaf$ that are bundled toether and cast adrift in "our pot to %avor a soup# stew# or

broth. &he" are tied toether so the" can be removed easil" at the end of the

cookin.

Some people wrap the herbs in a bit of cheesecloth# but the cookin teacher and

author 'adeleine (amman advises aainst it# impl"in that the cheesecloth inhibits

the free exchane of %avor with the food "ou)re cookin. Who are we to arue?

We recentl" came upon an incredibl" aromatic pre*made +rench bouquet arni#

containin oreano# th"me# savor"# and ba" leaves# that costs ,ust a bit more than

- each. &he herbs alone are worth nearl" that# and to save the trouble of atherin

and t"in it all up / well# that seems like a small price to pa". If "ou make stews#

soups# or roasts with an" reularit" at all# this is somethin "ou miht like to have

on hand.

Classifcation By Consistency

Clear Soups have a carefull" cleared stock soup foundation with other %avors andarnish added. &here are not man" di0erent t"pes of these but the" includeBouillon# 1onsomme and Broths# both veetable and meat !even sometimes 2shbased$. 3lthouh this roup seems simple to prepare the" do in fact requireconsiderable care in the makin# to perfect the subtle %avorins.

Thick Soups can also have a stock base but the" ma" also be built with milk orcream. &o this base is added a thickenin aent of some kind# such as meat# 2sh#veetables# es# rains etc. Some form of starch" inredients would be added. &hedi4cult" in makin these soups is ettin the consistenc" absolutel" correct.

Classifcation By Quality

When "ou classif" a soup b" it)s qualit" "ou arrive at 2ve main roups5

Broths:

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3 clear stock base !either veetable# 2sh or meat$ plus some simple elements suchas small veetables# rice or small quantities of barle".

Cream Soups:

3 thin cream sauce base with the addition of veetables# meat# 2sh or rains.

Bisques:

 &hese are traditionall" ver" thick and rich soups made from ame 2sh or shell 2sh#especiall" crab and shrimp. 6ften various veetables will be added.

Chowders:

 &hese are soups that have sea food as their basis# often in a thickened or chunk"form. 3ain# these soups will have added some veetables and often arin crackersfor thickenin.

Purees

 &his roup of soups are those that are thickened b" boilin a food item and thenstrainin to use the pulp. &he" tend to fall into two cateories5 those with naturalstarch such as those usin beans# potatoes or peas for example and those that needto be thickened with added starch" material such as meat stock or 2sh. 7ither wa"#the 2nished puree should be the consistenc" of a thick cream.

Bouillon

Defnition: Bouillon !pronounced 8B669*"one8$ is a clear# %avorful broth made b"

simmerin beef# chicken or veetables and other inredients.

 &he main di0erence between bouillon and stock is that bouillon is made b"simmerin meat# whereas stock is made b" simmerin bones. 3lso# stock isenerall" not seasoned# or onl" lihtl" seasoned# whereas bouillon is seasoned.

While bouillon can be used as a base for makin soups# bouillon itself is simpl" aclear# seasoned broth with no solid inredients.

Consomme

onsomm: is a stron# rich# %avorful soup made b" concentratin and clarif"instock.

 &he word consomm: means 8completed8 or 8concentrated8 in +rench.

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Beef or veal consomm: is made from brown stock# and has a rich# amber color.1hicken consomm: is made from chicken stock# and is a pale "ellow color. In eachcase# however# the distinuishin characteristics of a consomm: are its stron%avor and its clarit".

1onsomm: is clari2ed throuh a process that involves simmerin the stock alon

with a mixture of e whites and lean round meat called a clearmeat.

3s the consomm: simmers# the clearmeat solidi2es into what is known as a raftwhich %oats atop the liquid. &he clearmeat draws proteins and other impurities thatcloud a stock out of the liquid# leavin it perfectl" clear.

1onsomm: is often served as an appeti;er# and is frequentl" served with a simplearnish of veetables cut in brunoise or ,ulienne.

Because it is hih in elatin# consomm: will ,ell when it cools# makin it the basis forpreparin aspic.

Scotch broth

Scotch broth is a 2llin soup# oriinatin in Scotland but now obtainableworldwide. &he principal inredients are usuall" barle"# stewin or braisin cuts oflamb# mutton or beef # root veetables such as carrots# swedes or sometimes turnipsand dried pulses !most often split peas and red lentils$. 1abbae and leeks are oftenadded shortl" before servin to preserve their texture# colour and %avours. &heproportions and inredients var" accordin to the recipe or availabilit".<=<>= Scotchbroth has been sold read"*prepared in cans for man" "ears.

Minestrone soup

Minestrone is a thick soup of Italian oriin made with veetables# often with theaddition of pasta or rice. 1ommon inredients include beans# onions# celer"# carrots#stock# and tomatoes.

 &here is no set recipe for minestrone# since it is usuall" made out of whateverveetables are in season. It can be veetarian# contain meat# or contain a meat*based broth !such as chicken stock$. 3nelo ellerini# however# arued that the

base of minestrone is bean broth# and that borlotti beans !also called @oman beans$8are the beans to use for enuine minestrone8.

Mulliatawny

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Mulliatawny !derived from &amil மளக தணணர$A  ̩mʌ lɨɡ ə  ̍tɔ ːn iA is a curr" %avouredsoup in 3nlo*Indian cuisine.<= Mulligatawny  is a combination of &amil words milagu !pepper$ thanni !water$. It is similar to rasam from South Indian cuisine.

 &here are man" variations on the recipe for mulliatawn".<>= In the West# the soupt"picall" has a turmeric like "ellow colour and chicken meat# beef # or lamb meat.

suall" it is thickened with lentils or rice.

 &he terms soup and stew can et confusin and some dishes are referred to aseither# dependin on the cook. &here are some dishes that can be made as a soupor a stew# such as wonton soup# umbo stew# miso soup# and Brunswick stew. Whilethe two t"pes of foods ma" seem similar# there are some wa"s to di0erentiatebetween them. +irst# most soups are thin compared to thick stewsC second# stewsare almost alwa"s served warm while some soups can be served hot or coldC andthird# stews are t"picall" slow*cooked as opposed to soups that can be prepared and

heated fairl" quickl"# dependin on the recipe.

Thick or Thin6ne of the most important di0erences between soup and stew is the thickness /when compared to one another# soups are considered thin while stews are thouhtto be thick. 3 soup is basicall" an" combination of pasta# meat# or veetablescooked in liquid. 'ost soups are 8thin#8 as the inredients t"picall" include severalcups of water or some t"pe of brothC it is also possible to make soups usin milk oreven fruit ,uices. Soup is best served in a bowl or deep plate# since most of it isbasicall" liquid.

Stews can be simpl" described as 8heart" soups#8 often with meats and veetables#

includin potatoes. When comparin soup and stew# the latter is usuall" considereda main dish and soup a side dish# because stew is t"picall" more 2llin than soup. &he liquid in a stew is minimal# and an" liquid is usuall" thickened to the point ofbein more of a rav" than a broth# makin stew thicker than soup. Somethickenin methods include blendin some of the veetables and addin the pureeto the stew# addin an equal mixture of %our and water to act as a thickenin aent#or entl" boilin the stew to reduce the liquid.

Temperature3nother di0erence between soup and stew is the temperature at which it is served.'ost soups can be eaten as either hot or cold dishes# can be cooked or uncooked#and some are even considered a dessert such as fruit soup. Stews# on the other

hand# are almost alwa"s consumed hot. &his is partl" due to preference and partl"due to the slow*cookin method of stew that usuall" leaves the stew warm after it iscooked and served.

Cooking Time &he time it takes to prepare and cook soup and stew is another wa" the two dishesare di0erentC soup is enerall" quicker to make# while stew requires a lonercookin time. art of the characteristic %avor of a stew stems from the slow cookin

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process# which allows the natural %avorins of the foods bein simmered sta" in thestewC while this process does take loner# it is thouht to make the stew more%avorful. Sometimes a thickenin aent is added to make the stew more rav"*like#which can take several minutes to actuall" thicken# addin to the lenth of thecookin time. Soup# on the other hand# usuall" relies on added %avorins# such ascondiments and arnishes that do not require slow*cookin# and can be put

toether quickl" to be heated and consumed later.

!ou"

Defnition: 3 roux is a mixture of butter and %our# cooked until bubbl". It can bebrowned ver" deepl"# then used as the basis for etou0e and brown sauce. If notbrowned at all# it is the base of bechamel# veloute# or white sauce. B" cookin the%our in the butter# the starch ranulesin the %our bein to break. &hen when liquidis added# the ranules absorb the liquid# thickenin the sauce.