Sometimes your creamed soup will not have the consistency you are craving for or the texture you think it has. If you are a huge of creamed soups, you will not believe how it is to thicken them. Learn the ways on how to thicken soup for that bowl of perfection!
Soups are possibly one of our favorite comfort dishes in general, especially on a cold rainy day. Creamed soups like cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, cream of corn soup… any creamed soups that you can imagine, provide a huge satisfaction when it’s chilly. The best part about them too is that they can be paired with holiday dinners or be a simple lunchtime leftover to enjoy.
Prepping all your favorite ingredients and then putting them on a boil, just slowly watching them simmer over good heat, and oh, you realize while it tastes all right at the end of the cooking time… it is a little bit thinner than you would have liked. Depending on what kind of creamed soup you are making, here are some of the ways on how you can thicken your soup.
How to thicken soup.
Using Flour or Cornflour
Feel free to use flour or corn flour that is available in your pantry. Putting a tablespoon of flour or cornflour (this is up to your personal preference) into a small bowl. Then stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons of your soup until you end up with smooth and consistent mixture of it. With the same bowl, stir the mixture back into your soup and bring it to a simmer. Allow the soup to cook for a few more minutes and let it thicken the soup and to cook out any flour flavor.
The reason flour is used to thicken soups is that it has starch molecules that help to absorb water or other cooking liquid, causing them to expand. When the flour and water mixture is open to heat, these same molecules will move about until they are stabilized, hence thickening whatever liquid they are added to. So, remember now, these starches will continue to break down and lose their thickening ability if you put your soup on the boil over time. Sometimes, even as the soup cools, starches can thicken it even more, but that can be easily fixed by putting the soup on a slow simmer, letting it to reheat until it returns to its original texture and viscosity.
Blending Torn Pieces of Bread
Another method of thickening soup can be done by blending torn pieces of bread. Take a good amount of bread, tear them into pieces so they can be blended into the soup to thicken it. What we would recommend over here is to use a plain bread, or if you have a flavored one, go for mild-flavored bread instead—this is to prevent the flavor of the soup from changing. Again, if you are planning for a robust and strong flavor for your soup, using sourdough would be an excellent choice in that regards.
This trick to thicker and heartier soups is a wonderful choice for those wanting to finish off their leftover bread. Have a day-old bread that you have no idea what to do with? The answer is right here then. In fact, using a day-old bread is even better to thicken your soup as it adds texture and bulk to it, making a humble bowl of broth into something more substantial and filling to the tummy. And, depending on how you use your bread, you are free to control your soup’s thickness. However, we do recommend for you avoid any bread that is grainy, seedy, or too dense as it will be difficult for the bread to disintegrate into the soup.
Pro tip for an extra thick and hearty soup: Remove the crusts from a stale loaf, tear the loaf into big hunks, add them to the broth and let them simmer.
Using Potatoes or Potato Flakes
Potatoes are naturally hearty, so it makes sense for it to thicken soups. We find that using potatoes or potato flakes work best for soups that already have potatoes included in the recipe. It is just great for cream of broccoli soup, cream of asparagus soup, and even seafood chowders!
A quick way to get your soup to thicken is to blend any cooked leftover potatoes using the liquid from the soup. Keep adding in the soup until it reaches your desired thickness and consistency. From there on, you can add in the potato flakes directly into the soup. And this only takes a few minutes you would barely break a sweat! Those cooked potatoes too, can be mashed or puréed and added to soup for more body. Simple, and delicious.
Adding Extra Cream
This method is an effortless way to thicken a soup, and it can also be luxurious depending on the type of cream you are using. Whether you use a few tablespoons or a few cups, cream gives the soup a silky mouthfeel and rich flavor. Adding extra cream too, can easily thicken a creamy or blended soup and there is no better product than our Rich’s Double Cream to take the spotlight for this. Using our Rich’s Double Cream into your soups, not only are you able to thicken your soup, but you also do not have to worry about the cream splitting in the soup as it has a great acid tolerance. More importantly, it is heat stable making it safe for you to boil or double-boil it.
Mushroom is a downright classic. This soup is delicious and very creamy, especially because of Rich’s Double Cream added in. Of course, a creamy mushroom soup has many variations of itself, but we like this Classic Mushroom Soup recipe because it is fast and easy. Personally, you can opt to add onion, garlic, potato, and bacon into yours to your liking. Do that, and it is the perfect feel-good soup to comfort you during chilly weather.
Rich’s Double Cream is a multi-purpose dairy blend that is versatile—it can be used for culinary, pastry, and beverage applications. It has an excellent fresh cream taste, a thick consistency (which means shorter reduction time for your sauces), a great acid tolerance (sauces and soups will not separate and split), and heat stability that is good. Learn more about Rich’s Double Cream here.
So, yes, soups are inexpensive and easy to make; they do not require a large amount of hands-on time. In fact, you could just use a slow cooker or a pressure cooker to have it cook on its own while you are doing your own things in the background… so convenient.
Cheers to cooking!
Well, there you have it—Four straightforward ways how you can thicken your soups! If you enjoy what you do and love to bring soul and comfort into your food, you will look forward to your next meal with our products. That is also one of the main reasons why we leave you with a bunch of recipes to try out at home or to add value to your own business. You will see that we are constantly in an effort to provide you with some tips and tricks for your next best creation!
