HYDE PARK, N.Y. — Although Labor Day signals an unofficial end to summer, Mother Nature typically delights us with a few more weeks of warm weather.
During this transition from summer to autumn, cold soups can be a refreshing surprise for your guests at a dinner party or brunch. They generally are served as an appetizer or dessert.
Many soups adapt well to being served cold. Cold soups can be rich, as in the case of cream soups such as potato-leek, or bold and robust, as in the case of gazpacho.
When you serve chilled food, be sure to taste it at the recommended serving temperature. Cold foods often need stronger seasoning than hot foods, and all soups must be given enough time to develop their flavor. Some soups taste best immediately after they are made. Other soups, however, such as gazpacho, develop a more complex and satisfying flavor if they "mellow" in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
Vegetable or fruit soups are usually made by pureeing or chopping vegetables or fruits fine enough to reach soup-like consistency. These cold soups range in texture from the appealing coarseness of a gazpacho to the velvety smoothness of a chilled melon soup.
Broth or juice is often added to the vegetables or fruits to improve consistency. Other ingredients, such as cream, milk, buttermilk, garnishes or granites can be added to give your soup extra flavor, color or texture.
The classic Vichyssoise, an example of a cold creamed soup, is made by preparing a chilled puree of potato and leek that is enriched with half-and-half.
Other cold creamed soups may have a veloute base. Veloute is a sauce using a roux (equal parts of flour and fat, usually butter, cooked to varying degrees, used to thicken liquids).
After chilling, finish your cold creamed soups by adding chilled cream, yogurt or creme fraiche.
When you taste and evaluate a cold cream soup, pay attention to its texture and consistency. Cold cream soups should have the same velvety, smooth texture as hot cream soups. Remember that cold soups may thicken as they cool, so adjust the consistency to make a soup creamy but not stiff.
"When adding a garnish, ensure it is colorful and that the consistency of the soup will support and keep the garnish afloat," CIA chef-instructor Michael Skibitcky recommends.
Cold clear soups need a rich, full-bodied, clarified broth or juice. Infusions, essences (concentrated substances extracted from food), or well-strained purees are often used to create the special character of these soups.
In some cases clear soups are thickened with gelatin. Jellied clear soups should barely hold their shape, and melt in the mouth instantly.
The following recipe, cantaloupe soup with lime granite, would be an appealing offering any time, and an especially nice choice for an elegant brunch.
When you pick a cantaloupe, choose one that is fragrant and feels heavy for its size. The netting on the cantaloupe should be well raised, and the blossom end should yield slightly to gentle pressure.
This soup, along with more than 100 other hot and cold soup recipes, is featured in the Culinary Institute of America's "Book of Soups" (Lebhar-Friedman).
CANTALOUPE SOUP WITH LIME GRANITE
1 small (1 1/2-pound) cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and cut into large chunks (yield about 4 1/2 cups)
Juice of 2 oranges (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup cornstarch
Juice of 1 1/2 lemons (about 2 tablespoons)
3 cups sparkling water
2 1/4 teaspoons orange zest
2 1/4 teaspoons lemon zest
1/2 cup sugar, or to taste
One recipe Lime Granite (recipe follows)
Puree melon chunks and orange juice in a blender. Dissolve cornstarch in lemon juice. Bring water, orange zest and lemon zest to a boil in a large saucepan. While stirring, add the cornstarch solution and continue to stir until liquid returns to a simmer and thickens. Remove from heat. Add melon puree and sweeten to taste. Serve in chilled bowls, garnish with small scoops of lime granite. Makes 8 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 210 cal., 1 g pro., 54 g carbo., 0 g fat, 0 mg chol., 10 mg sodium.
LIME GRANITE
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
Zest of 2 limes, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
Combine all ingredients in a shallow pan. Stir well to combine. Place pan in freezer and stir every 25 minutes for 3 hours. Freeze until firm. Makes about 2 cups. Recipe from The Culinary Institute of America's "Book of Soups," Lebhar-Friedman Books, 2001, $35.