Just Add Water? Three Ways to Stretch Your Soup Further (2024)
by Tayla Blaire•
If you are like me, you may have a penchant for eating quickly. You may have had people, specifically a waitress in a Toronto hotel, comment that you are ‘really fast at eating’. No, I have not let that comment go. My point is, whenever I have something delicious, I often wish there was just more of it. However, if I make too much of something, I’m likely to get sick of it if it’s the only thing I eat for a week. I’m faced with a bit of a conundrum which is also paired with my lifelong instinct for frugality. These have led me to investigate how I can use simple little cooking hacks to stretch my soups a little farther without having to make enough to feed an army!
Ok, this may be a little obvious, but just adding water is going to make your soup go a little further. If you stick to a 50/50 ratio between water and whatever flavoured liquid you’re using in your soup (be it tomatoes, a stock type, or a cream), you’re unlikely to dilute it to the point of making it unpalatable. A lot of people are worried about adding water without stock or something to give the soup extra flavour when it is a little thick, but as long as you stick to that golden ratio, you’re not likely to get a gross version of the soup you love!
As we all learned about five years ago when the Banting diet craze hit a head, fat makes you full. The fuller you are, the less you eat, and the less you eat, the more of that delicious, delicious soup you save for later. I can understand some people not wanting to make their soups too fatty – they are meant to be a healthy choice after all. Dumping a bunch of fatty meats (like cut-up sausage or bacon) into a pot of soup seems counterintuitive and even quite sickening. Committing softly by adding beans or lentils to your soup will have a similar effect – it keeps the vegetable content high, adds extra protein to your soup, and makes you fuller faster!
Starch
Contrary to what a lot of food websites, diet plans, and Instagram influencers will tell you: starch is not the enemy! As a species, we have been living off starch for tens of thousands of years – the cultivation of cereals was literally the impetus for civilization! The enemy isn’t starch, it’s lack of moderation. Our bodies crave as much starch as possible: it fills us up and helps us retain weight – this was an important evolutionary trait for when we were hunters and gatherers, which is less important now that we have cars that can drive to a supermarket. If I want to stretch my soup a little further, I’m not opposed to having a nice slice of bread on the side or adding a few croutons or crackers into the bowl when I’m eating. The key is to make sure that your soup outweighs the starch you decide on.
These are my tips – what about you? What kinds of magic spells do you put on your food to make sure you don’t blitz through it too quickly?
Ready to make soup? Find the Creamy Potato, Turnip soup recipe with Microgreens here!
A: Maybe you need add-ins, so you don't get bored. Take a chicken soup, for example: Make a big batch one day, then add roasted veggies (winter squash, sweet potatoes, cauliflower or broccoli) or some cooked beans the next.
A: Maybe you need add-ins, so you don't get bored. Take a chicken soup, for example: Make a big batch one day, then add roasted veggies (winter squash, sweet potatoes, cauliflower or broccoli) or some cooked beans the next.
Adding/mixing water in the soup makes the soup less thick. (discrepencies apply. You could use more vegetables/fruits/ingredients with water in them in your soup or just plain ol' pour in water, though ratio applies. Some ingredients have more water than others.
Add Your Liquid- Select what liquid you are using for the soup you are making. Add 4 to 8 cups, depending on how much you want to make. 4 cups will make a chunkier, thicker soup, while 8 cups will make a runnier soup. If you use a warm liquid, this will expedite the cooking process.
Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.
Ok, this may be a little obvious, but just adding water is going to make your soup go a little further. If you stick to a 50/50 ratio between water and whatever flavoured liquid you're using in your soup (be it tomatoes, a stock type, or a cream), you're unlikely to dilute it to the point of making it unpalatable.
Have leftover soup that is heavy on broth but light on filler? How about a salad that's light on toppings? Just add beans! Beans are one of the single best ingredients you can add to leftovers to help stretch them out.
Add more cold water as evaporation occurs and as bones and vegetables are exposed. Cold water prevents impurities that have risen to the top of the stock from melting and redispersing back into the stock.
You can, of course, also make soups and stews that have meat in them with water as well, since the water will draw out those flavors anyway. I make simple chilled vegetable soups all summer long by just adding just enough water to cooked vegetables to puree into a smooth soup, and then seasoning to taste.
The base of your flavor in a soup comes from the vegetables and other ingredients you add at the beginning, called aromatics. The traditional flavor base in French and American soups is called mirepoix, a mix of diced onions, carrots, and celery in 2:1:1 proportion (twice as much onion as carrot or celery).
Sometimes soup just needs to simmer longer to reach the perfect consistency. Check to see if the vegetables are tender, and then taste the broth. If the soup tastes a bit watery, give it more time.
Add Flour, Cornstarch, or Other Thickener: Starches thicken soup and give it body. Whisk a few tablespoons of starch into a little of the broth in a separate bowl before whisking it into the main pot. This prevents the starch from clumping and helps it dissolve into the soup evenly.
Foods that have a great deal of acidity, like lemon juice, vinegar, white wine, and tomato puree, can help liven up the flavor of bland-tasting bone and other broths. "The acidity of these ingredients works to complement and enhance the broth's flavors, not mask it.
All, just reminding you, you can stretch out most soups and chili's. For most soup you can just add more water and maybe some additional seasonings if needed to keep it a soup. You can add in whatever veggies or protien you have too.
Flavor the base: We add Italian seasoning and tomato paste to the aromatics and warm them up to bring the seasonings back to life. You could use fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary, or even add a Parmesan rind for more flavor.
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