I know I’ve done my job when the first reaction to a spoonful of soup is a long sigh with closed eyes and a smile.The more you make wonderful soup, the more you will find your own style and

techniques. I make soup differently than I did 40 years ago, and yes, I have that many years of broth under my belt.

SOUP PARTS

Nowadays, I make separate soup components and bring them together before serving. I make a broth or stock, roast alliums and root vegetables, or stew meat. I’ll have an instant pot, rice

cooker, and a large toaster oven going, and forgo the stovetop. When everything is done, I put together only as much soup as we’ll eat, and save the rest for other meals. I season the soup at

the end, adding the correct amounts of salt and acid. Freshly ground spices are added to the roasting veggies and other flavors go into the broth. This is a method I honed for making gallons

of soup professionally for several years.

FLAVOR ALCHEMY

SALT

Don’t fear good quality sea salt. Salt opens up the palette so we can taste the flavors of the food. Use about one teaspoon per quart of liquid. Acid: An acid, like apple cider vinegar or lemon,

allows the food’s inherent flavors to come forward. Use one tablespoon per quart of liquid, then you adjust and correct the soup before serving. Umami: Roasting vegetables instead of

simmering increases their depths of flavor and intensifies their sweet qualities. Umami powerhouses include fish sauce, tomato paste, dried mushrooms, and beef.

HEAT

A touch of heat, likeblack pepper, red pepper flakes, or cayenne, makes the tongue do a double take, and circle back around. Sweet: Added sweetness will make a soup taste balanced and rounded. Use one to three teaspoons per quart of liquid.

The best soups will taste in several flavor directions at once: sweet, salty, sour, heat, umami, and just a touch of bitter. The flavor directions should enhance the eating experience, but not

overpower it.

BROTH

Make a broth that matches the soup. Use the peelings, tops, bottoms, and stems of the soup veggies as your base. This practice creates another flavor dimension, increases nutrition, and cuts down on waste.

ADD DIMENSION

Spice the soup in two layers. Add whole spices and dried herbs to the stock, and add ground spices and fresh herbs at the end with the salt and acid. The whole spices in the stock create a

subtle depth, and the ground spices and fresh herbs, an aromatic punch.

Think pho: Hit deep, medium, and high flavor notes. Deep like dried chilies, medium like cumin, high like fresh cilantro. Use all parts of the plant — stems, roots, leaves, fruits and seeds. Use combinations of techniques in one soup: roast, sauté, simmer, or slow cook. This allows flavor to develop in different ways, and then come together. Color matters, texture matters, in-season matters, timing matters. It all matters for excellent soup. But it doesn’t have to be complicated, just care. Care and passion make the best soups.

SOUP SERIOUS

If you’re serious about soup, consider studying the recipes of great soup makers. I would start with books like: “Cook’s Encyclopedia of Soup” by Debra Mayhew, “400 Soups” by Anne

Sheasby, and “All Time Best Soups” by Cook’s Illustrated.

Wouldn’t it be a kick?There are so many fabulous soups from around the globe for every taste and occasion: rich and creamy, hearty, one-pot-meals, vegetarian and carnivore extravaganzas. I love mulligatawny, pozole, tom yum, minestrone, bouillabaisse, and New England clam chowder. Each has a unique set of ingredients and preparation, and best of all, reflects the diversity of local cultures. Wouldn’t it be a kick to spend the rest of the winter making soups from around the world?