Sage Blossom Inn
Pehr Hilleström [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
My parents lived through the Depression years, which resulted in a frugal mindset. I remember that my mother never threw out leftovers. If even a spoonful of corn or peas remained, it went into a container in the refrigerator. Some time later, it would be taken out and added with other ingredients to homemade soup. Sadly I have not inherited this desire to make use of everything and I can't make soup anyway.
In the Middle Ages the common people also made use of whatever was available to them. They ate a soup/stew called pottage, a staple food in the homes of the peasants. It consisted of vegetables, grains, herbs, and fish or meat if it was available. It was kept warm over the kitchen fire and more ingredients were added as it was eaten.
"Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold,
Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old;
Some like it hot, some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot, nine days old."
Did you sing this nursery rhyme as a child? I know I did. I had no idea what I was singing about for we did not eat peas porridge or peas pottage. Now it makes a lot more sense, especially the line "nine days old." I didn't like peas so I would have turned my nose up if it had been served to me.
In the Middle Ages the common people also made use of whatever was available to them. They ate a soup/stew called pottage, a staple food in the homes of the peasants. It consisted of vegetables, grains, herbs, and fish or meat if it was available. It was kept warm over the kitchen fire and more ingredients were added as it was eaten.
"Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold,
Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old;
Some like it hot, some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot, nine days old."
Did you sing this nursery rhyme as a child? I know I did. I had no idea what I was singing about for we did not eat peas porridge or peas pottage. Now it makes a lot more sense, especially the line "nine days old." I didn't like peas so I would have turned my nose up if it had been served to me.
Here at the Sage Blossom Inn we offer many varieties of soups, not as the main course but as an appetizer. Please allow your helpful waiter to assist you.
Image via Pixabay
"You must observe in all broths and soups that one thing does not taste more than another, but that the taste be equal, and it has a fine agreeable relish, according to what you design it for; and you must be sure that all greens and herbs you put in be cleaned, washed, and picked."
Hanna Glass, in The Art of Cookery (1776)
Great Soups Deserve a Beautiful Presentation
"Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day, and awakens and refines the appetite"
Auguste Escoffier, known as the King of Chefs, Chef of Kings.
Auguste Escoffier, known as the King of Chefs, Chef of Kings.
Let Chef Ramsey Show You How it's Done
Swede is also called rutabaga
Swede is also called rutabaga
In Case You Get the Urge to Make Soup
Header image via Pixabay