Soups without stock include all cream soups, chowders and purees. This type of soup is both substantial and nourishing and is served at luncheon or where the meal to follow is not hearty. Or cream soups may be served for informal dinners to furnish a substantial dish so that the dinner itself will not require so generous an amount of the more expensive meat or meat substitute. Cream soups and chowders are both popular and very easily made.

The foundation of a cream soup is a thin white sauce; cooked vegetable pulp or puree is added for flavor. The careful housewife will plan in advance to cook sufficient vegetables at a previous meal to prepare these soups. Many times left-over vegetables are improved by further cooking, since in order to make really good cream soup the vegetables should be so soft that they will easily pass through a sieve or puree strainer. The outer leaves of celery, the tough ends of asparagus, the discarded leaves of lettuce, will all give sufficient flavor to make a delicate, appetizing cream soup. Vegetables that would otherwise be thrown away may be utilized most satisfactorily in this manner. When possible use the liquor in which the vegetables were cooked, together with milk when making the foundation white sauce, as it adds more flavor. Strictly speaking, cream soups should contain only pureed vegetables, meats or fish, but are more substantial if a part of the ingredients used are chopped very fine and added to the soup. When using canned vegetables for making soups the liquor should be discarded whenever possible, as it usually imparts a "canned" taste not at all palatable. The exceptions would be corn and tomatoes.

These soups are improved if a small quantity of whipped cream is added just before serving, or a teaspoon of the whipped cream may be used as a garnish for each service.

When preparing cream soups the vegetables should be rubbed through a coarse seive and heated before making the white sauce. The sauce should be made just before serving time and then the two ingredients combined. Cream soups will not curdle if made by this method. If allowed to stand any length of time they are apt to separate, so should not be made until required.

Purees are usually made of vegetables such as dried beans, dried peas or potatoes and are a form of cream soup and very nutritous.

A puree should be about as thick as a cream soup, therefore but little thickening is needed; but it will separate if no thickening is used.

Bisques are made of fish, usually shell fish. They have as a base a thin sauce. Clams, oysters or diced lobster or crab are added to a white sauce and the whole well seasoned.

Chowders are very substantial and are almost a meal in themselves when served with bread and butter. These soups make a very satisfactory luncheon or supper dish.

Standard Brown Soup Stock

3 pounds of shin of beef or other muscular portion.

3 quarts of cold water. 1 tablespoonful salt.

4 pepper corns or

3 whole cloves.

1/8 teaspoon white pepper.

1/2 cup each finely chopped carrots, celery, onion and turnip.

Cut the meat in cubes. Remove about 1/4 or the meat and dredge this with flour and brown in hot beef drippings or fat. Add 1 cupful of cold water and simmer about 10 minutes. Cover the rest of the meat and cracked bones with cold water and soak for at least an hour. Add the browned meat and seasonings and bring slowly to the simmering point, cooking between 4 and 5 hours. Do not boil. Strain, set aside to cool and remove fat. The stock is now ready for many varieties of soup.