Fifty soups

In Short

This concise culinary guide provides an authoritative approach to crafting fifty distinct soups, spanning delicate clear broths, rich cream bisques, rustic vegetable purées, and substantial seafood chowders. Written by Thomas J. Murrey, a former caterer for prominent nineteenth-century American hotels, the volume outlines basic culinary principles before presenting structured recipes designed to anchor any meal. It has endured as an accessible handbook that elevates soup from a simple starter to the fundamental pivot of a well-balanced dinner, blending classical hotel precision with practical kitchen instructions for home cooks and epicures alike.

The Story

The text opens with a thoughtful discussion on the philosophy of dining and the technical mechanics of soup stock. The author establishes that soup represents the central axis of a meal, requiring a cook to balance its richness against the heavier or lighter courses that follow. A foundational sequence details the creation of basic beef stock, instructing the cook to simmer six pounds of meat and bones for five hours, skim the rising surface impurities, and refine the broth with root vegetables, aromatics, and an egg-white clarification process to yield a crystal-clear consommé. Complementary foundational methods follow, explaining how to build a delicate veal stock, prepare crispy croutons, roll rich marrow dumplings, and reduce concentrated stock into a glossy glaze for coloring and flavor.

From these stock foundations, the text transitions into an expansive survey of specific soup preparations, moving systematically through vegetable, meat, poultry, and seafood variations. Light vegetable soups like asparagus, julienne, and sorrel utilize precise simmer times and delicate strainers to preserve clean flavors, while heartier creations like chestnut, potato, and pureed bean offer dense, comforting textures achieved through sieves and mortars. The book outlines elaborate regional and specialty items, detailing the multi-step assembly of French bouillabaisse, spicy Indian mulligatawny, rich clam chowders, and an intricate green turtle soup that requires days of processing whole turtle meat, shell, and seasoned broths.

As the book progresses, it addresses specialized culinary demands, including quick compositions utilizing meat extracts, economical approaches that repurpose turkey carcasses or green pea hulls, and soothing preparations like beef tea and chicken broth tailored specifically for invalids. The collection culminates in a selection of rich seafood bisques, smooth cream soups, and delicate broth preparations that combine hot milk, beaten eggs, and strained broths. The narrative arc concludes with plain, accessible variations such as tomato, vegetable, and vermicelli soups, offering a complete, practical toolkit for cooks of all skill levels.

How It Unfolds

Establishing the foundation The author introduces the central principles of dinner organization, explaining how soup sets the tone for an entire meal. Detailed master instructions show how to construct, skim, season, and clarify basic beef and veal stocks to serve as the structural base for future recipes.

Simmering the harvest The focus shifts to vegetable and grain preparations, offering recipes for artichoke, asparagus, barley, cauliflower, and chestnut soups. These recipes emphasize gentle boiling, precise straining, and smooth blending using roux, cream, or crushed breadcrumbs.

Crafting sea and game delicacies Intricate instructions outline the preparation of complex showpieces, including live crab and lobster bisques, traditional New England clam and fish chowders, and a full two-day technique for preparing fresh green turtle soup with sherry and hard-boiled eggs.

Sustaining the household Practical, everyday options take center stage, featuring economical giblet broths, restorative invalid preparations, and hearty regional favorites like gumbo, mulligatawny, oxtail, and rabbit soup.

Final purées and light finishes The text closes with smooth, strained purées of beans and clams alongside swift, delicate options like sorrel, spring vegetable, tomato, and vermicelli soups, demonstrating how simple ingredients create refined, comforting dishes.

The People

The Cook The primary active figure within the text, who seeks to display good taste, judgment, and technical harmony when planning a dinner menu. Standing between the cook and success are common pitfalls such as over-seasoning, boiled milk curdling, tainted ingredients, or serving an overly heavy soup before a rich, multi-course meal. By following disciplined methods of skimming, straining, and temperature control, the cook masters the art of kitchen balance.

The Invalid A delicate, passive figure whose recovery depends on thoughtful nourishment. The invalid requires clear, easily digestible sustenance, but is at risk of being weakened by thin liquids that lack real substance. The cook addresses this by carefully preparing strained chicken broths and beef tea infused with finely minced raw beef to retain essential nourishment.

The Epicure The discerning guest at the dining table who demands harmonized flavors and sophisticated presentation. The epicure expects perfectly clarified consommés, smooth bisques, and authentic additions like green turtle fat or rich sherry, prompting the cook to elevate simple stock-making into a refined art form.

In Its Own Voice

"There is as much art in arranging a bill of fare and harmonizing the peculiarities of the various dishes, as there is in preparing the colors for a painting; the soup represents the pivot upon which harmony depends."

This opening observation underscores the author's belief that menu planning requires artistic balance and thoughtful coordination.

"Care should be exercised that nothing in the least tainted or decayed enters the stock pot; it is very desirable that soup stock be prepared a day or two before it is wanted..."

The author offers practical guidance on food safety and kitchen preparation to ensure high-quality, flavorful foundations.

"Beef tea, without the fibrine of the meat, if administered often to a patient, will tend to weaken, instead of strengthening the invalid..."

This warning highlights the practical, health-conscious advice embedded within the book's restorative recipes.

What It's Really About

Beneath its straight-forward recipe formats, the book presents an argument for discipline, economy, and restraint in the kitchen. It asserts that great cooking does not rely on overly complex formulas, but on mastering basic foundations—chiefly a clean, well-tended stock pot. Murrey elevates the domestic craft by insisting that every ingredient, whether an expensive live turtle or discarded green pea hulls, deserves careful technique and proper seasoning. The text champions efficiency, showing how simple kitchen scraps and humble root vegetables can be transformed into elegant, highly digestible meals through patience, precise timing, and continuous straining. Ultimately, the work frames hospitality as an intentional act of balance, where a thoughtful host carefully coordinates every course to comfort and satisfy the guest.

Why Read It Today

Modern food enthusiasts and culinary historians will appreciate this work as a clean, practical window into late-nineteenth-century hotel dining and domestic cookery. Free from modern fluff, hyperbole, or excessive storytelling, the text delivers precise, clear directions that reveal how classic dishes were assembled before the advent of modern commercial conveniences. Readers will find real inspiration in Murrey's timeless approach to stock production, simple purees, and economical resource management.

While the book is eminently practical, contemporary readers should expect a few period-specific hurdles. Certain recipes call for ingredients and preparations less common in modern home kitchens, such as wild sorrel, whole calf's heads, or raw turtle processing. Furthermore, nineteenth-century kitchen equipment—like hair sieves, mortars and pestles, and porcelain-lined coal range saucepans—is assumed throughout. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanics of balancing flavors, clarifying broths, and pairing soups with larger menus remain as useful today as when the book was first written. It remains an inviting read for anyone who appreciates concise, authoritative culinary craftsmanship.