Whenever you make soup, always use soft water and be careful to proportion the quantity of water to that of the meat. Use a little less than a quart of water per pound of meat -this is a good rule for common soups. To make richer soups simply use a little less water.

Making the stock that is used in soup is the most important part of the soup making processes. Generally the soup and stock may be regarded, as one and the same. Keep in mind, however, that whenever reference is made to the making of soup, this means the making of stock as well.

Before you actually start making the soup, the nature of the ingredients you will be using should be well understood.

Almost every kind of meat including beef, lamb, game, veal, poultry and mutton, is used for making soup. When soup stock is made from these meats, they may be cooked separately or as a combination. For instance, mutton used by itself makes for a very strongly flavored soup. It is not unusual to therefore combine this kind of meat with other meats with a less distinctive flavor. On the other hand, veal alone does not add a strong enough flavor, so it must be combined with other meats such as lamb, fowl, game, or some other stronger flavored meat.

You mat prefer certain cuts of meats to others in the making of soup because of the difference in their texture. The tender cuts of meat do not produce a strong enough flavor. They are also more expensive!

The tougher cuts of meat, which come from the muscles that the animal uses constantly grows tough and hard, are usually cheaper. They are also more suitable because they make for the best soup.

The shins, the shanks, the lower part of the round, the neck, the flank, the shoulder, the tail and the brisket are best adapted to soup making. Stock made from one of these cuts will be improved if a small amount of the fat of the meat is cooked with it. Excess fat that remains after cooking should be carefully removed to avoid soup that is too greasy.

If you are looking for an easy soup recipe, one calling for fish, a white variety should be selected. You may use the head and trimmings, but these alone aren’t sufficient because soup requires some solid pieces of meat. The same is true of meat bones. They are valuable only when they are used with meat. An equal proportion of meat and bone are required for the best stock.