Unleashing the power of onions, stepping up your garnish game, and the more the merrier — and more delicious. Restaurants have figured out key tips and tricks to make their soups more delicious than many home cooks could possibly dream. Here's a few of their secrets.
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00:00Unleashing the power of onions, stepping up your garnish game,
00:04and the more the merrier — and more delicious. Restaurants have figured out key tips and tricks
00:08to make their soups more delicious than many home cooks could possibly dream.
00:12Here's a few of their secrets.
00:14If you want to make a soup that tastes amazing, you have to start building flavor right from the
00:19start. And, in most cases, that begins with onions. Many soup recipes call for a single
00:23onion or maybe even two for a large pot. However, chefs are often heavy-handed with them.
00:28James DiBella, head chef of Lincoln Pin and The Cellar in Charlotte, North Carolina, admits,
00:33"...I think we definitely use more onions in a restaurant environment than in a home kitchen."
00:37Chef Olivier Koster of Cast and Crew in Daytona Beach, Florida, remarks that it depends on the
00:42soup, but, quote, "...onions and garlic are an amazing base and are used a lot more in
00:47professional kitchens than at home."
00:48"'Onions! Get your onions here, folks! God's own chosen vegetable!
00:53Nature's magic vegetables right here, folks!"
00:55Onions bring more depth of flavor to soup than you probably realize.
00:59Soups without onions or too few onions are often bland and lacking in flavor,
01:03although some recipes may use an alternative, such as leeks. They also need to be sauteed
01:08before adding the other ingredients if you want them to taste their best. You might even
01:11want to caramelize them to add more flavor. Onions are what's known as an aromatic in
01:15the culinary world. This is the name given to vegetables, herbs, and spices used toward
01:20the start of cooking to create a flavorful base for a dish. But onions certainly aren't
01:24the only aromatics chefs use to make soups. As chef James DiBella tells us, he almost
01:29always starts with a mirepoix, which is a mix of diced onions, celery, and carrots.
01:33He then adds garlic, black peppercorn, fresh thyme, and bay leaves. However,
01:37which aromatics DiBella uses depends on what soup he's making, saying,
01:41"'If I am making a soup inspired by Thailand, I might use a base of aromatics using shallots,
01:46garlic, chiles, and lemongrass. Aromatics are fun to play with and will make a soup
01:50more fragrant, which also helps the stock taste deeper."
01:54Have you ever noticed your homemade soup lacking depth and brightness with no standout flavor?
01:58This is common when you try to use too many competing ingredients. At restaurants,
02:02chefs tend to focus on one or two standout ingredients and give them room to take center
02:07stage. As chef Olivier Koster tells us, you want the main ingredients of the soups to shine.
02:11If tomatoes are in season, you would want to taste the tomato and not all of the other
02:15vegetables you added to the soup. Of course, you'll still want to use veggies as aromatics
02:20then stick to just one main ingredient, such as pumpkin, spinach, or broccoli.
02:24The types of ingredients you choose are important. James DiBella gives this advice,
02:28"'Try choosing vegetables that are not too overpowering in taste.
02:31The amount of protein you use in the soup should always outweigh the vegetables.'"
02:35Not all vegetables are welcome, though. As Bernard Mehringer,
02:38chef and owner of Los Angeles-area restaurant Loose Digs, says,
02:41"'I would stay away from overly bitter vegetables or vegetables that have a bit of that dirty
02:45flavor.' My favorites to use in soups are butternut squash, sunchoke, carrot, and kohlrabi."
02:51Creating the perfect balance of flavors isn't easy. Chefs are trained to do it,
02:55but the average home cook might not have the know-how.
02:58"'I found that canned ham that we'd had forever,
03:01and I put it in a pot of boiling water, and guess what I'm calling it?'
03:04"'Soup?'
03:05"'Hot ham water.'"
03:06However, it is something you can learn if you want to improve your homemade soup,
03:10and indeed, any other dish. As Olivier Koster says,
03:13balance in a soup is probably the most important thing, and is what distinguishes a restaurant soup
03:18from a soup made at home. James DiBella told us about the importance of balancing the different
03:22elements of soup, adding,
03:24"'Proper simmering is key here, as it allows flavors to melt together and mellow out,
03:28creating that balance.'"
03:29DiBella also believes a great way to create balance is to layer the flavors gradually,
03:33and texture can also play a part in balancing a dish, with DiBella saying,
03:37"'If your soup base is creamy and luscious, you can create some wonderful contrast by
03:41adding something crunchy, like roasted nuts.'"
03:44Wondering why your favorite restaurant soup is so delicious? Well, it might be all the butter.
03:49Chef James DiBella agrees that butter is where it's at, admitting,
03:52"...most chefs cook many of their ingredients in butter instead of vegetable or olive oil.
03:56Considering how much flavor butter imparts, it just makes sense."
03:59He adds that, quote,
04:00"...a chef will always say fat equals flavor."
04:03So if you want your soups to taste more like restaurant soups,
04:06a healthy dose of butter might be the answer. That said,
04:08not all our experts use a lot of fat in their soups, with Olivier Costner saying,
04:12"...I use only a little oil or butter in a soup. We get all our flavors from good
04:16ingredients and homemade stock."
04:18From that, we can conclude that butter is one way to add flavor to soups, but not the only way.
04:24Sometimes, at a restaurant, it's not just the soup itself that's incredible,
04:27but the accompaniments that come with it.
04:29"'You want bread?'
04:30"'Yes, please.'
04:31"'Three dollars!'
04:34"'No soup for you!'
04:36At home, you probably eat soup with a dinner roll or a hunk of crusty bread,
04:40but restaurants often elevate this pairing, with Bernard Meringer telling us,
04:44"...there are so many little garnishes or side snacks that can be served with a soup
04:47that make all the difference."
04:49He tells us that his restaurant serves a sunchoke soup with a whipped ricotta truffle crostini,
04:54and his butternut squash soup is served with a pumpkin seed gruyere grissini. He goes on to say
04:58that, quote, "...the perfect accompaniment takes the soup into another direction,
05:02and therefore adds layers of flavors and textures."
05:05While you might make four to six portions of soup in a batch,
05:08restaurants are feeding a crowd and making huge vats of it. You might think that soup
05:12tastes the same whether you make enough for six or sixty. But according to some chefs,
05:16this might make a difference to the flavor. As Bernard Meringer tells us,
05:20"...I think that the main difference between soups made at home and soups
05:23made in restaurants is the quantity that we make at the restaurant."
05:26There might not be any logical explanation for this. Logical or not,
05:29there could be some truth to it. With this in mind,
05:32you might want to whip up a big batch next time you make soup and freeze the leftovers.
05:36You probably won't want to cook up a restaurant-sized amount,
05:38but you could double or triple the usual quantity you'd make.
05:42Have you ever noticed that leftovers often taste better than the original dish did
05:46on the day you made it? It's not just the joy of being able to reheat rather than cook from scratch.
05:51Leftovers actually undergo chemical reactions that change and improve flavors,
05:55and this could be why soup at restaurants is so much tastier. As James DiBella admits,
05:59"...I always try to prepare soups a day in advance versus the day it is served.
06:03The flavor compounds have time to meld together and create a harmonious flavor.
06:07For example, in beef stew, the carrots, potatoes, and onions can become sweeter
06:12and take on more flavor from the broth."
06:13He mentions that, when you reheat soup, this breaks down proteins further and
06:17releases umami compounds, giving the soup a more savory flavor and rounded mouthfeel.
06:22According to DiBella, another reason he likes to make soup a day ahead is that
06:25exposure to oxygen helps reduce the bitterness in any ingredients that are high in sulfur.
06:30All this adds up to a tastier soup.
06:37"...good soup."
06:38When your soup's not quite right and you can't figure out why,
06:41it could be because you're blending it when you should leave it chunky or vice versa.
06:45As Olivier Koster says,
06:47"...for me personally, a blended soup is more of a summer vibe,
06:50and chunky soups are for the winter. And of course, the produce is important.
06:53Does it blend well? Do you get a smooth texture? If not, it might be better to make a chunky soup."
06:58James DiBella, on the other hand, tells us that he tends to stick with traditional
07:02techniques to guide him, saying,
07:03"...soups are generally classified into four main categories — thin,
07:07thick, cold, and national — though these categories cover multiple different types of soup.
07:11Thick soups cover purees, baluté, and cream soups.
07:14Thin soups can be further split into more categories, including clear, broth, bouillon, and chunky."
07:20Most people reach for boxed stock or bouillon powders when making soup at home,
07:24while many restaurants use stocks and broths made in-house.
07:27There's a big difference in flavor between homemade stock and the commercial kind,
07:31and it's bound to make a difference to the finished dish. As James DiBella reveals,
07:35"...I always use homemade stock for soups at restaurants,
07:37as homemade stock will add a richer, deeper flavor and mouthfeel to soups."
07:41"...we do carrot soup, butternut squash soup, sometimes broccoli soup,
07:46so it's like a nice foundation for whatever we're in the mood to cook."
07:49And it's not just the flavor. There's more benefit to making your own stock,
07:52with DiBella adding,
07:53"...homemade stock is usually unsalted, and as homemade stock is fortified with more flavor,
07:58hopefully that means you will need less salt at the end of cooking."
08:01He notes that making stock from scratch lets you have more control over how much
08:04salt is added to the soup. You might be used to cooking with dried herbs and ground spices,
08:09but this is where chefs differ. They tend to add an extra punch of flavor by using
08:13whole spices and fresh herbs when making soup. As James DiBella informs us,
08:17"...fresh herbs can add freshness and flavor to soups, especially hearty herbs like rosemary
08:22and thyme, which are often used in longer simmering dishes. You can add a few sprigs
08:26of fresh herbs and remove the stems before serving." According to DiBella,
08:29other fresh herbs that work well in soups include parsley, cilantro, chives, basil,
08:34and mint. Basically, any herb works if it matches the flavor profile of the soup.
08:39DiBella also uses whole spices to create a subtle depth of flavor,
08:42and adds them to a soup using a sachet bag, explaining,
08:45"...a sachet bag is a small piece of cheesecloth that is stuffed with spices and fresh herbs,
08:50and then tied with a piece of twine to enclose the ingredients."
08:53If your soup isn't coming out as tasty as restaurant versions, it might not be your fault.
08:57It could just be that the equipment you have doesn't stand up to what professional chefs
09:01have in their kitchens, with James DiBella revealing,
09:04"...chefs also tend to have better equipment and potware to make and prepare soups."
09:07Your blender at home probably will not compare to a commercial blender,
09:11which will always be found in restaurant kitchens. That perfectly creamy consistency
09:15could be eluding you because your blender isn't up to scratch compared to a professional one.
09:19And if the flavors are lacking,
09:20maybe your pots and pans don't let you get the perfect char on your ingredients.
09:25There's not much you can do about this beyond enrolling in culinary school,
09:28but chefs have training, experience, and knowledge that us mere mortals just don't possess.
09:33The reason your homemade soup isn't as good as your restaurant favorite might just be that you
09:37lack the cooking skills of a professional chef. As Olivier Koster says,
09:41It's the tiny details we put in our soups, making the right flavor combinations and
09:45enhancing some flavors with spices, herbs, aromatics. We want you to remember that soup,
09:50and so we put a lot of thought and love into it,
09:52hopefully making that soup just a bit more special and tastier than at home.
09:56Chef James DiBella tells us something similar, that soups made in restaurants taste better
10:00because chefs have a refined cooking process, a practiced use of seasonings,
10:04and pay close attention to components home chefs might not even know about. As DiBella admits,
10:09Chefs who work in restaurants also tend to season and salt every component of a dish at each step
10:14of the cooking process, building something at each step to create complex, layered flavor.