Soups Sejal Sukhadwala Few things evoke home and hearth as soulfully as a bowl of soup. Soup is grandma's hugs, gossip with a best friend, and therapy all rolled into one. So how can you make better, more flavourful soup?

In this article

World of soups Soup specifics

Making stock Thickening soups

Garnishes and accompaniments Recipes

Allow yourself to be inspired by soups from around the globe

First, allow yourself to be inspired by soups from around the globe, from the homespun Jewish chicken soup, to the gumbos, made from okra, chicken, seafood or meat, of the American South. India has countless dahls (lentil soups); Middle Eastern Muslims break their Ramadan fast with harira, made from lentils, chickpeas, and lamb; and Japan is famous for soups based on miso (fermented soybean paste).

Eastern Europe boasts goulash (a beef and paprika stew that started life as soup) and borsch (beetroot and meat soup). Spanish gazpacho is always fashionable; Greeks love avgolemono (egg and lemon soup); and Italy has numerous bean and pasta soups, such as minestrone. Closer to home, Scotland is renowned for cullen skink (smoked haddock soup) and Scotch broth (mutton and barley soup).

The word 'soup' comes from the Latin 'suppare', which means 'soaking', and once described a dish of meat or vegetables that was soaked in the liquid in which it was cooked. In ancient times, soup was referred to as either broth (meaning 'brewed') or pottage ('cooked in a pot'). Bouillon, from the French word for 'boil', simply means stock. Consommé, a French word meaning 'consummated', describes the process in which an ingredient is simmered for a long time to acquire a concentrated flavour; its modern meaning is 'clear soup'.

Chowder, which comes from chaudrée, a Breton word for cauldron, is a thick soup that's associated with New England and the American north-east. Depending on where it's made, it can have clear stock or a tomato base, or a creamy milk base, into which seafood (usually clams) are added.

Possibly originating in the Bay of Biscay near Spain, bisques are rich, thick soups that were once made from poultry and game birds, but are now normally cooked with crustaceans. Velouté, literally 'velvety' in French, is soup that's thickened with cream, egg yolks, flour and butter.

To make a good soup, it's essential to use good stock. It's fine to use stock cubes in a pinch but for the best-flavoured soups, it's best to make your own. Use fresh vegetable trimmings or frozen peelings - you can accumulate these in freezer bags and use them as needed.

Dried or fresh mushrooms, carrots, celery, pumpkins, corn cobs, meat bones, inexpensive cuts of meats or unused ingredients (such as chicken carcasses or shells from shellfish) make excellent bases for stock.

Bay leaves are practically a must, because they add a haunting background flavour

For flavouring the stock, herbs such as parsley and thyme add depth. Bay leaves are practically a must, because they add a haunting background flavour. Asian-style stocks can be made from miso paste, dried bonito fish flakes or seaweed and flavoured with fresh ginger and lemongrass.

Brassicas (the cabbage family, including broccoli and Brussels sprouts), spinach, artichokes, and asparagus can leave a bitter, metallic taste, so it's best to avoid using these as the basis for your stock. Likewise, onion skins and strongly flavoured herbs and spices will overwhelm. Vividly coloured ingredients such as beetroot, turmeric, saffron and soy sauce, while fine in a soup, are best left out of a stock.

For an extra depth of flavour, sauté or roast the vegetables or meat before use. Put the ingredients in cold water (half solids to half water is a good ratio), bring to boil, and simmer. Vegetable stocks take a half hour to one hour to cook, while chicken and meat stock take between one and five hours. Skim off the whitish foam that appears on the surface regularly, and strain as soon as possible after cooking.

Our Get Cooking videos show you how to master the skill of stock-making.

• Paul Merrett shows how to make light chicken stock
• Paul Merrett shows how to make vegetable stock
• Mitch Tonks shows how to make fish stock
• Mike Robinson shows how to make basic beef stock

Once you've mastered the art of stock-making, you'll be making soup regularly. But what if your soup is too thin? The best remedy is to thicken the soup with the purée of a central ingredient you're using in the soup. Root vegetables, tomatoes, beans or lentils are particularly good for this.

Alternatively, you can use cornflour, arrowroot, rice, tapioca, semolina, cornmeal, bulgar wheat, breadcrumbs or crushed nuts. Egg yolks, milk, cream, yoghurt, crème fraîche or béchamel sauce are also suitable.

To avoid lumps or curdling, add your chosen ingredient first to a ladleful of soup in a bowl, amalgamate well, and then pour the mixture back into the soup pot.

In addition to using croutons, chopped fresh herbs or a swirl of cream, you can decorate soup with finely diced or shredded vegetables, deep-fried wafer-thin vegetable slices, deep-fried herbs, toasted nuts and seeds, cooked quail's egg, or a spoonful of caviar.

Serve your soup creations with crusty breads or elegant grissini, float croûtes (largish bread slices) on top, or serve with fritters or savoury biscuits and muffins. Most Asian soups are served with rice and pickles. As ever, experimentation is the key.

Try your hand at using various techniques, ingredients and garnishes. We've chosen the following recipes to tempt your taste buds:

• VIDEO RECIPE: Country vegetable soup with basil pistou by Mike Robinson (a text version is also available
• VIDEO RECIPE: Cream of potato and parsley soup by Paul Merrett (a text version is also available
• VIDEO RECIPE: Fisherman's soup by Mitch Tonks (a text version is also available
• Curried lentil and lime soup by Silvana Franco
• Chicken and pastina broth by Silvana Franco
• Mediterranean fish soup by Rick Stein
• Beetroot soup with feta by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
• Brussels sprout and caramelised onion soup by Sophie Grigson
• Wild mushroom soup by Michael Caines
• Potato and roast pepper soup by Darina Allen
• Tom yum soup with lime and white fish by John Torode
• Minestrone by Elizabeth David