Adding cream to already cooked soup

[petridishmystery]

I made a soup last night for lunches during the week which in hindsight is a bit spicy and just feels like it needs something a bit extra.

i thought I’d add some cream or something but don’t usually cook with it and as I’ll be adding it to a pre-prepared soup and then microwaving it I wasn’t sure if it was ok to just whack in a tablespoon of cream? Should I do this before or after I reheat? I don’t want it to curdle.

It won’t matter which side of hearing you add it but make sure you use double cream.

Doing it after makes a nice swirl and cools it down a bit!

Thanks I wouldn’t have known it mattered!

Yes, drop some double cream in and swirl it after cooking - lovely.

I like cream but it can split if it’s hot so often use creme fraiche instead

I don't think it does matter, does it? If you add it after heating, a tablespoonful of cream will make minimal difference to the temperature of the soup. For calming down spicy heat, I think plain, i.e. not sweetened/fruity, yoghourt would be a better bet, and that should definitely be added after heating the soup through.

Drizzle/swirl cream onto soup after heating for a pretty effect. This also works for herby or chilli oil.

Depends on the soup and how much cream. If you're adding a generous amount, then add it before heating and heat it with the soup (if you want to add a lot, I'd do some milk and some cream to avoid it getting too rich). If you just want a little, add a swirl at the end. Personally, to add a bit of freshness, I'd agree with a PP and use plain yoghurt rather than cream. I would add cream to chicken or tomato soup but yoghurt to most vegetable soups. A butternut soup would depend on the spices I'd used. I probably wouldn't 'add yoghurt to a chunky soup that had any kind of broth vibe to it.

A top tip I got from an old recipe book is to add a teaspoon of honey and a squeeze of lemon to many soups that are blitzed/creamy. It can lift them and soften them nicely.

Thanks for the tips! Suppose I should have said what sort of soup, it’s a blended soup mostly with tomatoes but also some peppers and carrot.

Add a small amount of sugar to a tomato soup. You will be amazed at how the flavour is improved. It takes the edge off the acidity.