HOW DO I THICKEN SOUPS?

[TRINGAMAN]

I wanted to make a nice soup much like the tinned veg soup you can get from the shop but I can't make it so it has that thick creaminess that tinned soup does. How can I make soup like, for example, CROSSE & BLACKWELL's winter vegetable soup?

I use potatoes to thicken soups

As @Louisetopaz21 , add a spud and blend it, or red lentils, or beans… loads of things will thicken a soup.

If you prefer a textured soup, take out 2/3 of the veg, blend the remaining stuff for longer than you’d think (a minute or more at least) and add the veg back in.

Cornflour slaked with water will do it but it isn’t as nice a texture.

Grate a potato into it. For a proper gorgeous soup though stir up some cornflour with a spoonful of cream and some of the soup and stir that in, bring back to the boil and simmer until thickened.
Grated potato does the job without the fat but the cream and cornflour is lush.

Potato or lentils

Use less liquid
Add something starchy
Blend half

Instant mashed potato flakes!

The richness and good mouthfeel that was missing from my soups was cornflour. Make a separate slurry and add to the hot soup while stirring rapidly.

Make a roux. Melt some butter add half the amount of four. Stir and cook it for two minutes to cook off the flour. Then add it to your soup and it will thicken it.

yep blend half of it

I either blend a tin of cannellini beans and add which gives a lovely creaminess, or I throw in half a potato and use the immersion blender just on the potato area to give it creaminess. I also blend in a little miso at the end for depth and umami.

Smash! A spoonful or two, mix it well, make sure it's cooked out the potato starch properly.

Pearl barley or a handful of rice. Potato, lentils or sweet potato, depending on the soup. I bloody love soup 🥣

Blend in a can of chickpeas

You can get whole tub of thickening granules for a quid in the supermarket. Just chuck them in.

When you've made your winter vegetable soup remove say a quarter of it and blend with a hand blender and return, or you can just go into the pot with the hand blender until a sufficient amount is blended.

I sometimes use potato flour to thicken soups and stews as I don't like the cornflour clagginess .

Generally, I use cornflour and add a little cream (single or double) just before serving - except with soups like minestrone, which doesn't need the cream, and some will say don't need to be thickened either.

I blend veg soups and, if necessary, I add half a slice of white bread before blending to give it a creamier texture (just blend half if you like them chunky).

Or a tin of butter beans - delicious

But not all of them, unless you're making a massive cauldron of soup, or want it pretty much solid.

I use dried potato flakes/smash to thicken things and it works a treat!

Cornflour, butter and flour, bread, potato

Have you tried blending in some Tories?

I make a lot of soup but some of these ideas are brilliant.
I usually use potato to thicken but I blend it all and miss textures. Why did I never think about blending half of it!
Going to try adding bread and buy some instant potato to try.

My soup tip is to keep a bag in the freezer to which all veg or potato leftovers are added to be used next time I make soup.