Cooking Soups

The popularity of soups today may be due to increased nutrition consciousness, to a desire for simpler or lighter meals, or to an increased appreciation of how appetizing and satisfying soups can be. Whatever the reasons, they emphasize the importance of soup-making skills. Soup according to the dictionary is a liquid food derived from meat, poultry, fish, or vegetables. This definition is all right as far as it goes, but there's a lot it doesn't tell us. Soups can be divided into three basic categories: clear or unthickened soups, thick soups, and special soups that  don't fit the first two categories.