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What characterizes a soup that holds well in a buffet setting?

Seasoned Advice Asked on July 1, 2021

Maybe there is good reason buffets seem to have the same short list of soups: they hold well ie flavor and color; do not separate or split; heavy ingredients do not sink to bottom.

What should I avoid in soup recipes that they can be held hot for up to 4hrs?

One Answer

I was really hoping that someone still in professional food service would answer this, but they haven't, so here's my list of rules based on memory from when I was:

Soups that are no good for holding:

  • Egg-drop soups and seafood soups are risky because of rapid spoilage
  • Miso soup settles out
  • Soups that are thickened with a butter or heavy cream emulsion; these tend to separate after being heated for hours
  • Pasta, barley and rice soups are problematic because the grains both absorb liquid while sitting and sink to the bottom.
  • Bread-thickened soups tend to turn to porrige
  • gazpacho actually does not do well; even though it is cold, after a few hours out it can ferment unless you keep it well-chilled

Soups that are good for holding:

  • Just about any pureed vegetable soup
  • Cheese-and-emulsifier thickened soups, like broccoli-cheese soup, do well
  • Bean soups with a moderate amount of beans do well (thick bean soups tend to solidify though), like vegetable/lentil, or brunswick stew
  • Chicken/noodle soup is a good standby if the noodles are very small and less than the chicken (see above)|
  • Thin dal, like a classic South Indian sambar, is designed for long sitting
  • Tomato/vegetable soup
  • "Chowders", including corn chowder, hold well from a suspension/serving standpoint, but see above for the risks of holding seafood
  • Any clear broth, such as bone broth, consomme, pomegranate soup, etc.

That's all I have; hopefully someone with current buffet-running experience will speak up.

Correct answer by FuzzyChef on July 1, 2021

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