Using cheesecloth in soup is a simple and effective way to infuse flavor from herbs and spices while keeping your broth clear and free of small particles. It's typically used to create a sachet that holds ingredients during cooking.
Creating an Herb Sachet for Soup
A cheesecloth sachet, sometimes called a bouquet garni when containing specifically herbs, allows the flavors of aromatic ingredients to permeate the liquid without letting the solids disperse throughout the soup.
Here's how to make and use one:
- Gather your ingredients: Select the herbs, spices, or other small aromatics you want to add to your soup (e.g., peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, parsley stems, cloves).
- Prepare the cheesecloth: Cut a piece of food-grade cheesecloth large enough to hold your ingredients with extra room to tie. Using multiple layers of cheesecloth can prevent smaller pieces from escaping.
- Wrap the ingredients: Wrap the herbs and spices in cheesecloth. Place your chosen aromatics in the center of the cheesecloth.
- Tie the sachet: Tie it together with kitchen twine. Securely gather the edges of the cheesecloth and tie it tightly with a piece of natural, unbleached kitchen twine. Leave a long tail on the twine if needed to tie it to the pot handle for easy retrieval.
- Add to the soup: Place the completed sachet directly into your soup pot as it cooks.
- Infuse the flavor: As your soup simmers, the sachet will perfume flavor throughout the pot.
- Remove the sachet: Before serving, simply lift the sachet out of the pot and discard it. All the solids remain contained.
Benefits of Using a Cheesecloth Sachet
Utilizing cheesecloth for soup aromatics offers several advantages:
- Clean Broth: Prevents small leaves, peppercorns, or spice bits from floating loose in your soup.
- Easy Removal: All the solid flavorings can be removed in one quick step before serving.
- Controlled Flavor: Ensures that strong flavors from ingredients like cloves or bay leaves don't overpower the soup if accidentally left in.
Using cheesecloth is a fundamental technique for achieving professional-tasting and visually appealing soups, stocks, and broths.
