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Week 4 Reflection

  • dcm0062
  • Sep 14, 2021
  • 6 min read

Cream Tomato Soup and Consommé

Results

Cream of Tomato Soup

Technique

The cooking technique me and my partners implemented work flawlessly. Throughout the process we did everything accordingly and worked together as a good team. We found these instructions and techniques to be much more efficient and effective throughout the cooking process than last week. Going into this weeks lab we found that the techniques required came about easier due to prior experience. We were all pretty impressed with the outcome of our dishes, very delicious.

Texture

The texture of our tomato soup was spot on in my opinion. It was smooth and had zero chucks. This was due to us utilizing the pureé to perfection. Although the soup was smooth it wasn't too thin which enhanced the overall success of the dish.

Taste

When talking about the taste in tomato soup you can't forget about the tomato. The tomato is the key taste in the dish and is what hits your tongue first. The tomato adds a sweet and acidic taste to the flavor of the dish which is critical in its overall composition. The unions in the mirepoix added added a sweet taste to the dishes flavor that was much needed as well. Lastly, the cream put into the soup at the very end delivered a great taste. It contributed a calm, basic taste that worked beautifully.

Flavor

The flavor of this dish was spectacular. Every ingredient played its role which caused a wild and delicious sensation for the pallet. The acidity from the tomato and the basicity from the cream clashed together to create a perfect mixture of both. The tomato would hit you first but the cream was shortly after to produce that relaxing flavor. The unions sweetness helped control the tomato as well, since it combatted the acidity of the tomato. But, we can't forget about the other ingredients in the mirepoix. The celery and carrots helped produce an earthy and cleansing flavor to the soup. What I mean by this is that it helped the flavors of the soup feel light and not heavy.

Appearance

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Consommé

Texture

The texture of mine consommé was very smooth and extremely fluid. It was so fluid that its consistency felt like water. This was caused by our extreme care when straining out the consommé. There were no disgusting chucks when drinking the consommé. Very happy with texture.

Taste

The only ingredients that stuck out to me when tasting the consommé was a hint of the ground beef and union. You receive a little bit of that bold taste you expect from beef. The union added a stronger taste to the consommé than the beef but not by a lot. The taste I received from the union was a bit of char with that stereotypical union taste. But other than them I had trouble detecting any other taste from the ingredients.

Flavor

The best way to describe the flavor of the consommé would be cleansing and refreshing. The only taste you obtain is a hint of the beef and a slightly stronger taste of the union but, together they create a wonderfully flavored dish. The flavor in the consommé is very weak but is very applicable in cleansing your pallet.

Appearance

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Evaluation

Cream of Tomato and Consommé

Why did certain techniques work or not work?

I believe that the techniques I utilized worked great. I followed the directions exactly and all ran smoothly. The proper cuts on the vegetables went more smoothly this go around than last time due to prior experience. Furthermore, I felt more comfortable in the kitchen unlike last time which caused everything to run more smoothly and efficiently. As well, coming to class with a better understanding of the recipe and directions made it much easier. The greatest success I had in cooking both dishes was straining the consommé. I took my time trying not to break the raft when skimming it out and when pouring the consommé through the cheese cloth. I made sure that I didn't stir the whole ingredients in the pot which is why I was very pleased with the clarity of our consommé.

What could/would you do to improve the outcomes?

The one way I could improve my dish would be to properly proportion the recipe. When creating my portion for the cream of tomato soup I had it for 4 portions. But, I should have compensated for having two extra partners. When we began cutting up the vegetables and preparing ingredients we noticed this was no where near enough for all of us. So, we had to compensate which cost us time that shouldn't have been lost. This made us one of the last groups to complete the dish and we should have been the first if I didn't mess up. But, it was better learning this now with a less complicated day than in the future. Another way I could improve would be to cut my vegetables all into even pieces. As of now, only 90% are the same which means 10% won't be consistent. Although that isn't a whole lot, I believe this could improve my outcome.

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Conclusion

Learning Objectives Achieved

The objective I set out to achieve the most was producing a cream soup. I did this because I feel like I will apply the skills I learned in the lab and apply it at home. I have always been a fan of cream soup. As well, as being the one I set out to do the best at, I believe I achieved this objective the best. My finished product of the soup was terrific and amazing. I was honestly surprised how well it came at. I believe it came out so well because we properly sweated the vegetables and we pureéd the soup to perfection; not to thin but not to thick: goldy lock zone. By sweating the mirepoix properly we extracted the maximum amount of flavors possible for our soup. The other learning objective I believed I achieved was creating the consommé. Of course I don't believe I am perfect at it yet but for my first go, I believe I did very well. We had a well established raft along with a very clear consommé. The clarity in it was due to me taking out the raft carefully and straining the un-rafted consommé with cheesecloth. A long with the clarity, the flavor was great too. Although there wasn't much flavor, I believe I did a great job because it felt cleansing and refreshing.

Others Things I Learned Outside of Learning Objectives

A great tip I learned from my partner in the lab was making the string of the bouquet garni longer so I could tie it to the handle of the pot. This allowed me to pull it out with ease, rather than struggling to get it out with a spoon. The other bit of knowledge I received during this lab was creating an onion brūlés for the consommé. Before the lab I had zero clue about what this was and how to go about doing it. Surprisingly, it was extremely simple. Stick cloves in half a union and burn the bottom of it in a pan. This allows for more flavor extraction of the union, thus enhancing the dishes qualities.

What I can Apply in the Future

I can apply what I learned from the learning objectives and on my own from the lab in many applications. For instance, tonight I am going cook a cream tomato soup for me and my roommates which I am excited for. Since I did a great job of sweating my mirepoix for the cream tomato soup I believe my future dishes will benefit because I have improved so much. The skills I obtained with straining the consommé will be extremely beneficial when I go to strain stocks in the future. I believe I did a great job on straining my consommé because how clear it came out. If I can apply what I learned through making consommé to stocks, my stocks will be extremely clear. The trick I learned with bouquet garnis will be a great, time saving tip, when I am cooking at home or in lab. Although I have never had a bouquet garni bust open, this tip will make that less likely to happen in the future.

What Still Needs Improvement

The biggest thing for me now is time management. I can tell that I have improved in this subject since the first class but I still need improve. I often find myself scrambling around the kitchen like a chicken with my head cut off. But, this week I found that happening less frequently which I was very pleased with. I felt much more in control and confident this go around. I need to practice this more so that I can more more efficient during lab time and so that I don't get overwhelmed. The other aspect I feel like I need improvement in is cutting vegetables. I have improved so much in this but I am not yet where I want to be. About 90% of my pieces are exactly the same size but this causes 10% to be inconsistent with the other pieces. Getting to where all my pieces are the same size will improve the quality and consistency of my dishes.

Citations

P., Rhodes, P., Rhodes, P., & 01, O. (n.d.). 10 top secrets of portion control. Retrieved September 14, 2021, from https://www.cookinglight.com/eating-smart/nutrition-101/portion-control-tips


House, G. (2016, September 22). How to make an onion brûlé. Retrieved September 14, 2021, from https://cooking-outdoors.com/how-to-make-an-onion-brule/






 
 
 

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