Vegetables added to a soup taste better if you saute them in a little butter first.

Fat can be removed from hot soup by floating a large lettuce leaf on the surface.

Eliminate fat from soup and stew by dropping ice cubes into the pot. As you stir, the fat will cling to the cubes. Discard the cubes before they melt.

Never over-boil soups as they lose their color.

You can camouflage the burnt taste from your soups & Stews by pouring the liquid gently and carefully into a clean pan and flavor it with curry powder or mustard or some chutney.

Salty Soup - Place a raw potato in the bowl & it will absorb the extra salt.

Thickening for the Soups - Put instant mashed potato and gravies to thicken. Stir thoroughly and Keep on adding as much desired.

Unpeeled potatoes add flavour, colour and nutrients to stews.

To prevent any boiling-over mishaps, grease the inside rim of the pot.

Add one tsp. of butter or margarine to macaroni, spaghetti, soup etc. to stop from boiling over.

Finely grated cheese, added to thin soup, improves the flavour immensely.

Before opening a can of soup, shake can and open bottom end. Soup will slide out easily.

Always add corn flour to any recipe by first making a thin paste in cold water.

Corn flour is an excellent thickening agent to add body to any soup. If not available maida can also be used, similarly. Only the transparency of clear soups will not be there.

To thicken homemade soup, add a handful of rolled oats or wheat flakes.

To make soup go further, add noodles, macaroni, barley, rice or diced potatoes.

Save leftover vegetables in a container in the freezer and use them in soups.To cut meat costs, serve soups, stews, casseroles, etc. with lots of dried peas, beans and lentils.

To make reusable and handy stock, make purees of boiled tomatoes, carrots, or bottle gourd. Set in freezer in ice cube trays. Remove the frozen cubes. Place in a clean milk bag. Seal and store in freezer. Use as required. Can last 7-10 days.

Chilled cucumber soup serve as a appetizer in hot humid climate. Serve by putting a little powdered nutmeg in it.

To give a spicy indianised taste to any bland (non-cream based) soup, add a dash of either malakapudi or andhrapudi, while it is being cooked.

It is healthier to garnish soups with popcorn in place of fried croutons.