Jalapeno Soup

[jennyema]

Not sure about a cup of uncooked flour .... why do you add that?

Flour added to the liquid doesn't thicken it on its own. Flour needs heat (cooking) to make the starch bond to the water molecules.

It will also taste starchy when uncooked. Like flour.

[luckytrim]

the soup does get re-heated, but not "cooked", once i add the milk and flour.........starchy taste? hmmm! now, that answers a nagging question............ so i should make a roux of the flour and milk BEFORE i puree it? original recipe never mentioned "cooking" the flour, so i never have......still like the result, tho......

[jennyema]

Originally Posted by luckytrim

the soup does get re-heated, but not "cooked", once i add the milk and flour............

Doesn't look like your directions even say reheat "To chicken stock add all ingredients, except flour and milk, and bring to a boil,then simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Let cool at least 30 minutes.
Blend together the flour and milk and whisk until smooth, then puree everything together."

You need to bring the soup back up to at least 150 and pref to a simmer before the flour does anything but cloud up the soup and make it starchy. At temp the flour will bind with the liquid and begin to thicken it, lose its starchy taste, and become clearer. Get it up to temp and stir it.

IMO, I would thicken it with half and half or cream rather than flour. After all, you are already adding dairy to it, so it's almost a cream-based soup anyway. Or add more potatoes and some cream so it's more like a jalepeno vichysoisse (sp?).

I personally don't like flour in soups, but think a roux-based thickener of butter and flour would work the best if you want to use flour. You won't need a cup -- that's 16T of flour. You probably need maybe half that or less, depending on how thick you want the soup.

[luckytrim]

i went looking last night for a similar recipe to this one, which i got from a church collection-- seems just about every one uses cheese- the one i found with flour still didn't "cook" it, but it did describe "kneading" butter into the flour........
anyway, from the recipes i saw last night, i may never make this one again!!

thx for your advice

[jennyema]

Originally Posted by luckytrim

the one i found with flour still didn't "cook" it, but it did describe "kneading" butter into the flour........
anyway, from the recipes i saw last night, i may never make this one again!!

thx for your advice

What you describe (flour kneaded into butter) is called "beurre manie" and is a common method used to thicken sauces. It's like an uncooked roux. Read about it HERE

BUT the soup or sauce still needs to be cooked (simmered) after the addition of beurre manie. Flour simply will not thicken sauce/soup unless it is brought to a high enough temperature for long enough to allow it to bond with the liquid and expand. It'll just give the soup a floury taste and texture. That's chemistry.