Mulligatawny Soup

From "Fifty Soups", by Thomas J. Murrey, 1884

Divide a large chicken into neat pieces; take a knuckle of veal, and chop it up; put all into a large saucepan, and add one gallon of water; salt; boil for three hours or until reduced one-third. Put an ounce of butter in a hot frying pan, cut up two red onions, and fry them in the butter. Into a half pint of the stock put two heaping tablespoonfuls of curry powder; add this to the onion, then add the whole to the soup, now taste for seasoning.

Some like a little wine, but these are the exception and not the rule. Before serving add half a slice of lemon to each portion. Many prefer a quantity of rice to be added to the soup before it is finished; the rice should be first well washed and parboiled.

Cream of Spinach Soup

From "The Golden Age Cookbook", 1898.

Take two large handfuls of spinach, after it is washed and picked over, a small head of lettuce, a few sprigs of parsley, and a small white onion peeled and sliced. Put in a saucepan over the fire with a tablespoonful of butter, a dozen peppercorns and two cloves, and a very little boiling water, cover and stand it where the vegetables will only simmer.

When they are tender rub together a generous heaping tablespoonful of butter and a heaping tablespoonful of flour, and stir it into the vegetables. Add a little boiling water, mash the vegetables smooth and press them through a fine sieve. Have the purée as thick as possible, return to the saucepan. Have ready a pint of boiling milk, beat two egg yolks with four tablespoonfuls of cream, pour a little of the boiling milk into them, and the rest into the purée, remove from the fire at once, then add the eggs and cream, pour into the tureen and serve immediately.

Thomas Murrey's Clam Chowder

From "Fifty Soups", Eighth Edition, by Thomas J. Murrey, 1884. Mr Murrey was "formerly professional caterer of the Continental Hotel, Philadelphia, Astor House, New York, and other leading hotels".

Chop up fifty large clams; cut eight medium-sized potatoes into small square pieces, and keep them in cold water until wanted.

Chop one large, red onion fine, and cut up half a pound of larding pork into small pieces.

Procure an iron pot, and see that it is very clean and free from rust; set it on the range, and when very hot, throw the pieces of pork into it, fry them brown; next add the onion, and fry it brown; add one fourth of the chopped clams, then one fourth of the chopped potato, and two pilot crackers quartered, a teaspoonful of salt, one chopped, long, red pepper, a teaspoonful of powdered thyme and half a pint of canned tomato pulp. Repeat this process until the clams and potato are used, omitting the seasoning; add hot water enough to cover all, simmer slowly three hours. Should it become too thick, add more hot water; occasionally remove the pot from the range, take hold of the handle, and twist the pot round several times; this is done to prevent the chowder from burning. On no account disturb the20 chowder with a spoon or ladle until done; now taste for seasoning, as it is much easier to season properly after the chowder is cooked than before. A few celery tops may be added if desired.

Cold Cherry Soup

From "The International Jewish Cook Book"

This soup is a summer soup and is to be eaten cold. Cook two tablespoons of sago in one cup of boiling water until tender, add more as water boils down. Put one quart of large red or black cherries, one cup of claret, one tablespoon of broken cinnamon, one-fourth cup of sugar, and one-half lemon sliced fine, up to boil and let boil fifteen minutes; add the cooked sago, let boil up and pour very gradually over the well-beaten yolks of two eggs. Serve cold. Raspberry, strawberry, currant, gooseberry, apple, plum or rhubarb soups are prepared the same way, each cooked until tender and sweetened to taste. The juice of lemon may be used instead of the wine.

Southern-Style Vegetable Soup

From "Dishes and Recipes of the Old South", 1913.

Cut into joints two fat chickens three parts grown, salt and pepper, and lay aside while you fry in a deep pot half a pound streaky bacon. Take out when crisp, put in the chicken, turning it so as to brown it all over. Put in a thick slice of ham, let it also brown a bit, do the same with four sliced onions—mild ones—then add two gallons cold water, half a teaspoonful salt, two pods red pepper, a dozen whole pepper corns, and two sprigs of parsley. Keep at a gentle boil for an hour, then put in two small heads of tender cabbage finely shredded, and six white potatoes, peeled and sliced a quarter-inch thick.

Fifteen minutes later put in a quart of string beans, broken short, a pint of shelled lima beans, a stalk of celery cut fine lengthwise, and a dozen tomatoes, peeled and sliced. Follow them in ten minutes with a pint of tender okra sliced—next add a little later the pulp from a dozen ears of green corn, slit lengthwise and scraped. Stir almost constantly with a long-handled skimmer, after the corn pulp is in. If the skimmer brings up chicken bones, throw them aside.

Just before serving put in a large spoonful of butter, rolled in flour. Taste, add salt if required. Serve very hot with corn hoe cake and cider just beginning to sparkle. If there is soup enough for everybody, nothing else will be wanted.

Black Turtle Bean Soup

Pick and wash clean, one quart black turtle beans, soak overnight in three quarts cold water, and put on to boil next morning in the soaking water. When it boils add three onions sliced, one carrot scraped and cut up, a stalk or so of celery, three sprigs of parsley, and one tomato, fresh or canned. Boil slowly four to five hours, until the beans are tender, filling up with cold water as that in the kettle wastes. When the beans are very soft, strain all through a fine collander, mashing through beans and vegetables, add a quart of very good soup stock, also a bay leaf, and boil up hard half a minute before serving. Put into each soup plate a slice of lemon, a slice of hard-boiled egg, and a tablespoonful of sherry wine before adding the soup.

From "Dishes and Beverages of the Old South", by Martha McCulloch-Williams, 1913

Soup Recipes: Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Corn Soup

* 1 stewing hen, about 4-lbs.
* 4 qts. water
* 1 onion, chopped
* 10 ears corn
* ½ cup celery, chopped with leaves
* 2 hard-boiled eggs
* salt and pepper
* rivels

Put cut-up chicken and onion into the water and cook slowly until tender, add salt. Remove chicken, cut the meat into small (1-inch) pieces and return to broth, together with corn, which has been cut from the cob, celery and seasoning. Continue to simmer. Make rivels by combining 1 cup flour, a pinch of salt, 1 egg and a little milk. Mix well with fork or fingers to form small crumbs. Drop these into the soup, also the chopped, hard-boiled eggs. Boil for 15 minutes longer.