FoodBanter.com - rescuing bitter soup

Dawn wrote:
> Help!
>
> I made chicken stock out of leftovers yesterday and we had chicken
> rice soup for dinner. It was pretty good.
>
> Today I used the remaining 3 cups of stock with carrot, celery and
> onion, and some fresh pumpkin from my garden (steamed and pureed) to
> make curry pumpkin soup. In addition to the vegetables there's fresh
> garlic (1 clove) and about a tablespoon of McCormick curry powder.
>
> It's bitter and I don't know how to fix it. I'm afraid of just adding
> sugar. I tried a few spoonsfuls with a bit of half-n-half, and that
> helped, but the bitterness came through as an aftertaste.
>
> Any suggestions for rescuing dinner?
>
>
>
> Dawn

Add some sweet apple cider to taste, or saute one or two peeled, cored,
sliced apples (Preferably something on the sweet side, not a Greening or
Granny Smith) in a little butter, preferably until soft and a bit
caramelized, and then puree with some of the soup and add it back in.

Did you "melt" the vegetables you added in some butter in a pan with a tight
lid, then remove the lid and caramelize them? That would have made the
carrot and onion sweeter, and given the soup more flavor. (Personally, I
wouldn't have added celery.) It also would have been a good idea to cook the
curry powder with the vegetables, at least during the lid-off stage.
Commercial curry powder can taste a bit acrid. I'd suggest using Garam
Masala instead, or making your own. It's not difficult.