Sweet Potato And Sausage Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can sweet potato be used to thicken soup? ›

Starchy Vegetables

Grate a starchy vegetable like squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, or white potato into the soup and let it simmer. It will release that starch and help to thicken the liquid as it cooks.

Adding an acid like vinegar or lemon juice and incorporating fresh herbs can also help add flavor to a potato soup. While you may not need to implement all of these strategies, it's good to keep them in the back of your mind for when you realize your next pot of soup needs a flavor boost.

So, if you want them less sweet, try shortening the cook time by preheating, cutting them smaller, poking with a fork/knife, and using a higher temperature. This is actually the right answer. And the amylase is most active above 135°F but then becomes denatured and stops working around 170°F.

According to that outlet, for cooking, "1 pound of sweet potatoes equals about three medium whole, 2 cups mashed, or 3 1/2 to 4 cups chopped." However, size does matter in this case. HowMuchIsIn.com reports that when it comes to these root veggies, 1 pound of them "is equal to 2 large or 3 medium sweet potatoes."

Don't overcook the vegetables. One of the main reasons that vegetables become soggy when cooked in broth or soup stock is that they are overcooked. To prevent this, try to cook your vegetables until they are just tender but still firm. This will help them retain their shape and texture.

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute.

Adding umami-rich ingredients like tomato paste or a parmesan rind to the soup will add a deep, rich savoriness and body to the soup.

Add acidic ingredients.

Foods that have a great deal of acidity, like lemon juice, vinegar, white wine, and tomato puree, can help liven up the flavor of bland-tasting bone and other broths. "The acidity of these ingredients works to complement and enhance the broth's flavors, not mask it.

Cheese: I recommend a good sharp cheddar cheese here for maximum flavor. Greek yogurt or sour cream: To make the soup extra-creamy. Salt and pepper: Add in as much as you need at the end to season your soup well.

Slow-roasting the sweet potatoes activates endogenous enzymes that bring out their natural sweetness.

Why is boiling not good for sweet potatoes? ›

Bake, don't boil

Baking sweet potatoes caramelizes their natural sugars, especially when done whole. It intensifies their flavor and creates a richer taste compared to boiling, which can result in a watered-down, bland flavor.

Use your senses to determine if your sweet potato is past its prime. First, give it a squeeze. It'll be firm if it's fresh, and mushy if it's not. Other signs to check for are discoloration, shriveled skin, black or brown spots, and suspicious odors.

A yam comes from the Dioscoreaceae family, and sweet potatoes come from the Convolvulaceae family (aka the family of morning glories). True yams have rougher skin that's typically brown, almost tree bark-like. Sweet potatoes have a thinner skin that's reddish-brown, although it can vary.

Potatoes or sweet potatoes: 5 to 6 ounces per person, which equals about 1 large Yukon Gold or white potato, or half of a large sweet potato. Pie: 1 pie will feed 8 people if you've got other desserts as well.

For cooking purposes, 1 pound of sweet potatoes equals about three medium whole, 2 cups mashed or 3½ to 4 cups chopped.

Instead, boil the sweet potato until it's fully cooked, then chop it up before adding it in, professional chef Lisa Marley explains to The Guardian. This allows the sweet potato to almost melt into the soup so it can be evenly thickened throughout without any big chunks remaining.

Sweet potato starch is more granular than potato starch. It is also harder to dissolve in water than regular potato starch, so it is not as effective as a thickening agent.

Specifically, egg yolks are a great thickening agent to add texture and body to your soups. Beat your eggs in a bowl, with one cup of your warm broth or soup to keep from curdling. Once you've beaten the eggs and soup together, add it to your pot so the eggs can cook.

Easy-to-access alternatives are wheat flour, arrowroot flour, and rice flour. These are good alternatives to cornstarch because they are more nutritious and contain fewer carbohydrates and calories. Xanthan and guar gum are much stronger thickeners than cornstarch, but they can be harder to obtain and use.