Timing your salt: Secrets to classic chicken soup perfection
How can you make chicken soup taste better than ever before? You might just need to change one habit. Adding the salty seasoning to the soup at the right moment will help you achieve a taste just like grandma's.
Pay attention to several key elements to create an outstanding taste reminiscent of childhood chicken soup. Besides using high-quality ingredients, allowing a long cooking time for the broth, and proper seasoning is essential.
The secret to delicious chicken soup: Don't add salt too soon
Seasoning chicken soup is crucial to determining the dish's final taste. Salt plays a special role in this process. While many people add it at the start of cooking, it's better to wait a bit longer and add salt to the broth only at the very end of cooking.
Why? Adding salt to the broth too early can make the meat tough and less juicy. Adding salt later also allows you to control the dish's taste better. You can taste a bit right before serving and adjust the amount of salt according to your preferences.
Chicken soup like grandma's: what will we need?
The most important thing is good quality ingredients. Choose chicken or beef, preferably from organic farms. Ideal are pieces of meat with bone, which add richness to the soup. You will also need vegetables such as carrots, parsley, and celery. Adding an onion in its skin will enhance the flavour and give the broth a beautiful colour.
Don't forget the seasonings. Definitely salt and pepper. Some also add lovage, bay leaf, and allspice. Finally, a green touch — parsley or, in some regions of Poland, dill, which wonderfully completes the dish.
The chicken soup should cook for at least 3 hours to achieve a rich and full flavour. A longer cooking time allows for extracting all the aromas from the meat and vegetables, making the soup exceptionally flavourful.
What to do with oversalted chicken soup
Oversalted chicken soup can spoil the mood, especially when guests are already on their way. If you accidentally overdo it with the salty seasoning, don't panic. An effective method is to add a raw vegetable to the soup. A potato works perfectly for this role, quickly absorbing excess salt. You just have to be careful not to overcook it; 10 minutes is enough.
