Carrot soup (referred to in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

as ''potage de Crécy'', ''potage Crécy'', ''potage à la Crécy'', ''purée à la Crécy'' and ''crème à la Crécy'') is a

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot – though it is sometimes served chilled – made by cooking or otherwise combining meat or vegetables with Stock (food), stock, milk, or water. According to ''The Oxford Compan ...

prepared with

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild ...

as a primary ingredient. It can be prepared as a cream- or

broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish, or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups ...

-style soup. Additional vegetables,

root vegetables Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans or animals as food. In agricultural and culinary terminology, the term applies to true roots, such as taproots and tuberous root, root tubers, as well as non-roots such as bulbs, corms, ...

and various other ingredients can be used in its preparation. It may be served hot or cold, and several recipes exist. Carrot soup has been described as a "classic" dish in

French cuisine French cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices of France. In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a Court (royal), court chef known as "Taillevent", wrote ''Le Viandier'', one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France. In ...

Overview

Carrot soup can be prepared as a cream-style soup and as a

-style soup. Vegetable

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

or chicken stock can be used as ingredients in both styles of soup. Other vegetables may be used in the dish, including

root vegetable Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans or animals as food. In agricultural and culinary terminology, the term applies to true roots, such as taproots and root tubers, as well as non-roots such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and ...

s, the latter of which may include garlic, onion, shallot, potato, turnip and others.

Carrot juice Carrot juice is juice produced from carrots. The amount of juice from carrots is a low yield compared to fruits like apples and oranges. However, because carrot pulp is tough, the main difficulty in juicing carrots is in separating the pulp f ...

and orange juice can be used in its preparation, and some versions are prepared using

purée A purée (or mash) is cooked food, usually vegetables, fruits or legumes, that has been ground, pressed, blended or sieved to the consistency of a creamy paste or liquid. Purées of specific foods are often known by specific names, e.g., appl ...

d carrot. After cooking, the dish can be run through a

sieve A sieve (), fine mesh strainer, or sift is a tool used for separating wanted elements from unwanted material or for controlling the particle size distribution of a sample, using a screen such as a woven mesh or net or perforated sheet m ...

to strain it. The carrots used can be peeled or unpeeled, and the use of peeled carrots can lend to increased smoothness in puréed versions of the dish. Those prepared with puréed carrot may have a thick consistency while also being smooth in texture. The soup's color can vary based upon the coloration of the carrots used. Young carrots tend to make the soup sweeter and imbue it with a bright orange coloration, while older, larger carrots provide less sweetness and may imbue a yellow coloration. The use of old, cracked carrots that have a woody texture in their interior can produce a soup of inferior quality. Several ingredient variations exist in carrot soup preparations. Some carrot soups are prepared using

coconut milk Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingred ...

coconut water Coconut water (also coconut juice) is the clear liquid inside young coconuts (fruits of the coconut palm). In early development, it serves as a suspension for the endosperm of the coconut during the nuclear phase of development. As developm ...

coconut cream Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingredient ...

, coconut butter or coconut pieces. Some versions include ginger as an ingredient, and some include

curry Curry is a dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, and then thoroughly internatio ...

. Green carrot leaves ( greens) from the top of carrots can be used as an ingredient in the dish. Chopped

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

leaves are used in some versions. It can be served hot or chilled. Salt and pepper can be used to

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

the dish, and nutmeg is sometimes used as a seasoning. It is sometimes topped with yoghurt, a yoghurt sauce,

crème fraîche Crème fraîche (English pronunciation: , , lit. "fresh cream") is a dairy product similar to cream cheese, a soured cream containing 10–45% butterfat, with a pH of approximately 4.5. It is soured with a Microbiological culture, bacterial cult ...

, sour cream, and other ingredients. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, a distinct soup variety much more popular than plain carrot soup is carrot and

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

soup, made with coarsely chopped or grated carrot,

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

and coriander (cilantro) seeds. The zest of orange can be used as a garnish, as an ingredient within the dish itself, and in both ways. Additional garnishes can include dill, carrot leaves, grated, minced or diced carrot,

chives Chives, scientific name ''Allium schoenoprasum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae. A perennial plant, ''A. schoenoprasum'' is widespread in nature across much of Eurasia and North America. It is the only spe ...

, other fresh, chopped herbs, croutons, and toast squares, among others. Carrot soup can be prepared as a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

food, and can also be prepared as a bisque. Carrot soup may contain a significant amount of

nitrite The nitrite polyatomic ion, ion has the chemical formula . Nitrite (mostly sodium nitrite) is widely used throughout chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The nitrite anion is a pervasive intermediate in the nitrogen cycle in nature. The name ...

. Möhrensuppe mit Bockwurst-92058.jpg, alt=Carrot-potato soup with German sausage, Carrot-potato soup with German sausage File:CARROT PAPAYA SOUP.jpg, alt=A broth-style carrot-papaya soup prepared using julienned carrots, A

-style carrot-papaya soup prepared using

julienned Julienne, , or French cut, is a culinary knife cut in which the food item is cut into long thin strips, similar to matchsticks. Common items to be julienned are carrots for , celery for , potatoes for julienne fries, or cucumbers for . Trimm ...

carrots File:Carrot Ginger Soup.jpg, alt=A carrot-ginger soup, A carrot-ginger soup File:Carrot soup with Greek yogurt.jpg, alt=Carrot soup with Greek yogurt, Carrot soup with

Greek yogurt Strained yogurt, Greek or Greek-style yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, kerned yogurt or labneh is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preser ...

File:Carrot ginger soup with sesame oil garnish.jpg, alt=A carrot-ginger soup garnished with green onion and sesame oil, A carrot-ginger soup garnished with green onion and sesame oil File:Potato-carrot soup with rice.jpg, alt=Carrot-potato soup served with rice, Carrot-potato soup served with rice

In French cuisine

Carrot soup (''potage de Crécy'', ''potage Crécy'', etc.) has been described as a "classic" and "famous" dish in

Potage Pottage or potage (, ; ) is a term for a thick soup or stew made by boiling vegetables, grains, and, if available, meat or fish. It was a staple food for many centuries. The word ''pottage'' comes from the same Old French root as ''potage'', w ...

is a variety of soups that have a thick consistency. Potage Crécy is named after

Crécy-en-Ponthieu Crécy-en-Ponthieu (), known in archaic English as Cressy, is a commune located south of Calais in the northern French department of Somme. It gives its name to Crécy Forest, which starts about two kilometres to the south-west of the town and i ...

, a commune in Northern France that has been purported to produce carrots with the best flavor within the country. In French cuisine, Crécy soup is typically prepared with rice, which can also be served as a

side dish A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal. Rice may be used as an ingredient to thicken the dish, and

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

has also been used.

History

Although the modern sweet orange carrot was not developed until the 16th century, in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

, it has been represented as a tradition, and it was once customary for

English people The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language in England, English language, a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language, and share a common ancestry, history, and culture. The Engl ...

to eat Crécy soup annually on 26 August in commemoration of the anniversary of the

Battle of Crécy The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King Edward III. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France ...

, which occurred in Crécy, France on that date in 1346. Crécy soup was eaten annually by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

King of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

between 1901 and 1910, on the battle's anniversary day, in honour of his ancestor,

Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Edward III of England. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II of England, Richard II, succession to the Br ...

, who led the battle. It has also been suggested that the soup was served to triumphant English soldiers after the battle concluded, using carrots from Crécy. Ernst Moro, an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

pediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

invented Professor Moro's Carrot Soup, which is shown to be effective against diarrhea caused by

antibiotic-resistant bacteria Antimicrobial resistance (AMR or AR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from antimicrobials, which are drugs used to treat infections. This resistance affects all classes of microbes, including bacteria (antibiotic resist ...

.Professor Moro's carrot soup (Article in German)
/ref>

References

External links

Potage Crécy: French for "It's cold outside—you need some creamy carrot soup"
Blue Kitchen.
Why is carrot soup called potage Crecy?
Answers.com. {{Soups Vegetable soups Carrot dishes French cuisine Australian soups

Overview

In French cuisine

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links