The Kitchen Wife: Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my broccoli cheddar soup separating? ›

High Heat: Cheese is sensitive to high temperatures. If you add cheese to your soup when it's too hot or boiling vigorously, it can become overcooked and develop a grainy or curdled texture rather than melting smoothly. To avoid this, reduce the heat to low or medium-low before adding the cheese.

The common solution is to use a flour-based roux. Flour can thicken up the water phase of the soup, which in turn makes it difficult for fat globules to coalesce.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup is not only delicious but nutritious as well. Broccoli is loaded with vitamin C and K, potassium, and fiber, offering numerous health benefits like improved digestion, reduced inflammation, and boosted immunity.

You end up with a grainy, curdled consistency. Unfortunately there is no way to fix it once it's happened, so just be really careful to keep this soup on a very low flame once the dairy has gone in. If the soup remains hot and steamy, without boiling, it will stay beautifully silky and creamy.

Melt the cheese slowly. Adding melted cheese to hot milk can cause the milk to curdle. Instead, melt the cheese in a separate bowl over low heat or in the microwave. Once the cheese is melted, add it to the milk slowly, stirring constantly.

Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe Tips

Pre-shredded cheese is often coated in anti-caking agents that can prevent the cheese from melting into a lusciously creamy soup. To ensure that your broccoli cheddar soup has the best smooth and creamy texture, buy a block of cheese and grate it yourself.

Pre-grated cheese is coated in anti-caking agents which means it won't melt as smoothly. When it's time to add the cheese into the soup, sprinkle it in in batches, stirring until each batch is melted before adding the next batch vs dumping it all in at once. This will ensure there are no clumps in the final soup.

Slowly add the cream or milk and continually stir after adding. This will help prevent it from curdling. Use shredded cheese and always reduce the heat to about low to medium before adding. Don't add the cheese all at once or you risk clumping.

Mild cheddar, Colby, Monterey jack, mozzarella, Swiss and queso blanco can all work well. “The best cheeses to melt into soups are cheeses that are higher in moisture and have a lower melting point,” says Bauer. In addition to cheddar and Monterey jack, he recommends Fontina and Gruyère.

Salads and soups with broccoli are a delight to many diners. Broccoli is one of the richest sources of good carbohydrates which aid digestion maintaining low blood sugar. And because it has the right amount of fibrous roughage it also helps in preventing constipation.

What is the unhealthiest soup? ›

Broccoli is also particularly high in the amino acid glutamic acid (the flavor enhancing compound responsible for taste sense of “umami”). A Northwestern University Chicago study found higher dietary intake of the amino acid glutamic acid via vegetables like broccoli, was linked to lower blood pressure.

Avoid using pre-packaged shredded cheese as it often contains additives that can prevent proper melting. Add the cheese at the right time: Timing is crucial when it comes to melting cheese in soup. Wait until the soup is almost done cooking before adding the cheese.

But when heat is introduced, the protein structure falls apart and the emulsion breaks—the fat globules come together into a greasy pool and the proteins congeal to form a stringy mess. But American cheese is specifically designed to be extremely meltable and nearly impossible to break.

Ones to avoid are Parmesan and Pecorino (any hard, aged cheeses), goat and feta (any dry, crumbly cheeses) as they don't melt well.

To fix an already curdled soup

Add an ice cube and lower the heat, whisking constantly; the shock can help bring it back together. Add a few additional tablespoons of cream warmed ahead of time to the soup mixture, whisking constantly. If the above do not work, whir the soup in a blender until smooth.

Curdling in a cream soup usually occurs when the milk or cream is added at too high of a heat. As you incorporate the milk and broth into the cooked onion and flour mixture, keep the heat at medium and stir continuously with a whisk. Once all is mixed in, then proceed to heat to a boil.

Cheese can curdle when added to soup due to the high temperatures and acidity in the soup. The proteins in cheese are sensitive to heat and acid, causing them to separate and form curds.