What is a Bouquet Garni?

I have a recipe that calls for a bouquet garni. What is it??????

Six question marks? No one we know is that interested in a bouquet garni. But it
is a collection of herbs (traditionally fresh parsley, fresh or dried thyme, and bay
leaf) that are bundled together and cast adrift in your pot to flavor a soup, stew, or
broth. They are tied together so they can be removed easily at the end of the
cooking.

Some people wrap the herbs in a bit of cheesecloth, but the cooking teacher and
author Madeleine Kamman advises against it, implying that the cheesecloth inhibits
the free exchange of flavor with the food youre cooking. Who are we to argue?
We recently came upon an incredibly aromatic pre-made French bouquet garni,
containing oregano, thyme, savory, and bay leaves, that costs just a bit more than
$1 each. The herbs alone are worth nearly that, and to save the trouble of gathering
and tying it all up well, that seems like a small price to pay. If you make stews,
soups, or roasts with any regularity at all, this is something you might like to have
on hand.
Classification By Consistency
Clear Soups have a carefully cleared stock soup foundation with other flavors and
garnish added. There are not many different types of these but they include
Bouillon, Consomme and Broths, both vegetable and meat (even sometimes fish
based). Although this group seems simple to prepare they do in fact require
considerable care in the making, to perfect the subtle flavorings.
Thick Soups can also have a stock base but they may also be built with milk or
cream. To this base is added a thickening agent of some kind, such as meat, fish,
vegetables, eggs, grains etc. Some form of starchy ingredients would be added. The
difficulty in making these soups is getting the consistency absolutely correct.
Classification By Quality
When you classify a soup by its quality you arrive at five main groups:
Broths:

A clear stock base (either vegetable, fish or meat) plus some simple elements such
as small vegetables, rice or small quantities of barley.
Cream Soups:
A thin cream sauce base with the addition of vegetables, meat, fish or grains.
Bisques:
These are traditionally very thick and rich soups made from game fish or shell fish,
especially crab and shrimp. Often various vegetables will be added.
Chowders:
These are soups that have sea food as their basis, often in a thickened or chunky
form. Again, these soups will have added some vegetables and often garin crackers
for thickening.
Purees
This group of soups are those that are thickened by boiling a food item and then
straining to use the pulp. They tend to fall into two categories: those with natural
starch such as those using beans, potatoes or peas for example and those that need
to be thickened with added starchy material such as meat stock or fish. Either way,
the finished puree should be the consistency of a thick cream.
Bouillon
Definition: Bouillon (pronounced "BOOL-yone") is a clear, flavorful broth made by
simmering beef, chicken or vegetables and other ingredients.
The main difference between bouillon and stock is that bouillon is made by
simmering meat, whereas stock is made by simmering bones. Also, stock is
generally not seasoned, or only lightly seasoned, whereas bouillon is seasoned.
While bouillon can be used as a base for making soups, bouillon itself is simply a
clear, seasoned broth with no solid ingredients.

Consomme
onsomm is a strong, rich, flavorful soup made by concentrating and clarifying
stock.
The word consomm means "completed" or "concentrated" in French.

Beef or veal consomm is made from brown stock, and has a rich, amber color.
Chicken consomm is made from chicken stock, and is a pale yellow color. In each
case, however, the distinguishing characteristics of a consomm are its strong
flavor and its clarity.
Consomm is clarified through a process that involves simmering the stock along
with a mixture of egg whites and lean ground meat called a clearmeat.
As the consomm simmers, the clearmeat solidifies into what is known as a raft
which floats atop the liquid. The clearmeat draws proteins and other impurities that
cloud a stock out of the liquid, leaving it perfectly clear.
Consomm is often served as an appetizer, and is frequently served with a simple
garnish of vegetables cut in brunoise or julienne.
Because it is high in gelatin, consomm will jell when it cools, making it the basis for
preparing aspic.

Scotch broth
Scotch broth is a filling soup, originating in Scotland but now obtainable
worldwide. The principal ingredients are usually barley, stewing or braising cuts of
lamb, mutton or beef, root vegetables such as carrots, swedes or sometimes turnips
and dried pulses (most often split peas and red lentils). Cabbage and leeks are often
added shortly before serving to preserve their texture, colour and flavours. The
proportions and ingredients vary according to the recipe or availability. [1][2] Scotch
broth has been sold ready-prepared in cans for many years.

Minestrone soup
Minestrone is a thick soup of Italian origin made with vegetables, often with the
addition of pasta or rice. Common ingredients include beans, onions, celery, carrots,
stock, and tomatoes.
There is no set recipe for minestrone, since it is usually made out of whatever
vegetables are in season. It can be vegetarian, contain meat, or contain a meatbased broth (such as chicken stock). Angelo Pellegrini, however, argued that the
base of minestrone is bean broth, and that borlotti beans (also called Roman beans)
"are the beans to use for genuine minestrone".

Mulligatawny

Mulligatawny (derived from Tamil )/mltni/ is a curry flavoured

soup in Anglo-Indian cuisine.[1] Mulligatawny is a combination of Tamil words milagu
(pepper) thanni (water). It is similar to rasam from South Indian cuisine.
There are many variations on the recipe for mulligatawny. [2] In the West, the soup
typically has a turmeric like yellow colour and chicken meat, beef, or lamb meat.
Usually it is thickened with lentils or rice.

The terms soup and stew can get confusing and some dishes are referred to as
either, depending on the cook. There are some dishes that can be made as a soup
or a stew, such as wonton soup, gumbo stew, miso soup, and Brunswick stew. While
the two types of foods may seem similar, there are some ways to differentiate
between them. First, most soups are thin compared to thick stews; second, stews
are almost always served warm while some soups can be served hot or cold; and
third, stews are typically slow-cooked as opposed to soups that can be prepared and
heated fairly quickly, depending on the recipe.
Thick or Thin
One of the most important differences between soup and stew is the thickness
when compared to one another, soups are considered thin while stews are thought
to be thick. A soup is basically any combination of pasta, meat, or vegetables
cooked in liquid. Most soups are "thin," as the ingredients typically include several
cups of water or some type of broth; it is also possible to make soups using milk or
even fruit juices. Soup is best served in a bowl or deep plate, since most of it is
basically liquid.
Stews can be simply described as "hearty soups," often with meats and vegetables,
including potatoes. When comparing soup and stew, the latter is usually considered
a main dish and soup a side dish, because stew is typically more filling than soup.
The liquid in a stew is minimal, and any liquid is usually thickened to the point of
being more of a gravy than a broth, making stew thicker than soup. Some
thickening methods include blending some of the vegetables and adding the puree
to the stew, adding an equal mixture of flour and water to act as a thickening agent,
or gently boiling the stew to reduce the liquid.
Temperature
Another difference between soup and stew is the temperature at which it is served.
Most soups can be eaten as either hot or cold dishes, can be cooked or uncooked,
and some are even considered a dessert such as fruit soup. Stews, on the other
hand, are almost always consumed hot. This is partly due to preference and partly
due to the slow-cooking method of stew that usually leaves the stew warm after it is
cooked and served.
Cooking Time
The time it takes to prepare and cook soup and stew is another way the two dishes
are different; soup is generally quicker to make, while stew requires a longer
cooking time. Part of the characteristic flavor of a stew stems from the slow cooking

process, which allows the natural flavorings of the foods being simmered stay in the
stew; while this process does take longer, it is thought to make the stew more
flavorful. Sometimes a thickening agent is added to make the stew more gravy-like,
which can take several minutes to actually thicken, adding to the length of the
cooking time. Soup, on the other hand, usually relies on added flavorings, such as
condiments and garnishes that do not require slow-cooking, and can be put
together quickly to be heated and consumed later.
Roux
Definition: A roux is a mixture of butter and flour, cooked until bubbly. It can be
browned very deeply, then used as the basis for etouffe and brown sauce. If not
browned at all, it is the base of bechamel, veloute, or white sauce. By cooking the
flour in the butter, the starch granulesin the flour begin to break. Then when liquid
is added, the granules absorb the liquid, thickening the sauce.