Make the Best Cold Soups

Cold soups are perfect for hot summer nights. You can serve them as the main dish, and they are elegant and delicious as a starter for a dinner party. But there are rules to follow to make the best soups.

• The soup can be served immediately, or you can cover and chill it so the flavors blend. For a colder soup that's ready immediately, replace some of the liquid with crushed ice.
• Cold soups should be more heavily seasoned than hot, because the cold temperatures muffle the spice taste.
• But, the longer the soup sits in the refrigerator, the spicier it will taste. Four to twelve hours is the optimum chilling time.
• You can use a food processor or blender to make the soup, an immersion blender, or just a chef's knife.
• Your food processor can determine how thick or thin the soup is. Use 'chop' for a thicker soup, and don't process as long. For a thinner soup, use 'liquefy' and process longer.
• If you can find ripe, fresh produce, that's wonderful. But canned ingredients will work well too. Buy the best quality you can afford.
• If you use canned ingredients, keep the cans in the refrigerator and you can serve the soup as soon as it's made.
• Have fun substituting ingredients. Use yellow tomatoes instead of red, use shallots instead of onions or garlic, and experiment with different broths and stocks.
• Always chill the serving bowl and the individual soup bowls or mugs. Place them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. But be careful if you're using fine crystal - chill that in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
• Serve toppings as condiments: garlic croutons, sour cream, edible flowers, snipped fresh herbs, more of the soup ingredients, even salted whipped cream.