Survival Food: Soup

There are a lot of times when knowing how to make a good soup can save leftovers and vegetables from the trash and compost bins. It’s a frugal dish, and the amazing chemistry that happens with water and heat means that soups are greater than the sum of their parts.

I would even go so far as to say making soup would be one of the best things you can do with your time during a SHTF event. Due the nature of it, it conserves every last calorie and nutrient, and it can be stretched by adding more liquid to it. It’s easy to digest by most everyone, even stressed out young and elderly.

Vegetable - This is the obvious one from me probably. If you’re growing your own food, you are likely growing a lot of vegetables. If you can master even one vegetable based soup, you can often wing a decent dish with other vegetables if the situation arises. My favorite in this category is Leek and Potato Soup.

Broth and Stock - These are important to know how to make. It’s more than just frugal to make your own out of carcasses. Broths and Stocks made with fresh bones are some of the healthiest things you can eat. Plus, they can be a base for most every other soup. And use some of the less than visually great vegetables out of storage, (since they get strained out.)

Chili - Dry beans  get grouped in with the vegetables most of the time in my mind, but when you go heavy on them and they make their tasty bean sauce, there’s something unique about them. With some ground meat added, it’s a wholesome meal most people won’t turn down. Bonus for preppers because dry beans are easy to grow, easy to store and super cheap to buy too. Just be sure you have a bunch of fresh spices stored.

Tomato Based - In some areas of the country I think chili could count as a tomato based soup. There are others though, classic Bisque and chunky Minestrone are some of my go to favorites for using up tomatoes and other garden goodness.

Heritage - You should know how to make a soup that your grandmother was/is known for. For me this is a Cajan dish, Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo. It involves making a roux, combining the trinity of peppers, onions and celery, plus having large quantities of Gumbo Filet around. There’s something to be said for comfort food during times of upheaval and tension.

Cream Soup - My Potato and Leek Soup usually gets cream added to it. It can really bring a soup to a whole new level of satisfying, adding in fats and vitamins. Knowing how to add dairy into your soups is a good skill to have.

Having these culinary building blocks in your repertoire will allow you to really maximize on the food quantity and quality that you are able to feed your family, whether it’s during a SHTF event or just a family dinner night.

Should out in the comments if you have a favorite soup recipe.

- Calamity Jane