All I Had in the Kitchen: Potato and Cheese Soup
Warm and creamy soup made with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand.
Warm and creamy soup made with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand.
- Carbohydrate 28.7916063103448 g
- Cholesterol 31.82225 mg
- Fat 11.627487862069 g
- Fiber 4.12145993418693 g
- Protein 13.4769271724138 g
- Saturated Fat 6.95071304137931 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (351g)
- Sodium 1198.4893 mg
- Sugar 24.6701463761579 g
- Trans Fat 4.52810252068966 g
- Calories 267 calories
Step-by-step
- In a medium sauce pan on medium heat empty contents of Campbell's cheddar cheese soup, add there cans full of 2% milk and stir.
- Drain the sliced potatoes and while they were still in the can I ran a knife through them to create smaller bits.
- Remove sliced cheese from package add to the milk mixture. (I separated them as I put them in) add salt, pepper and liquid smoke (remember just one drop) on stir till cheese has completely melted then let simmer on low for about another 10 minutes.
Starch-thickened dairy soups require strict temperature control to prevent the milk solids from breaking down and precipitating into a grainy texture. When combining canned cheddar cheese soup and fresh milk in a medium saucepan, maintain the heat no higher than medium. High heat denatures the casein proteins in the milk too rapidly, causing curdling before the sliced Monterey Jack cheese fully incorporates. Whisk constantly during the initial melt phase to distribute the thermal energy evenly across the pan bottom. Canned sliced white potatoes retain excess surface starch from their packing liquid, which acts as a natural thickening agent once drained and chopped. Run a knife directly through the potatoes inside the can before draining to minimize cleanup and create uniform half-inch pieces that heat through within the ten-minute simmer window. Incorporating sliced cheese one piece at a time prevents clumping by allowing each individual slice to emulsify into the surrounding liquid phase before the next addition. Limit liquid smoke to a single drop because concentrated smoke flavor compounds dominate fat molecules quickly and become acrid if overdosed. Simmering the finished base on low for ten minutes allows the starches from the potatoes to hydrate fully, smoothing out the mouthfeel. Reheating leftovers requires low heat and frequent stirring; boiling a dairy soup post-cooking guarantees separation. Store this soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days, but avoid freezing due to the high likelihood of emulsion failure in the dairy components upon thawing.
