Soup Recipes – Simple Cheddar Cheese Soup

Soup recipes come in as many flavors as there are foods. This simple cheddar cheese soup has one of our all time favorite ingredients – cheese.

When it comes to soup recipes, you can’t get any closer to comfort food than this cheddar cheese soup recipe. Cheddar cheese holds the title for being one of the most popular cheese flavors in the world.

The name Cheddar comes from a small English village,named Cheddar and also because of the process that it goes through, called cheddaring. The cheese is heated and the cheese curds are salted before it is cured and stored for aging.

The length of aging classifies cheddar cheese into three categories; there’s a low fat which has a milder flavor, to the higher fat which is more matured due to aging and what we typically see in the stores is the sharp cheddar.

Here in the United States, Kraft is one of the largest producers of this particular industrial cheddar cheese. The classic cheddar cheese is naturally lighter, in color and is called white cheddar. The darker orange color that we see in the stores comes from a blend of extracts that are taken from achiote tree seed; producing annatto and the oil from paprika.

Cheddar cheese provides the highest of nutrient essentials and leads the list of dairy products in providing and meeting of our health benefits when it comes to calcium requirements. Calcium contributes to the health and development of our teeth and bones.

In this cheddar cheese soup recipe, you can use whatever cheeses you have available in your kitchen. Or you can create your own cheese soup using the white cheddar cheese with a combination of Swiss cheese. If you like a little spice to your soups, add a dash of red pepper flakes.

For those of you who enjoy the richness of cream flavored soups, change the milk for cream and you just added another level of flavor to a simple cheddar cheese soup meal. Dress it up with some colorful garnishes and serve.

Here’s my recipe:

Simple Cheddar Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 onion – chopped
• 2 stalks of celery – chopped
• Olive oil – enough to cover the bottom of the pot
• Flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 cups of cheese – shredded
• Salt and Pepper

Preparation:

1. On medium heat add the olive oil, onion and celery into your soup pot and cook until everything is tender. Next sprinkle some flour over all of the ingredients, add salt and pepper and stir.
2. Add in the broth and stir so that the flour is fully incorporated. Keep stirring the liquid mixture while you slowly add in the milk until you get the pot to a simmer.
3. Once you have a simmer on your broth and milk mixture, start adding in the cheddar cheese and stir constantly until you have a smooth mixture.

Serve:

Ladle the cheddar cheese soup into your bowls and garnish with croutons and shredded cheese. Salt and pepper to your taste. Add a Balsamic Vinegar Salad and you have a wonderful meal.

Enjoy!