Thickening Soups

Soups are thickened in the same way as sauces, with the addition of starch, roux, gelatin, gelling agents, eggs, milk, cream, cheese, and purees. For the soups to have an interesting texture and coat the mouth in a pleasing way, it is necessary for the thickened soup to be able to mix well with the saliva. This occurs easily when starch or gelatin, for example, are used as thickeners. But soups thickened with some of the more complex polysaccharides, such as xanthan gum, do not mix readily with the saliva. The result is that saliva does not receive the taste substances sufficiently quickly, and in addition, the soup may feel a little sticky.