burnt soup tasted good - how to get similar effect?

Slightly burned bottom of pot with standard minestrone recipe. Was able to dislodge burnt crust & it tasted good, so mixed in with soup. Umami. Caramelized. So how do I produce a similar taste without burning my pots on purpose? Ideas & suggestions welcome.

Nancy
  • Posted by: Nancy
  • March 20, 2019
  • 1929 views
  • 11 Comments

11 Comments

Ttrockwood
Ttrockwood March 21, 2019
Oh! I am **very** good at burning soup! The culprit is the tomato paste, i use a lot of it (like the whole little can) and it likes to burn on the hotspot on my stove. If you intentionally saute it to a very dark color initially and then at the last second before ruining the pot deglaze it and scrape up all the bits
 
Nancy
Nancy March 21, 2019
I will add tomato paste to my list of options for future burns. Thanks...
 
Liz D.
Liz D. March 20, 2019
Brown tomato paste until caramelized? Also I believe there's a Trinidad or Jamaican process where you caramelize sugar then brown the meat in it?
 
Nancy
Nancy March 20, 2019
Liz - great- another idea!
 
Nancy
Nancy March 20, 2019
Thank you all - honeybea, ktr, Smaug - for these ideas ingredient & equipment ideas, which I'll try next time....I can see how either the sugar (in the carrots and onions) or the savory flavors in the fish sauce/mushrooms might either or both work. Thanks again :)
 
honeybea
honeybea March 20, 2019
Cook just the onions until they're very dark at the beginning of the soup? That might work.
 
Smaug
Smaug March 20, 2019
You could probably do this with carrots as well, maybe celery or other such things- I think a nonstick skillet would probably be a better choice than the bottom of your soup pot. Some Indian recipes call for cooking onions to the crisp point; it can be done without burning, but takes constant attention.
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. March 22, 2019
now, hb, that is the BESTEST idea. don't mess around with tomato product you can't see. do the blackened onions or mirepoix or anything to 'share the char' or high roast the vegs for same effect. n, while you are likely to know this, you might also like that persian national dish where a layer of thin potato is cooked crispy in the very bottom of the pot of rice, and battles ensue!....

 
Nancy
Nancy March 23, 2019
Yes, thanks, Minday...have heard of but not yet tasted the Persian rice with (deliberately) burnt crust. Having liked the slightly burnt soup, I am now more interested in making/trying that rice dish.
See your point about the onions and mirepoix giving better flavor than the tomato product.
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. March 23, 2019
great!
 
ktr
ktr March 20, 2019
You could try adding a splash of fish sauce or dried mushrooms to your soup.
 
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