Milk in my soup

[Daragm]

Why do my Butternut squash soup recipes recommend only stock and or soy milk instead of regular milk? Why can't I use whole milk? Would whole milk form a skin on the soup perhaps?

[Peachcreek]

The milk solids in the milk will curdle if left on the heat for any extended length of time. If you want to add dairy to your soup, add a small amount of cream or sour cream as these don't curdle as readily. Good luck.

[lsg]

Actually, I just made butternut squash soup last weekend, and the recipe I used DID call for milk. Roasted butternut squash with a little PAM (cut side down for an hour in a 375 oven), pureed (I used a stick blender), non-fat, low-salt chicken stock, non-fat milk (a 3 to 1 ratio of stock to milk, but use as much or as little total liquid as needed to get desired consistency), fresh grated nutmeg and salt and pepper. Used the stick blender again to get the ingredients thoroughly blended. YUMMY and NO FAT!!!!

[Daragm]

Thanks - I wonder if the fat content is the issue here. My recipes all call for either Soy milk, or vegie stock/chicken stock. Can't find a recipe for butternut squash soup that uses whole milk to enrich the soup just a bit. Guess I should just try the milk and see what happens eh?

[amw5g]

If nutritional content is no issue, I have a boss receipe for a b'nut squash and tomato cream soup. As the name suggests, it's not a "every night of the week" dish.

I think you'll find that the cream is, as Peachcreek mentioned, a more stable base than milk. I've actually boiled mine on occassion, with no detriment to taste (the consistency of course was altered to an extent).

McGee has some interesting notes on the different properties of dairy emulsions. I wish I had paid more attention and could reciet them back for you now, but alas....

-Andrew