Today, most people think of chilled lemonade, iced coffee or beer when they think of summer refreshment. But even in the 1980s something much more unusual appeared in Czech cottages. Cold beer soup. The recipe, which today sounds almost unbelievable, was then one of the simple dishes for hot days.
When the summer heat hit and the thermometer at the cottage climbed to the thirties, few people felt like or hot broths. That’s why simple cold dishes that satiate and refresh at the same time often appeared on the table. In addition to fruit soups or kefir recipes, some families also prepared the now almost forgotten cold beer soup.
Watch the video from Varíme s mozem with a recipe for Old Bohemian beer soup on YouTube:
It may sound strange, but it was not unusual at all a few decades ago. She used , which almost everyone had at home, and she was able to pleasantly refresh herself during a hot day.
When the beer didn’t just end in the glass
Beer has long been a part of Czech cuisine. It was used in sauces, marinades, pastries and soups.
Cold beer soup was created as a simple recipe that combined the refreshing taste of beer with other ingredients that softened its expressiveness. The result was a light meal suitable especially during summer days.
It tastes different than you would expect
Anyone who imagines pure beer poured into a plate will be surprised. Traditional recipes combined beer with sugar, egg yolks, cream or cottage cheese.
“Cold beer soup can be interestingly enriched with a handful of raisins pre-soaked in rum, chopped walnuts or crispy toasted Christmas balls. Some old recipes recommend adding grated apple, which gives the soup a fresh fruity touch,” advises chef David Šlapák.
The resulting taste was delicate, slightly sweet and surprisingly fresh.
That is why the soup was also liked by children, for whom it was prepared in variants with minimal alcohol content or from heat-treated beer.
Cold beer soup recipe
Raw materials:
- 500 ml light beer
- 250 ml of sour cream
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 spoons of sugar
- a pinch of cinnamon
- grated lemon zest to taste
Procedure:
Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until light foam. Add the sour cream and gradually mix in the well-chilled beer. Finally, season with lemon zest and a pinch of cinnamon. Let the soup sit in the fridge for at least an hour and serve well chilled.
Ideal food for hot days
It used to be popular in cottages mainly because it did not require long cooking. It only took a few minutes of preparation and you had a light snack at your disposal, which pleasantly refreshed you during a steamy day.
Many people associated it with sitting in the garden, harvesting fruit or relaxing after working around the house.
Forgotten recipes are coming back
Like many dishes from decades past, cold beer soup is slowly making a comeback. People are rediscovering old cookbooks and recipes that were created from simple ingredients and often surprise with their originality.
And beer soup is one of those that can remind you of the summers spent at the cottage and the time when it was cooked simply, but with an idea.
