Carrot soup

Carrot soup (referred to in French as Potage de Crécy, Potage Crécy, Potage à la Crécy, Purée à la Crécy and Crème à la Crécy) is a soup prepared with carrot as a primary ingredient. It can be prepared as a cream- or broth-style soup. Additional vegetables, root vegetables and various other ingredients can be used in its preparation. It may be served hot or cold, and several recipes exist.

Carrot soup has been described as a "classic" dish in French cuisine. The soup was eaten by King Edward VII every year on 26 August to commemorate the 1346 Battle of Crécy.

Carrot soup can be prepared as a cream-style soup and as a broth-style soup. Vegetable or chicken stock can be used as ingredients in both styles of soup. Other vegetables may be used in the dish, including root vegetables, the latter of which may include garlic onion, shallot, potato, turnip and others. Carrot juice and orange juice can be used in its preparation, and some versions are prepared using puréed carrot. After cooking, the dish can be run through a sieve to strain it. The carrots used can be peeled or unpeeled, and the use of peeled carrots can lend to increased smoothness in puréed versions of the dish. Those prepared with puréed carrot may have a thick consistency while also being smooth in texture. The soup's color can vary based upon the coloration of the carrots used. Young carrots tend to make the soup sweeter and imbue it with a bright orange coloration, while older, larger carrots provide less sweetness and may imbue a yellow coloration. The use of old, cracked carrots that have a woody texture in their interior can produce a soup of inferior quality.

Several ingredient variations exist in carrot soup preparations. Some carrot soups are prepared using coconut milk, coconut water, coconut cream, coconut butter or coconut pieces. Some versions include ginger as an ingredient, and some include curry. Green carrot leaves (greens) from the top of carrots can be used as an ingredient in the dish. Chopped mint leaves are used in some versions. It can be served hot or chilled. Salt and pepper can be used to season the dish, and nutmeg is sometimes used as a seasoning. It is sometimes topped with yogurt, a yogurt sauce, crème fraîche, sour cream, and other ingredients.

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