Recipes

Cream of Tomato Soup

Recipe No. 540 from the U.S. Army's WWII cookbook — Soups. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Army TM10-412 · Soup

Serves 6¼ gallons 100 servings, approximately one cup each.
View source — TM 10-412 Army Recipes (War Department, 1944) ↗

Recipe No. 540 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Soups. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

  • Tomatoes — 6 No. 10 cans
  • Parsley — 2 ounces (¼ mess kit cup)
  • Pepper — as needed
  • Cloves, ground — as needed
  • Onions, chopped — 6 ounces (½ mess kit cup)
  • Salt — 1 ounce (2 mess kit spoons)
  • Sugar, granulated — 2 ounces (4 mess kit spoons)
  • Fat, melted — 1 pound (½ No. 56 dipper)
  • Flour, sifted — 1 pound (1 No. 56 dipper)
  • Milk, evaporated — 9 — 14½-ounce cans
  • Water (for milk) — 3½ quarts (3½ No. 56 dippers)
  • Salt — ½ ounce (1 mess kit spoon)
  • Pepper — as needed

Directions

Key ingredients

Evaporated Milk

  1. Combine tomatoes, parsley, pepper, cloves, onions, salt and sugar; mix well.
  2. Cover and heat to boiling point; reduce heat and simmer about 40 minutes.
  3. Rub through sieve; reheat.
  4. Mix ½ melted fat and ½ of flour; stir until smooth. Add to hot tomato mixture; mix thoroughly. Heat to boiling point; reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly.
  5. Mix milk and water; heat slowly to boiling point.
  6. Mix remaining fat and remaining flour, salt and pepper together; stir until smooth. Add to hot milk; mix thoroughly. Heat to boiling point; reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly.
  7. Add hot tomato mixture slowly to hot milk mixture, stirring constantly, just before serving. Serve without reheating. If soup must be held, keep in hot water bath.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Tomatoes — 1½ qt Parsley — about 1 tsp Pepper — to taste Cloves, ground — to taste Onions, chopped — ½ oz Salt — about ½ tsp Sugar, granulated — about 1 tsp Fat, melted — 1¼ oz Flour, sifted — 1¼ oz Milk, evaporated — ¾ can(s) (14½ oz) Water (for milk) — 1 cup Salt — a pinch Pepper — to taste

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 540, Soups. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.