[Sca-cooks] Soups, tureens, and cost

[Wanda Pease]

<snip>

  If you purchase good china
> today you can
> almost always purchase a soup tureen as part of the serving
> pieces.  I have
> priced some of them and they are approximately $800. - $2500.
> Cdn.  I have
> seen them in the shape of squash, cauliflowers, cabbages etc. to
> provide a
> centre piece on the table.  These are not insulated serving pieces.  Our
> tureens rely on the mass of soup keeping itself warm.  If the
> tureens, like
> Brangwayna's pewter ones, are warmed slightly before adding the
> soup the soup
> does stay warmer longer.
<snip>

Our Barony purchased 10 2.5 quart tureens made of plain white china once.
They came with a lid with a cut out to accommodate a ladle.  They cost about
$10 each, but then we were near a big porcelain factory and these were
blemished (not cracked) seconds.

Realizing that not everyone is anywhere near Kaiser Porcelain, there is
still the possibility of checking with a wholesaler who supplies Hotels or
high class restaurants.  If your group maintains a feast stash, they might
well be a good investment for years to come.

Certainly tureens don't have to be made of china or pewter or cost hundreds
of dollars :-) The biggest problem is storage afterwards.

The trick with warming the dishes first works very well with your personal
thermos too.  I usually pour boiling water into my big jug that I transport
things like soups or other liquids in for office pot lucks - let it sit for
a few minutes covered, pour it out and put in the hot whatever (wide mouth
big jugs work for roasts as well).  The wrapped thermos keeps things hot for
several hours longer - of course things tend to keep cooking for that time
too, so if you want a rare roast you want to keep that in mind.

Regina