Hops in Soup
 

As my wife was throwing together a pot of hearty garlic and veggy soup last night i had the idea to toss in a couple dry pellets of hops.

I did not do it though. How do you think this would make, say a minestrone soup, taste?

I'd consider using a bag.

Hop pellets break down and the residue isn't very tasty. Too concentrated, I'd fear.

Try it with a couple of hop cones first.
It'd try it in something a bit sweeter first.

Hop icecream any one?

I have tried smoking hops. The effect was OK, but id made my pee smell like Budweiser. And no, I'm not joking.

Actually that is not a half bad idea orfy! Hmmmm. Now my wheels are turning. This could actually be very good if done right.

As far as the hops in the soup, I'd only use whole leaf and take them out when you reach the level of what you'd want (as in the hops bag idea mentioned above). I'd say if you did, to use something earthy and herbal rather than one of the citrusy varieties. And lowest AAU's you have. One of the conundrums I am facing with beer in general in cooking is the bitterness component it lends. In many foods, bitterness (from any source) can easily overwhelm the dish.

Low AA hops, whole flower and be prepared to remove them. Since the gravity of a soup is close to 1.000, the bitterness will come on quickly.

Had some steamed fresh hops in a salad once, not bad, but the cook didn't know what kind they were. This is someone who has 9 types of salt.

I reckon it'd go nice with fennel.

yes please

I love black pepper an chilli ice cream.