A dill soup is any soup that is strongly flavored with the herb dill. This herb has a strong flavor that goes well with many different soups, including potato, beet, and fish. Dill soup is a common cuisine in countries where dill is native, especially those countries on the border between Europe and Asia. Fresh dill is used more often that dried dill in these soups.
The primary flavor in dill soup comes from dill, which is a plant that is native to Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. This plant has been used as an herb and spice for hundreds of years and is also used as a digestive aid in traditional medicine in areas where dill is native. The plant, which resembles and is closely related to fennel, is hardy and grows quickly.
Countries where dill is native have a history of using this herb in their cuisines. Dill soup is common in Russia and neighboring countries as well as in countries in central Asia and the Middle East. Traditionally, dill is added to borscht, potato soup, and lentil soup, though is it common in a number of other soup bases as well, such as certain varieties of Greek fish soup.
Fresh dill has a relatively strong flavor and is rarely used as the primary ingredient in a soup. Dill is added to a number of soup bases to give them a dill flavor, and all may be referred to as dill soup once the herb is added. Vegetable and fish-based dill soups are the most common because the herb compliments these flavors well. In most cases, dill is added to a dill soup towards the end of cooking, once the vegetables or other ingredients are nearly cooked through.
Though it is possible to use either fresh or dried dill in a soup, fresh dill is preferred. The flavor of the herb deteriorates quickly once it has been dried, so the best flavor comes from fresh sprigs. A hardy perennial, dill can easily be grown in most climates as a garden plant so that fresh dill can be harvested as needed. The best parts of the plant to use in dill soup are the young, soft ends. The thin, needle-like leaves and smaller sections of stalk can also be chopped up and put in a soup.
