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Cold soup recipes for summer range from Spanish gazpacho to Hungary's tart cherry soup — 9 chilled dishes to make while the heat lasts
Heat changes what counts as comfort food. A bowl of soup pulled straight from the refrigerator does the same job in July that a simmering pot does in January, minus the stove. Cold soup recipes for summer cover far more ground than the gazpacho most American restaurants default to. Spain alone claims at least three distinct cold soups, each with a different base and texture. Lithuania serves a beet soup dyed shocking pink by kefir. A stretch of southern Japan built a whole regional dish around chilled miso poured over hot rice.
Cold soups are not simply hot soups served at a lower temperature. Many rely on raw vegetables blended without any cooking at all. That changes the technique and, in some cases, preserves vitamin C and enzymes that heat would otherwise break down. Others lean on bread, ground nuts, or yogurt instead of a simmered stock, since stock loses body and flavor once it cools. That makes cold soup its own category with its own rules. Something has to thicken it without a roux. A garnish has to cut through richness once refrigeration mutes flavor. And a given soup only holds up in the fridge for so long before it separates.
