Cold soups move meals from summer to fall

HYDE PARK, N.Y. -- During this transition from summer to autumn, cold soups can be a refreshing surprise for your guests at a dinner party or brunch. They generally are served as an appetizer or dessert.

Many soups adapt well to being served cold. Cold soups can be rich, as in the case of cream soups such as potato-leek, or bold and robust, as in the case of gazpacho.

When you serve chilled food, be sure to taste it at the recommended serving temperature. Cold foods often need stronger seasoning than hot foods, and all soups must be given enough time to develop their flavor. Some soups taste best immediately after they are made. Other soups, however, such as gazpacho, develop a more complex and satisfying flavor if they "mellow" in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

Vegetable or fruit soups are usually made by pureeing or chopping vegetables or fruits fine enough to reach soup-like consistency. These cold soups range in texture from the appealing coarseness of a gazpacho to the velvety smoothness of a chilled melon soup.

Broth or juice is often added to the vegetables or fruits to improve consistency. Other ingredients, such as cream, milk, buttermilk, garnishes or granites can be added to give your soup extra flavor, color or texture.

The following recipe would be an appealing offering any time, and is an especially nice choice for an elegant brunch. The recipe is from the "Book of Soups."

Cantaloupe Soup With Lime Granite

1 small (1 1/2-pound) cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and cut into large chunks (yield about 4 1/2 cups)

Juice of 2 oranges (about 3/4 cup)

1/4 cup cornstarch

Juice of 1 1/2 lemons (about 2 tablespoons)

3 cups sparkling water

2 1/4 teaspoons orange zest

2 1/4 teaspoons lemon zest

1/2 cup sugar, or to taste

One recipe Lime Granite (recipe follows)

Puree melon chunks and orange juice in a blender. Dissolve cornstarch in lemon juice. Bring water, orange zest and lemon zest to a boil in a large saucepan. While stirring, add the cornstarch solution and continue to stir until liquid returns to a simmer and thickens. Remove from heat. Add melon puree and sweeten to taste. Serve in chilled bowls, garnish with small scoops of lime granite.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 210 cal., 1 g pro., 54 g carbo., 0 g fat, 0 mg chol., 10 mg sodium.

Lime Granite

2 cups water

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)

Zest of 2 limes, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

Combine all ingredients in a shallow pan. Stir well to combine. Place pan in freezer and stir every 25 minutes for 3 hours. Freeze until firm.

Makes about 2 cups.