It's the Season of the Soups!
The first hint of cooler weather has a way of sending South Carolina kitchens straight for the stockpot. Suddenly, beef stew sounds reasonable again, the slow cooker earns counter space, and dinner can mostly cook itself.
Start With Something Hearty
Soup season rewards a well-stocked kitchen, and a few local stops can make the difference between an ordinary Tuesday dinner and the kind that makes everyone hover near the stove.
In Woodruff, Country Meat Center offers fresh beef, pork, poultry, sausages and other butcher-shop staples suited for everything from pot roast and beef stew to slow-cooked pulled pork. OPIE’s is another option for meats and groceries when the plan involves tossing dinner into a slow cooker in the morning and letting it handle the rest.
Along the coast, Wisconsin Meat & Cheese in Myrtle Beach brings another layer to cold-weather cooking with meats, cheeses, sausages and specialty foods. Think beer cheese soup with a little extra personality, loaded potato soup that actually lives up to the word “loaded,” or a smoky sausage stew that gets better the longer it sits.
The Little Things Matter
Meat may provide the backbone, but soups and stews usually come down to what happens around it. Fresh vegetables, herbs, broth, beans and a few well-chosen seasonings can turn a basic slow-cooker recipe into something worth making again.
The Spice & Tea Exchange carries spices, herbs, seasoning blends and other flavor boosters, with more than five South Carolina locations, including shops in Spartanburg, Greenville and Beaufort. That makes it a useful stop when the spice cabinet contains six versions of garlic powder but somehow nothing the recipe actually calls for.
For the produce side of the pot, Winslett’s Market offers fresh ingredients that can head straight into soups, stews, roasts and other cool-weather dinners.
The beauty of soup season is that dinner does not need much ceremony. Keep broth, beans, vegetables, meats and a few favorite seasonings within reach, then let the pot do what it does best. Chicken tortilla soup, creamy potato soup, white chicken chili or a Sunday pot roast all become considerably more appealing once South Carolina finally gives us an evening that feels like fall.
For more places to stock the pantry, refrigerator and soup pot with something a little more interesting, browse the Guide to South Carolina specialty food and drink directory at https://guidetosouthcarolina.com/specialty-food-drink-retailers.