Chicken soup is a soup made by boiling chicken parts or bones in water, with various vegetables and flavorings. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear broth, often served with small pieces of chicken or vegetables, or with noodles or dumplings, or grains such as rice and barley. Chicken soup has also acquired the reputation of a folk remedy for colds and flus, and in the United States is considered a classic comfort food.
Terminology
Several terms are sometimes confused when referring to chicken soup or chicken soups. The following is an attempt to clarify the terminology:
- Chicken Stock is a liquid in which chicken and vegetables have been boiled for the purpose of serving as an ingredient in more complex dishes. Chicken stock is not usually served as is. Stock can be made with less palatable parts of the chicken, such as feet, necks or bones: the higher bone content in these parts contributes more gelatin to the liquid, making it a better base for sauces. Stock can be reboiled and reused as the basis for a new stock.
- Chicken Broth is the liquid part of chicken soup. Broth can be served as is, or used as stock, or served as soup with noodles. Broth can be milder than stock, does not need to be boiled as long, and can be made with meatier chicken parts.
- Chicken Bouillon or Bouillon de Poule is basically French for chicken broth. Bouillon cubes are often used nowadays instead of specially prepared chicken stock.
- Chicken Consommé is a more refined chicken broth. It is usually strained to perfect clarity, and reduced so as to give a concentrated essence of the broth flavor.
- While any soup in which chicken has been boiled or with a chicken stock base is, strictly speaking, a chicken soup, the term Chicken Soup, unless qualified, implies that the soup is served as a thin broth with pieces of meat, vegetables or noodles.
Chicken noodle soup
Noodles are a common garnish for chicken soup, and in the United States this soup is referred to as "chicken noodle soup". The term may have been coined in a commercial for Campbell's soup in the 1930's. The original 21 varieties of Campbell's condensed soup featured a "chicken soup with noodles", but when it was advertised on the "Amos & Andy" radio show in the 1930s, by a slip of the lip, the soup was referred to as "Chicken Noodle Soup." Campbell's then changed the name of their commercial brand. "Chicken Noodle Soup" is consistently one of the bestselling varieties of Campbell's soup.
Curative powers
According to food historians, chicken soup was already being prescribed as a cure for the common cold in Ancient Egypt. The 10th century Persian physician Avicenna also referred to the curative powers of chicken soup in his writings. In the 12th century the Jewish sage Maimonides wrote that chicken soup "has virtue in rectifying corrupted humours", and recommended it as nutrition for convalescents; Maimonides also particularly recommended chicken soup for people suffering from hemorrhoids and the early stages of leprosy.
In modern medicine, research conducted by Dr. Stephen Rennard, professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine, and his colleagues at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, suggests that there might be some scientific basis for the curative powers of chicken soup. They found that the particular blend of nutrients and vitamins in traditional chicken soup can slow the activity of certain white blood cells. This may have an anti-inflammatory effect that could hypothetically lead to temporary ease from symptoms of illness. Their research was published in 2000 in the scientific journal Chest (volume 118, pages 1150-1157: "Chicken Soup Inhibits Neutrophil Chemotaxis In Vitro")[1]. This was not, however, an in vivo clinical trial, and did not demonstrate that chicken soup was the best foodstuff for this purpose.
Because it is simple to prepare, relatively cheap, nutritious, and easy on the digestive system, chicken soup is a good food for winter convalescents. Probably more significant, sipping warm soup can clear nasal passages, serving as a natural decongestant, which also relieves cold and flu symptoms. Last but not least, chicken soup can be beneficial due to the placebo effect of comfort foods.
Chicken soup around the world
Belgian
The chicken-waterzooi is a stew with chicken, vegetables and cream originally from Ghent, Belgium. A stew-like form of chicken soup is called Chicken Booyah, known in Wisconsin as "Belgian Penicillin".
Brazil
Chicken soup is known in Brazil as Canja. Canja is a chicken broth with cooked white rice inside, small pieces of cooked carrots and chicken meat threads. It is seasoned with salt, ground onions and ground garlic, a dash of ground cumin and laurel. It is believed to help a person overcome colds, general malaise and digestive problems.
Chinese
Many East Asian soups are based on chicken broth. Typical Chinese seasoning for chicken soup includes: ginger, spring onions, garlic, soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil. Soup can be served with deseeded cucumber cubes. Egg drop soup is a form of chicken soup.
Eastern European
In Bulgaria chicken soup is often seasoned with lemon juice or vinegar. The Polish sometimes serve ground almonds in their rosół: this was probably the basis for a form of croutons popular in Israel, known as soup almonds.
French
The French serve chicken-based forms of bouillon and consommé. Typical French seasoning for chicken soup includes: bay leaves, fresh thyme, dry white wine and garlic.
German
In Germany, homemade chicken soup typically consists of chicken broth to which kitchen herbs and (oftentimes) durum wheat noodles are added. Another dish based on chicken broth, chunks of chicken meat, boiled vegetables and kitchen herbs is known as Hühnereintopf, meaning chicken stew.
Greek
In Greece chicken soup is known as a traditional remedy for colds and for hangovers. The Greek variation of this soup is avgolemono, cooked with milk, lemon juice, rice, eggs and butter.
Italian
In Italy, chicken soup is often served with pasta, in such dishes as Cappelini in brodo and Tortellini in brodo.
Jewish
The soup is often associated with European Jewish cuisine, in which chicken soup is the basis for several traditional holiday courses, such as chicken soup with matzah balls for Passover. Although poverty was rampant in the shtetl, chicken-raising required little land or financial investment[1]. Every Jewish family would try to acquire at least one chicken in honor of the Shabbat meals, and would try to stretch it as far as it would go. Thus, every part of the chicken was used, leading to the creation of such dishes as p'tcha (chicken feet), pupiks (roasted gizzards), chopped liver (chicken liver), stuffed hezel (chicken neck), and schmaltz and greben (chicken fat and cracklings made from the fat and the skins). Chicken soup also proved to be a "recyclable" dish. Parts of the chicken—especially the breasts, which produce a more delicate flavor during the boiling process—were boiled as chicken soup and then reused afterwards in such dishes as kreplach, knishes, and blintzes. Tortelloni-like Kreplach are traditionally added to the soup on the eve of Yom Kippur. Lokshen (flat egg noodles) are also a favorite Jewish addition to chicken soup. A lesser known garnish is unlaid chicken eggs, removed from the ovaries of a laying chicken. Herbs traditionally served with Jewish chicken soup are parsley and dill.
Chicken soup is sometimes referred to as "Jewish penicillin".
Korean
Samgyetang is a Korean chicken soup with Korean ginseng, dried jujube fruits, garlic, ginger and glutinous rice. It is held to be not only a cure for physical ailments but a preventer of sickness.
Chicken soup in history and literature
- Legend has it that Mahatma Gandhi, though vegetarian, would eat chicken soup.
- Chicken soup is mentioned in John Steinbeck's East of Eden: And Tom brought him chicken soup until he wanted to kill him. The lore has not died out of the world, and you will still find people who believe that soup will cure any hurt or illness and is no bad thing to have for the funeral either.
- Both Maurice Sendak's Chicken Soup with Rice, and his animated film and stage production Really Rosie make multiple references to the dish.
Preparation
The flavor of the chicken in chicken soup is most potent when the chicken is boiled in water with salt and only a few vegetables, such as onion, carrots, and celery. For a more vegetable-tasting dish, add root vegetables (such as parsnip, celery and parsley), zucchini, sweet potato, whole garlic cloves or tomatoes. Soup should be brought to a boil and then simmered in a covered pot on a very low flame for one to three hours, adding water if necessary. Seasonings such as black pepper can be added, as well as fresh herbs such as parsley. A clearer broth is achieved by skimming the yellowish scum off the top of the soup as it is cooking; the broth can be further clarified by straining it through a strainer or cloth. Saffron or turmeric is sometimes added as a yellow colorant.
Chicken soup can be a relatively low fat food: fat can be removed by chilling the soup after cooking and skimming the layer of congealed fat from the top. The nutritional value of chicken soup can be boosted by adding turkey meat to chicken soup recipes: turkey is a richer source of iron. Research has also shown that the longer the cooking time of soups containing meat and bones, the higher the calcium content of the soup.
References
- Aish HaTorah Women's Organization (1987). The Taste of Shabbos: The Complete Sabbath Cookbook. Jerusalem:Feldheim Publishers. ISBN 0-87306-426-7.
- definitions and history of stock, broth, bouillon and consomme from various sources
- Rennard, BA, Ertl, RF, Gossman, GL, et al. (2000). Chicken soup inhibits neutrophil chemotaxis in vitro. Chest. 118, 1150-1157
- Ohry, A, Tsafrir, J. (1999) Is Chicken Soup an Essential Drug? Canadian Medical Association Journal. 161 (12)
External links
- International chicken soup recipes at www.soupsong.com
- Bulgarian Recipe – Chicken Soup
- recipes for stock and for broth
- PBS article on Rennar's study
- Consumer's Market article on Rennar's study
- Cooking For Engineers: Chicken or Turkey Stock - recipe with step-by-step photos and discussion
- Chicken Noodle Soup Recipes at www.chickennoodlesouprecipes.com