A bowl of homemade chicken soup. Because it is simple to prepare, relatively cheap, nutritious, and easy on the digestive system, chicken soup is a good food for winter convalescence.
'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 many countries including 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.
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 humoursâ€, and recommended it as nutrition for
convalescents; Maimonides also particularly recommended chicken soup for people suffering from
hemorrhoids and the early stages of
leprosy.
[1].
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 belief in 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''
[2]. 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 the sinuses because of the steam ventilating into the 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 in different cultures
Britain
Chicken Soup (or Broth) in Britain is a clear and watery soup with chunky vegetables (such as sweetcorn and peas), chicken and salt.
Belgian
The " Gentse-
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 Penicillinâ€.
Portugal/Brazil
Chicken soup is known as Canja
[1]. Canja is a chicken broth prepared with
rice, diced carrots, and shredded
chicken meat. It is seasoned with salt, onions, garlic,
cumin and
bay leaves. It is believed to help a person overcome colds, digestive problems, among other mild forms of sickness.
Chinese
Many
East Asian soups are based on
chicken broth. Typical Chinese seasoning for chicken soup includes: ginger,
spring onions,
black pepper,
soy sauce,
rice wine and
sesame oil.
Colombian
Bogotá,
Colombia’s capital, is known for a version of chicken soup called ''
ajiaco''. Along with chicken, ''ajiaco'' typically includes
sweetcorn,
potatoes,
avocado,
capers, an herb called ''guascas'', and is served with a dollop of
sour cream.
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 (often)
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''. Another way of making Chicken soup from Germany is to make homemade noodles and add them to the chicken broth with no vegetables and just
pickling spice,
salt and pepper are added to it.
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 ''Cappelletti in brodo'', ''Tortellini in brodo'' and ''Passatelli''.
Jewish
The chicken soup is the traditional dish, often with
matzah balls. Although poverty was rampant in the
shtetl, chicken-raising required little land or financial investment
[3]. 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, stuffed hezel (chicken neck), and
schmaltz and
greben (respectively, 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 traditional garnish, nowadays much less popular, was unlaid chicken eggs
[4][5], taken from the inner organs of the hen and boiled in the soup. Herbs traditionally served with Jewish chicken soup are
parsley and
dill.
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. Baeksuk, which is the Korean counterpart to the chicken noodle soup of the western culture, is also popular among Koreans for its power to cure minor illnesses such as a cold. While the chicken noodle soup, as the name suggests, has some noodles in it quite often times, Baeksuk does not contain any noodles.
Mexico
Caldo de pollo is a common
Latin-American soup made with whole chicken pieces instead of chopped or shredded chicken, and large cuts of vegetables, such as half-slices of potatoes and whole leaves of cabbage.
United States and Canada
In the United States and Canada, chicken soup often has
noodles in it, thus giving it its common name of “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 noodlesâ€, but when it was advertised on the “
Amos & Andyâ€
radio show in the 1930s, by a
slip of the tongue, 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.
Chicken soup in history and media
★ When
Manilal Gandhi, son of
Mahatma Gandhi, contracted typhoid and pneumonia, a doctor recommended chicken soup and eggs. As strict
vegetarians, his parents would not agree to this, but Manilal received treatment and recovered.
★ 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'' (with music by
Carole King) make multiple references to the dish.
★ There is a
series of books entitled ''
Chicken Soup for the Soul''.
★ ''Chicken Soup'' was the title of a short-lived 1989
ABC sitcom starring
Jackie Mason.
★ Chicken Noodle Soup is a popular children’s song by Gibbs promoting Campbell’s chicken noodle soup.
★ “
Chicken Noodle Soup†feat.
Young B. was made into a popular
hip-hop song by
DJ Webstar.
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. Variations on the flavor are gained by adding
root vegetables such as parsnip, potato,
sweet potato and celery root, herbs such as parsley and dill, and other vegetables such as zucchini, whole garlic cloves or tomatoes. The 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. A clearer broth is achieved by skimming the film of congealed fat 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 are sometimes added as a yellow colorant. It has also been said that the amount of scum can be reduced by first bringing the chicken to boil from a pot of cold water and discarding it before continuing.
Nutritional value
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
1. Ohry, A, Tsafrir, J. (1999) Is Chicken Soup an Essential Drug? ''Canadian Medical Association Journal''. '161' (12)
2. ''Chest'', volume 118, pages 1150-1157: “Chicken Soup Inhibits Neutrophil Chemotaxis ''In Vitro''â€
3. Chicken Soup - Culinary Poetry and Its Secrets
4. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/dining/07eggs.html?ex=1328504400&en=4baf21b1f8cba27b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss "What the Egg Was First", ''The New York Times''
5. http://www.soupsong.com/sharris.html "Chicken soup with unborn egg yolks", from the "soupsong" website
★ 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 consommé 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
★
Cold yogurt chicken soup recipe
★
International chicken soup recipes at www.soupsong.com
★
recipes for stock and for broth
★
PBS article on Rennard’s study
★
Consumer's Market article on Rennard’s study
See also
★
Tabatchnick Fine Foods
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