Chicken soup
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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. It is commonly eaten with soda crackers on the side.
Contents |
[edit] Curative powers
According to food historians, chicken soup was already being prescribed as a cure for the common cold in Ancient Egypt[citation needed]. 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 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.
[edit] Chicken soup in different cultures
[edit] Britain
Chicken Soup (or Broth) in Britain is a clear and watery soup with chunky vegetables, chicken and salt.
[edit] 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".
[edit] Portugal/Brazil
Chicken soup is known 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Colombian
Bogotá, Colombia's capital, is known for a version of chicken soup called ajiaco. Along with chicken, ajiaco typically includes corn, potatoes, avocado, capers, an herb called guascas, and is served with a dollop of sour cream.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Italian
In Italy, chicken soup is often served with pasta, in such dishes as Cappelletti in brodo, Tortellini in brodo and Passatelli.
[edit] 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 (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.Herbs traditionally served with Jewish chicken soup are parsley and dill.
Chicken soup is sometimes referred to as "Jewish penicillin", in recognition of its curative powers.
[edit] 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.
[edit] U.S. American
In the United States, 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 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.
[edit] 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.
- There is a series of books entitled Chicken Soup for the Soul.
- Chicken Soup was the title of a short-lived 1989 ABC sitcom which starred Jackie Mason.
- "Chicken Noodle Soup" is a popular 2006 New York City dance made popular by a track of the same name by DJ Webstar.
[edit] 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 layer 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 is 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 starting.
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.
[edit] 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)
[edit] External links
