Chicken soup
Chicken soup is a soup made from chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear chicken broth, often with pieces of chicken or vegetables; common additions are pasta, noodles, dumplings, carrots, potatoes, or grains such as rice and barley. Chicken soup is commonly considered a comfort food.
History
Humans were already boiling food by the time that chicken was domesticated in the Neolithic period, so it is likely that chickens were being boiled for soup.Modern American chicken soup, which typically includes root vegetables such as carrot, onion, leeks and celery, was a staple across Northern Europe and was brought to the United States by immigrants.
Preparation
Variations on the flavor are gained by adding root vegetables such as parsnip, potato, sweet potato and celery root; herbs such as bay leaves, parsley and dill; other vegetables such as zucchini, whole garlic cloves, lettuce, or tomatoes; and black pepper. The soup should be brought slowly to a boil and then simmered in a covered pot on a very low flame for one to three hours, adding water if necessary. Saffron or turmeric are sometimes added as a yellow colorant.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. A study determined that "prolonged cooking of a bone in soup increases the calcium content of the soup when cooked at an acidic, but not at a neutral pH".Terminology
Strictly speaking, chicken soup, unless qualified, implies that the soup is served as a thin broth, with pieces of meat, and possibly vegetables, and either noodles, rice, barley, or dumplings.Cream of chicken soup is a thick, creamy, soup made with chicken stock and pieces, combined with milk and flour, which might contain vegetable pieces, depending on the recipe.
Several terms are used when referring to chicken soups:
- 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 poulet is the French term for chicken broth.
- Chicken consommé is a more refined chicken broth. It is usually strained to perfect clarity, and reduced to concentrate it.
- Chicken stew is a more substantial dish with a higher ratio of solids to broth. The broth may also be thickened toward a gravy-like consistency with a roux or by adding flour-based dumplings.
- Chicken stock is a liquid in which chicken bones and vegetables have been simmered 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. Bouillon cubes or soup base are often used instead of chicken stock prepared from scratch.
Health effects
It has also been shown that chicken soup contains the amino acid cysteine, which is very similar to acetylcysteine, which is used by doctors for patients with bronchitis and other respiratory infections.
Chicken soup is also known as "Jewish penicillin".
In different cultures
China
Many Chinese soups are based on chicken broth. Typical Chinese chicken soup is made from old hens and is seasoned with ginger, scallions, black pepper, soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil. A more elaborate version can be made from freshly killed spent hen and various herbs such as ginseng, dried goji, and old ginger root. The soup is then boiled for hours.Colombia
, Colombia's capital, is known for a version of chicken soup called ajiaco. Along with chicken, ajiaco typically includes maize, three types of potatoes, avocado, capers, and the herb guascas, and is served with a dollop of cream.Sancocho de gallina is another popular dish throughout Colombia and in neighboring countries. This is a broth that includes entire pieces of soup hen on the bone with large pieces of plantain, potato, cassava and/or other vegetables. A bowl of sancocho is usually an entire meal.
Denmark
The Danish hønsekødssuppe is traditionally cooked using large hens specifically reserved for soup, known as suppehøner. Vegetables like celeriac, carrots, onions and leek are usually added and typical flavourings are thyme, laurels and white pepper. The soup may be served with small white dumplings and meatballs. As part of traditional housekeeping, the cooked meat is reserved for other dishes such as høns i asparges or hønsesalat.France
The French serve chicken-based forms of bouillon and consommé. Typical French seasonings for chicken soup include bay leaves, fresh thyme, dry white wine and garlic.Germany
In Germany, chicken soup is made with chicken broth, vegetables, such as carrots, spices and herbs and small noodles. For the broth, a large hen, called a Suppenhuhn, may be boiled, and pieces of it—especially from the boiled breast—can later be added to the soup.In southern Germany, homemade chicken soup typically consists of chicken broth, to which spices and semolina dumplings or noodles are added. Another dish made with chicken broth, pieces of chicken, boiled vegetables, and spices is known as Hühnereintopf, meaning "chicken stew". Alternatively, homemade noodles may be added to the chicken broth, without vegetables, and with only pickling spice, salt and pepper added.
Ghana
In Ghana, chicken soup, also known as "chicken light" soup, is made by cooking chicken in a blended mixture of tomatoes, onions, pepper and other spices, and sometimes eggs; it is served primarily with fufu or on its own.Greece
In Greece, chicken soup is most commonly made in the avgolemono fashion, wherein beaten eggs mixed with lemon are added to a broth slowly so that the mixture heats up without curdling, also adding rice or pasta like kritharáki, resulting in a thicker texture. It is a traditional remedy for colds, stomach aches, and hangovers.Hungary
Hungarian chicken soup is a clear soup, a consommé, called Újházi chicken soup. A consommé with entire pieces of chicken, chicken liver and heart, with chunky vegetables and spices like whole black peppercorn, bay leaves, salt and ground black pepper. The vegetables boiled along with the pieces of chicken are usually carrots, celeriac, parsley root and parsnip. Soup vermicelli, semolina dumplings or thin spätzle noodles or small dumplings are also added to the soup. Other vegetables may be used, such as green peas, a whole tomato and whole onions boiled along with the soup, mushrooms, asparagus, celery, green pepper, cauliflower, kohlrabi, green beans, or parsley, in different combinations.Indonesia
In Indonesia, chicken soup might appear as sayur sop, vegetable and chicken broth soup that contains chicken pieces, potato, green beans, carrot, celery, and fried shallot. Another chicken soup variant commonly found across the country is soto ayam; a turmeric yellow spicy chicken soup with vegetables and noodle or vermicelli, served with steamed rice, pieces of lontong or ketupat.Italy
In Italy, chicken soup is often served with pasta, in such dishes as cappelletti in brodo, tortellini in brodo and passatelli. Even when served on its own, the meat and any vegetables used are usually removed from the broth and served as a second dish.Japan
In Japan, chicken soup is known as torijiru. Typically it starts with dashi, which is made from boiling konbu and katsuobushi, and not by boiling the chicken. After the dashi is prepared, pieces of boneless chicken thigh meat are usually used and combined with vegetables like daikon radish, carrot, burdock, konnyaku, welsh onion, mushrooms, potatoes, and taro root. At the end, different seasonings are added depending on the region of the country or type of soup. It could be a miso-based soup or soy sauce-based. Cooking sake, mirin, salt, and vinegar are also used with the soy sauce or miso. The pork equivalent called butajiru is more popular than the chicken-based soup.Bone stocks for ramen are also often made with chicken stock, and it is almost invariably used in the less common kotteri variety.
Jewish (Ashkenazi)
Chicken soup, sometimes called Jewish penicillin, is a traditional dish of the European Jewish kitchen. The Russian and Polish Jewish communities use a relatively high proportion of chicken stock for their soup, made mostly from the bones.The soup is prepared with herbs such as parsley, fresh dill, and thyme. It is often served with matzah balls, kreplach, lokshen, or shkedei marak. A traditional garnish was eyerlekh, unlaid chicken eggs taken from a hen and boiled in the soup. Modern health standards make these difficult to obtain now.