January is National Soup Month, and now is the best time to get your slow cooker out to try some new soup recipes. Gather around your dining room table for some comfort food, and melt the winter chill away with the steamy aroma of wholesome, flavorful soup.
Photo by Jugglerpm/Flickr
Who Started National Soup Month?
Nobody really knows who started Soup Month or when it began. Some believe it was started by a popular soup company, but no commercial endorsements of this national holiday can be found. While January is publicized as National Soup Month, there are no congressional records or official proclamations for this. Regardless, National Soup Month is widely celebrated as a time to embrace and explore a wide variety of soups.
What Is the History of Soup?
Soup, as we know it, has been around since humans learned to boil water. Technically, however, soup can be dated back as early as 6000 B.C. , when it was served cold in rudimentary cooking vessels such as animal skin or clay pots. In ancient Greece, soup was sold on the street and considered the first “fast food.” Soup got its name from “sop,” which was a piece of bread served with broth. Later, the focal point switched from the bread to the ingredients in the actual soup. In the book “Soup Through the Ages: A Culinary History with Period Recipes,” author Victoria Rumble calls soup “the world’s first prepared dish, which became the unpretentious comfort food for all civilization.”
Why is Soup Good for You?
Basically, soup provides fluid. Especially in cold weather, many people forget about drinking water, so a hot bowl of soup can provide the body with much-needed hydration. While chicken noodle soup is not really a cure for the common cold, the steamy broth can comfort and open up a congested nose. The ingredients in the soup determine how healthy it is. However, not all soups are good for you. Some canned soups are loaded with sodium, and powdered soups can contain harmful artificial additives. According to Dr. Robert Vogel, chief medical director for Pritikin Longevity Center and Newsweek magazine, you should stay away from cream soups for its high fat content. One restaurant chain’s popular cream of broccoli soup has as many fat grams as a 20-piece Chicken McNuggets.
What is the Most Popular Soup in America?
According to the Campbell’s Soup Company, chicken noodle soup and tomato soup are two of the most popular soups in America today. However, many international soups have made their way into our mainstream culture. Japanese miso soup, French onion soup, Chinese hot and sour soup and Mexican black bean soup are a few international soups that have been made popular in America today.
How Do People Celebrate National Soup Month?
Many people participate in soup swaps through churches, clubs or other community organizations. Some people plan soup swapping get-togethers among friends and neighbors. But you do not need to exchange soup to honor National Soup Month. Experimenting with new recipes and trying new soups is enough to get in the spirit of National Soup Month.
April Lentini loves using her Crock Pot and enjoys vegetarian soup recipes. She writes for Apartment Guide in Boston. Browse the many apartments available in Boston on apartmentguide.com.
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I’m so glad you found my soup to be colorful enough to post on your blog. It is beautiful, isn’t it? It’s simply an Italian soup broth with numerous options for mix-ins. You can see how two of them turned out on my blog: http://eatlikearabbit.net/2008/03/15/italian-soup and http://eatlikearabbit.net/2008/08/06/italian-garlic-soup.