Soup: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

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For the album by Blind Melon, see Soup (album). For the book by Robert Newton Peck, see Soup (book).

Soup is a food which is largely liquid, often containing or cooked from solid components such as vegetables and meat. Soup differs from a stew in that it is more liquid and has fewer solid contents. Some sweet soups, such as fruit soups, are common in Chinese or Japanese cuisine, but are not usually found in Western cuisine.

History

General development as a food concept

The origin of soup is usually connected to the development of pottery vessels capable of holding and cooking liquids over a fire without breaking, a technology available in Mediterranean cultures since Neolithic times (circa 5000 BC)

Learning to boil food was advantageous because it greatly expanded the available food supply for humans. Previously inedible grains, tougher vegetables and animal bones could be cooked together to add their taste and nutrients to a dish.

In addition, making soup was a convenient method of cooking food, as food could be cooked as long as water and fire were available. Cooking food in water was an advancement in cooking methods, since it improved the consistency of cooking.

Mixing foods with water seemed to lead inevitably to people drinking the broth as well as eating the items cooked in it.

The discovery of an old man without functional teeth in Neanderthal remains cause some to speculate that the Neanderthals may have invented soup before the Neolithic, because there was no other means of delivering nutrients to sustain a person without teeth.

Archaeologists have demonstrated two possible means of creating soup before the invention of pottery. The first method is to fill an animal skin with water and cook it over fire. The second method is to dig a hole in the ground, fill the hole with water and contents to be cooked, and then place a hot stone into the hole.

Western

Non-Western

Off the beaten path (development elsewhere before European arrival)

Soup as a means of delivering medication

Throughout history, many herbal remedies have used soup as the means of delivery. This method is used, for example, in Traditional Chinese medicine.

Modern conveniences

Recently, advances in food technology allow soup-making to be simplified by pre-performing the tasks involved in making soup.

Condensed soups

Condensed soup was invented in 1897 by a chemist at Campbell's which remains a particularly popular brand for condensed soup. Removing water from the soup leads to lower packaging and transportation costs. Condensed soups are generally prepared by combining the condensed soup with water (and sometimes milk) in simple integer ratios; the can in which the soup is purchased is often used as a unit of measurement — for example, instructions may indicate to use one can of water per can of soup. Some popular types of condensed soup include tomato soup, chicken noodle, and various broths.

Powdered soup

Powdered soups, ready by just adding cooking water, gained much popularity as a healthy snack in recent years. The low nutritional value, however, makes it unfit for a complete meal. Most instant soups are extremely high in carbohydrates and sodium.

Powdered soups are ideal in weightlessness, and have been used as food for astronauts.

Traditional Western soup recipes

In the West, soup is distinguished from stock, which is an ingredient of soup, but is not itself a complete dish, and stew, which contains more solids than soup, although this distinction is not always clear-cut. There are several main families of soup in traditional cuisine: broth or bouillon is the uncleared liquid in which meat has been boiled; consommé is a forcemeat broth cleared with egg white; thickened soup is a soup that contains bread, grain, flour, blood, or other thickening agents; puréed soup is a soup in which the ingredients are blended or strained through a sieve; and a cream soup is a soup is a smoothly strained soup to which cream is added. A bisque is a kind of puréed soup that is generally made with seared crustaceans. Court bouillon is a special kind of bouillon containing white wine, vinegar or lemon juice in which other ingredients are poached.

Typical soup ingredients include legumes, such as peas and lentils, all kinds of vegetables, noodles, dumplings, meat, bread, grains and royale. Generally, all larger ingredients are diced or chopped, so that they can be eaten with a spoon. Meat is sometimes added as forcemeat balls. Fresh herbs and croutons are used to garnish soup.

Cold soups

Soups which are designed to be served cold include several variations on tomato soup, the potato-based American vichyssoise, borscht, cucumber soup and fruit soups. Cold soups can be salty when made from vegetables, or sweet, when made from fruits. Cold soups are frequently served in hot seasons instead of hot soups. Clear consommé sets into a gel when chilled, and may be broken up and served in a soup dish; a version with tomato-flavored beef stock is the madrilene that was adopted for French cuisine from Spain. Another well-known cold Spanish soup is the Andalucian soup, gazpacho. Gazpacho is made by blending chunks of tomato and other vegetables with lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Cream soups

Cream soups are made with milk, cream or sour cream. Typically all ingredients are blended smooth or creamed. Cream vegetable or mushroom soups are often used as liquids or sauces in other dishes. This may be the most common use of cream of mushroom soup. Similar soups may be made with melted cheese as in beer cheese soup.

• New England Clam chowder
• Purée Mongole
• Cream vegetable soups (Cream of potato, cream of celery, etc.)
• Cream of mushroom soup

Noodle soups

Chicken noodle soup is probably the most popular soup in Western culture. It is often used as a traditional remedy for the common cold. Noodle soups are also quite common across Asian cuisines.

• Pho is a Vietnamese staple noodle soup
• Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup that comes in several varieties
• Saimin is Hawaiian fresh, soft, undried egg noodles in bonito fish or shrimp broth with Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Korean and Portuguese influences
• Thukpa is Tibetan noodle soup, that is more or less the staple (along with Butter Tea and Tsampa)

Dessert soups

• Ginataan, Filipino soup made from coconut milk, milk, fruits and tapioca pearls, served cold.
• Oshiruko, a Japanese red bean soup

Fruit soups

Fruit soups are served hot or cold depending on the recipe. Many recipes are for cold soups served when fruit was in season during hot weather. Some like Norwegian 'frukt suppe' may be served hot and rely on dried fruit such as raisins and prunes and so could be made in any season. Fruit soups may include milk, sweet or savoury dumplings, spices, or alcoholic beverages like brandy or champagne.

Cold fruit soups are most common in Scandanavian, Baltic and Eastern European cuisines while hot fruit soups with meat appear in Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Chinese cuisines. Fruit soups are uncommon or absent in the cuisines of the Americas, Africa and Western Europe. They are also not seen in Japan, Southeast Asia or Oceania.

• Winter melon soup is a Chinese dish that is not particularly sweet, as the melon in question is low in natural sugars.

Japanese soups

A feature of East Asian soups not normally found in Western cuisine is the use of tofu in soups.

• Miso soup is a light broth containing miso. It is usually served at breakfast and sometimes includes tofu, mushrooms, seaweed, or green onions.
• Udon soup has thick, soft noodles in a light broth. There are many varieties with different noodles and toppings.

Famous soups

• Avgolemono - A Greek chicken soup with lemon and egg
• Borscht - A beetroot soup from Eastern Europe
• Bouillabaisse - A fish soup from Marseille (Southern France)
• Fanesca - A traditional cod soup from Ecuador.
• Gazpacho - A cold vegetable soup from Spain
• Minestrone - An Italian vegetable soup
• Mulligatawny Soup - An Anglo-Indian curried chicken soup
• Solyanka - A cabbage soup from Russia
• Waterzooi - A Belgian fish soup

Soup is usually made from stock, which is water in which meat, bones, mushrooms and/or vegetables have been boiled. Stock can be strained and reduced (boiled to reduce the water content) to yield a clear soup called consommé.

In Western cultures, soup is often one of the first courses of a dinner; if it is rich in components and calories, it may serve as a whole meal. It is often combined with bread in this case. At home, it is usually a supper, tea, or lunch meal.

Choice of serving vessel and implements

Soup may be served in a bowl, a bread bowl, or a bowl made of fruit rind, or even in a cup. Soup is usually consumed using a spoon (particularly a soup spoon) but may also be drunk straight from the serving vessel.

Garnishes and side dishes

Crackers, or croutons may be served floating in soup, but the most common accompaniment is bread, either eaten separately or dipped into the soup, with or without butter.

In the English language, the word "soup" has developed several phrasal uses.

• Alphabet soup is a term often used to describe a large amount of acronyms used by an administration.
• Primordial soup is a term used to describe the organic mixture leading to the development of life.
• A soup kitchen is a general term for a place that serves prepared food of any kind to the homeless

• Andy Warhol is well known for his signature cans of Campbell's soup
• The "Soup Nazi" was a memorable character and episode in the popular comedy television series Seinfeld