The Scoop on Soup

Soup. It’s a simple meal and a warm gesture with a past almost as rich as its flavor.

From Ancient Greece to the New World to your childhood home, soup is a savory part of our collective history. 

Nutrition historians believe that ever since the first pot boiled over an open fire somewhere around 6,000 B.C., soup has been a major staple in the human diet. In medieval kitchens, the caldron was rarely emptied. Instead, refusing to discard any salvageable bits of food, “homemakers” would add scraps on a continuous basis to an already brewing pot. By the mid-1700s, soup had transformed from the meal of peasants to delightful appetizers or entrées for a slowly but surely expanding middle class. In 1882, the first cookbook dedicated solely to soup, entitled “Soups and Soup Making,” was published by Emma Ewing. 

For soup, making the transition from goopy filler to elegant entree hasn’t been an easy journey. Today, recipes proliferate, ranging wildly in content  — hot and cold, savory and sweet, stew and chili. As with most soup recipe variations, the list of possibilities is nearly endless. 

So this January, celebrate National Soup Month in true foodie fashion by dipping your spoon into a big bowl of deliciousness.