Soups: An In-Depth Look

"Eat this soup so you'll feel better." This was probably what your mother or grandmother used to prepare for you as a child when you got sick. Soups range from thick and thin and have evolved according to cultural preferences and the available local ingredients around the world. From the Spanish gazpacho, New England chowder, Russian borscht, French onion, Italian minestrone, and to Chinese won ton – soups can be considered a staple.

Soups are part and parcel of modern culinary setting but its history probably coincides with the history of cooking. Early humans must have discovered to boil different ingredients, when they began using waterproof natural containers about 5,000 years ago, to cook a nutritious watery food that is easily digested and simple to create.

This is why soups are a common choice among peoples from different economic brackets, travelers and the sedentary, the healthy and the invalids. The popularity of soups dates to as far back as the ancient times and was recommended for the invalids. Even the restaurant industry of the modern times is based on soup.

The first dishes served for the public in Paris in the 18th century were named Restoratifs (where the word "restaurant is derived from). It was here that bouillion, broth, and consommé first entered the scene. Many of the soups people have come to love today are based on cuisines of the Classic French.

Technological advancements also created many derivations of soups: from canned, dehydrated, portable, and microwave-ready, which are perfect for travelers as they are easily reconstituted when added with a little hot or boiling water. Soup in can or dehydrated were part of the supplies for the military, cowboy chuck wagons, covered wagon trains, and of course, the home pantry in the 19th century. Nutritionists also created soups to supplement specific dietary requirements by adjusting the nutritional contents of these "pocket soups".

Boiling various ingredients is also an ideal way of extracting nutrients from plants or meat that are inedible in their raw form. The etymology of the word soup is based on "sop" or "soup", which practically means a slice of bread to which vegetable or meat broth was poured to make a thick concoction – although until bread was invented, combining grains, plants, and meat boiled in a pot were used to thicken soup.

Gruel or porridge can be deemed as a staple nutritious, food of many people especially infants and the elderly. As soups are an inexpensive and nutritious gourmet, we can certainly look forward to having soups served even thousands of years from now.
Get more information about Soups and Vegetarian at ArticleMash.com.