Five interesting facts about soup (2024)

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What are 5 interesting facts about soup? ›

Women are twice as likely to order soup for lunch as men. Americans eat more than 10 billion bowls of soup each year. How about the hippo variety? The earliest archaeological evidence for the consumption of soup dates back to 6000 BC, and it was hippopotamus soup.

Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.

The word soup derives from the Latin word 'suppa', which refers to bread soaked in broth. It was popularised in the 1600s by the French 'soupe'. The word is also found in Proto-Germanic language as 'sup', which means 'to make liquid'.

There is an Italian saying: “La zuppa fa sette cose.” It means “Soup does seven things.” Soup quenches thirst, satisfies hunger, fills your stomach, aids digestion, makes teeth sparkle, adds color to cheeks and aids sleep. In other words, soup cures most, if not all human ills.

They give your immune system a boost.

Most soups are loaded with disease-fighting nutrients. In fact, studies show that chicken soup in particular can help prevent the common cold, especially if you load it up with fresh garlic, onions, celery and carrots. (They all contain powerful immune-boosting chemicals.)

When made with nutrient-rich ingredients, such as vegetables and lean proteins, soup may provide numerous health benefits. However, you may want to watch out for cream-based, canned, and instant soups, as they tend to have a higher calorie and sodium content.

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".

Not only does it make our taste buds sing, but also provides a nice warmth inside which helps calm us down, be more positive and fulfilled. The feeling of a warm bowl of soup in your stomach is one that cannot be matched since it is pleasant to the eyes and heart.

What are some fun facts about soup? ›

The earliest archaeological evidence for the consumption of soup dates back to 6000 BC, and it was hippopotamus soup. Soups are classified into two groups: clear soups and thick soups. Soups can be consumed hot or cold, depending on the climate of the region where it's being served, and flavors can be sweet or savory.

In Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok), there is an award-winning restaurant called Wattana Panich, where you can order and then eat a beef and goat soup that is 49 years old.

Who boiled the first soup? The exact time period that soup was invented remains debatable. However according to archaeologist John Speth, our ancient Neanderthal relatives were likely to have begun boiling meat to render fat from animal bones – resulting in a meat broth that they would have drunk as soup.

A good soup should be full-flavored, with no off or sour tastes. Flavors from each of the soup's ingre- dients should blend and complement, with no one flavor overpowering another. Con- sommés should be crystal clear. The vegetables in vegetable soups should be brightly colored, not gray.