Soup – first course and an important part of your daily diet. To once again emphasize the importance of this dish for human health, the – International Soup Day holiday has been created, which is celebrated on April 5.
The history of soup is as old as the history of cooking. The word «sup» comes from the French «soupe», and it is – from the Latin «suppa», which translates to – bread soaked in decoction or broth. However, soup as a dish in today's understanding, which has become a daily food, developed five centuries ago with the advent of strong dishes that can withstand the cooking process. At the same time, in cold countries and regions, soup arose much earlier. For example, in Ancient China it was boiled 100 years BC.
But we are talking about soup, and not about cooking, as a way of cooking food for the purpose of heat treating food. After all, – soup is a «set» of ingredients that create a common taste and composition. And although the methods of cooking, traditions and recipe of soups developed earlier, soups became widespread in Europe and Russia by the 18th century. This dish later spread throughout the world. By the way, in Rus' liquid dishes were first called stews. The word «sup» appeared only during the time of Peter I. In ancient times, meat, fish and vegetable broths were called a decoction.
In the national cuisine of any country there are recipes for this dish. The soup is prepared both in summer and winter. Soups help you get enough and regain strength, and increase tone. And doctors are confident in the usefulness of soups even during illness, prescribing light broths and vegetable soups to the patient to restore strength. According to doctors, soups have a beneficial effect on the body's digestive system, stimulating the production of enzymes and gastric juice, and prevent cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and even cancer diseases. But it is important to remember that meat, fish and mushroom soups should not be abused by those who have increased acidity of gastric juice and people prone to the formation of kidney stones and gout.
In the national cuisine of any country there are recipes for this dish (Photo: Nitrub, licensed by depositphotos.com)
There are approximately 150 types of soups in the world, which are divided into more than a thousand species, with each species having variants. Thus, researcher of culinary art V. Pokhlebkin pointed to 24 options for cabbage soup and 18 options for fish soup.
The main types of soups are classified into the following categories:
1. By serving temperature – cold and hot soups;
2. In terms of calorie content, – are light and satisfying (rich);
3. For the ingredients used, – vegetarian (lenten) and soups containing components of animal origin;
4. By cooking technology – boiled soups and raw ones; puree soups; dressing or thickened soups;
5. To taste – salty, neutral, sweet.
Which soup recipe is the most correct and popular – is difficult to answer. It all depends on the country and personal taste. Soups contain a wide variety of components: bird or animal meat, vegetables, mushrooms, fish, cereals, beans, dairy products, flour products, herbs, fruits, berries, spices. Depending on the ingredients of the dish and personal preferences, soups are served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. For example, milk soup is also suitable for morning meals, and vegetable and meat soup is more often served during the day or evening.
Japanese miso soup (Photo: lenyvavsha, licensed from depositphotos.com)
As for «nationalities» soups, among the brightest representatives of Russian cuisine are – borscht and cabbage soup, solyanka and ear, okroshka and rassolnik... – Georgian kharcho soup and Spanish gazpacho, French onion soup and Danish pea soup with smoked meats are also world famous. Fans of oriental cuisine know Japanese miso soup, Chinese hogo and Vietnamese pho. And this list goes on for a long time, there are thousands of soup recipes in the world. And among the unusual ones are Japanese noodle and chocolate soup, Caribbean – made of iguana, Polish beer soup and African – made of coffee, bananas and mud from the foot of Kilimanjaro.
Therefore, when celebrating International Soup Day, of course, with a traditional feast, give preference not to the usual soup recipe, but to a refined and unconventional one. Bon appetit!
• Infographics – poster «5 April — International Soup Day»