*The most expensive bowl of soup is called Budda Jumps Over the Wall. It starts with a chicken broth base and adds shark’s fin, abalone, Japanese flower mushrooms, sea cucumbers, dried scallops, Huan ham, pork, and ginseng. It costs as much as $400 a serving.
*The largest bowl of soup ever made was a Guinness World Record. It was 8000 gallons, prepared by 45 chefs, during the Tarhana soup festival in 2024 in Turkey.
*Cream of chicken soup is made with chicken stock, milk or cream, flour, and sometimes vegetables.
*Chicken bouillon or bouillon de Poulet is French for chicken broth.
*Women are twice as likely to order soup for lunch than men.
*Americans eat more than ten billion bowls of soup a year.
*In the Stone Age people probably made soup by boiling water in animal skins over hot stones.
*Astronauts have soup in space using special packaging to prevent spills in zero gravity.
*National Soup Month is in January in the U.S.
*In the French Court of Louis XI, the women ate mostly soup because they believed that chewing gave them wrinkles.
* The name Soup kitchen became popular during the Great Depression in the U.S. – providing free meals with soup was an inexpensive choice. Below are men waiting on line in a 1936 WPA soup kitchen, compliments of Wikimedia Commons.
*According to Buzz Feed, 99% of American homes have soup.
*There are hot soups, like chicken noodle, and cold soups like gazpacho.
*The most popular soup variety in the U.S. is chicken noodle.
*Chicken Soup for the Soul was the first book in a famous series that is described as a “socially conscious company that combines storytelling with making the world a better place.” Published in 1993, the series now has over 275 titles. The founding publisher, HCI, turned the book into one of the “most popular and loved books ever published, selling 11 million copies around the world.” They “give back” by supporting numerous causes with the goal “to share happiness, inspiration and wellness through everything we do.”
Yay for soup!! Hot or cold, sweet or sour…and Yay for another excellent article! You gave me an idea, with the Stone Age method of making soup. I think I’ll try that!