An Easy Recipe

To many people, soup is something that comes out of a can or packet but few things beat the wonderfully fresh flavor of homemade soup. Soup is also an excellent example of a food that anybody can make from scratch. If you can boil water and add things to it, you can make soup. It really is that simple. Soup is also very versatile and you can use your favorite ingredients to make your own particular favorite soup variety.

Different Types of Soup

There are literally thousands of different soups, certainly far too many to list here. You can, however, break the soup categories down into hot soups and chilled soups, thin consomms and thick chowders, meat soups, fish soups and vegetarian soups, country style soups, spicy oriental soups and many more. You have probably sampled some chicken noodle soup but have you ever tried a chilled cherry soup or a Chinese egg drop soup?

One of the most popular soups has to be chicken soup and most nations have their own version. Chicken is economical to buy and if you have eaten a chicken in some other recipe, you can make a tasty chicken bouillon from the bones and carcass. Chicken soup comes in many varieties. Examples include chicken noodle soup, cream of chicken soup, Chinese chicken soup, chicken rice soup and many more.

Perhaps chicken soup is so popular because it is so versatile. You might like to add potatoes or noodles to it or vegetables. Some people like a thick, hearty soup and others prefer a thin, watery soup.

Tips for Cooking Chicken Soup

One of the easiest ways to make a chicken soup base is to boil a chicken carcass in water, remove the carcass, add vegetables and herbs, and simmer for an hour and that is all there is to it! You can even use leftover vegetables with the carcass so the ingredients, which would otherwise have ended up in the garbage can, be used to make a delicious and nutritious soup instead.

When you remove the carcass from the water, you should use a sieve to pour the whole soup mixture into another pot, to ensure you get any bits of floating chicken bone. If you want to, you can pick off any bits of chicken fat or meat with your fingers and add them to the soup mixture to enrich the chicken flavor.

Chicken noodle soup has been used for many years to soothe people suffering from colds or the flu. The steam from the soup is good for congestion, the fluids are great for the illness, and chicken soup is especially soothing and comforting. There is no doubt that a bowl of homemade chicken soup will lift your spirits and cheer you up.

Perhaps you remember being given homemade chicken soup as a child. Now you know how simple it is to make your own soup, perhaps you would like to have a go at making some soothing, satisfying chicken soup for your own family.