Soup through the Ages
The word soup comes from the French “soupe”, which is based on the Latin route suppa (meaning “bread soaked in broth).
Archaeologists claim to have found evidence of the existence of soup from 20,000 BC. It was said to be made in waterproof containers - such as animal hides and watertight baskets of bark or reeds and later made of clay. To boil the water hot rocks were inserted into the pot with the ingredients. This method of cooking is still used today and remains popular in fine dining.
In 9th century Europe, pottage - a thick soup made by boiling vegetables and grains - became a staple food for European serfs and peasants. It could be kept over the fire for a period of days, during which time some of it was eaten and more ingredients added. This remained popular late into the 17th century.
From the 14th century dates the first recorded recipe for cawl. This is a traditional Welsh soup that is historically made with salted bacon or beef with potatoes, swedes, carrots and other seasonal vegetables. Today it remains a national dish of Wales.
In the 14th century French Court of Louis XI, the ladies' meals were rumoured to be mostly soups, supposedly because they were afraid that chewing would make them break out in wrinkles.
During the 16th century, the word restaurant (meaning “something restoring”) was first used in France. It referred to a highly concentrated, inexpensive soup, sold by street vendors, that was advertised as an antidote to physical exhaustion.
In 1742 the first colonial cookbook was published by William Parks in Williamsburg, Virginia, and included several recipes for soups and bisques
A Parisian entrepreneur opened a shop specialising in soups in 1765. This prompted the use of the modern word “restaurant” for the eating establishments.
Rumour has it in the late 1700s, King Louis XVI was so obsessed with himself that he had his chefs create a soup that would allow him to see his own reflection in the bowl. This is said to be the origin of consommé (clear broth). However, the truth in this story is probably limited and made up either in reaction to, or to stir more, public hatred for the King during the French Revolution.
In 1897 Doctor John T. Dorrance, a chemist with the Campbell Soup Company, invented condensed soup. He went on to become president of the company and eventually bought out the Campbell family.
Today, Campbell’s Tomato, Cream of Mushroom, and Chicken Noodle Soup are three of the most popular soups in America. Americans consume approximately 2.5 billion bowls of these three soups alone each year.
In 1910 Heinz started to sell ready-to-serve soups in response to the Great Depression and, thus, more limited incomes of its customers.
Apparently throughout his music career, beginning in 1935, Frank Sinatra always asked for chicken and rice soup to be available to him in his dressing rooms before he went on stage. He said it always cleared his mind and settled his stomach.
In 1949 Batchelors became the first to sell dried soup, chicken noodle flavour.
In 1962 Andy Warhol first exhibited his famous Campbell’s Soup Cans. They were displayed together on shelves, to resemble a supermarket aisle. At the time, the Campbell’s Soup Company sold 32 soup varieties and each of the canvases corresponds to a different flavour.
In 1972 Bachelors launched the Cup-A-Soup brand. They claim their most popular flavour is minestrone