Posts Tagged ‘Chicken Soup’

This article is not so much about my own Chicken Soup Recipe, but more about how you can develop your own unique version. I think everyone who likes to cook chicken should be able to make a good soup with it. It’s a great way to use up leftovers, and an even better way to make sure you get enough vegetables in your diet.

While there are countless variations of techniques and ingredients in chicken soup, there is one constant that no one can do without: a good stock or broth. Without this your soup will have a watery taste, and that is no fun to eat. Also, a tasty broth is more likely to be healthier for you, since where there is flavor there is usually also nutrients. A good stock typically contains some gelatin, which comes from dissolved collagen from bones and connective tissue. Gelatin is great for carrying both flavor and nutrients because it can interact with organic molecules better than water can.

So does that mean you have to make your own chicken stock in order to have a good chicken soup recipe? Not necessarily, as there are many good chicken stocks available at grocery stores. I prefer the kind you get in boxes, but the canned stuff is usually good too. I’ll use the powdered or cubed stuff in a pinch, but I find they have too much salt and other flavor enhancers for my liking. I’m also not sure how much gelatin they contain, if any. Read the rest of this entry »