Happy FFF! January is National Soup Month. Who doesn’t like soup! Here in Florida…cold soups like Gazpacho are perfect in the summer. Of course, hot soup is good almost anytime, but especially during the chilly winter months. One of my favorites is French Onion Soup…but I love a decadent Beer Cheese soup too, yum. Here are some fun facts about soup!

• Americans sip over 10 Billion bowls of soup every year.
• 99% of all American homes buy soup.
• Women are twice as likely to order soup at a restaurant than men.
• The earliest evidence of making soup was in 6000 BC…And guess what kind of soup it was? Hippopotamus!
• In the 1700s, apparently the French King was so enamored with himself that he had his royal chefs create a soup that would allow him to see his own reflection in the bowl. As a result, consommé (clear broth) was born.

• In the French Court of Louis XI, the ladies’ meals were mostly soup. They were afraid that chewing would give them wrinkles.
• Thin soups became all the rage in Europe during the 17th century, because the spoon was invented. (Before spoons they drank soup straight from the bowl) The spoon was invented to accommodate the giant ruffles that people wore around their necks at that time. The spoon made having soup much easier.
• 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 tummy.
• Another famous person who loved soup was Andy Warhol. He told someone that he painted those famous soup cans because it’s what he had for lunch every day for 20 years!

The Reasons why Chicken soup is healing!

• An amino acid released from chicken during cooking chemically resembles the drug acetylcysteine, prescribed for bronchitis and other respiratory problems.
• Onion has anti-inflammatory properties that help sore throats and help stop the movement of neutrophils (white blood cells that encourage the flow of mucus that accumulates in the lungs and nose).
• Steam is a real benefit. Sipping the hot soup and breathing in the steam helps clear up congestion. This can also be said for many hot soups.
• Spices that are often added to chicken soup, such as garlic and pepper (all ancient treatments for respiratory diseases), work the same way as modern cough medicines, thinning mucus and making breathing easier.
• Chicken Soup also puts needed fluids back into the body.

What is your favorite soup?!