Soup's On!
Long before weekly
meal plans and slow cookers, soup was one of the first truly planned meals. Early soups were designed to stretch ingredients and time. One pot could feed a household for several meals. It wasn’t accidental cooking; it was thoughtful, efficient, and intentional.
Soup even gave us the word restaurant. In 18th-century
France, restaurants were not dining establishments as we know them today. They were small shops that sold restaurants...a French term meaning “restoratives.” These were rich broths believed to restore health and strength, especially for people recovering from illness or exhaustion. Over time, these broth shops expanded their offerings, and the name stuck.
Barley soup was one of those trusted restorative foods. It was commonly recommended for the sick or tired because barley was easy to digest and provided steady nourishment. A simple bowl of barley broth was considered practical medicine.
Soup wasn’t limited to dinner, either. In many
cultures, soup was breakfast long before cold cereal existed. Morning soups often included broth with grains like barley or oats, bits of vegetables, or even leftover meat...warm, savory, and grounding fuel to start the day.
Even the tools reflect soup’s long history. The basic soup ladle has remained almost unchanged for
nearly a thousand years. Its deep bowl and long handle were designed for communal pots and shared meals, and the design worked so well that there was little reason to improve it.
For something so ordinary, soup has quietly shaped how we eat, plan, and gather...one pot at a time.
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