Vegetable soup is a common

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ing ...

prepared using

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

s and

leaf vegetable Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad gre ...

s as primary ingredients. It dates to

ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

, and is a mass-produced food product in contemporary times.

Overview

Vegetable soup is prepared using vegetables, leafy greens, mushrooms, and roots as main ingredients. Some fruits, such as tomato and

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

, are considered vegetables in such a context. Vegetable soup can be prepared as a

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

- or cream-based soup. Basic ingredients in addition to vegetables can include beans and legumes, grains, tofu, noodles and pasta, vegetable

broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...

or stock, milk, cream, water, olive or vegetable oil, seasonings, salt and pepper, among myriad others. Some vegetable soups are pureed and run through a sieve, straining them to create a smooth texture. It is typically served hot, although some, such as

gazpacho Gazpacho (; ) or Gaspacho (), also called Andalusian gazpacho, is a cold soup and drink made of raw, blended vegetables. It originated in the southern regions of the Iberian peninsula and spread into other areas. Gazpacho is widely eaten in S ...

, are typically served cold. Vegetable soup is sometimes served as a starter or appetizer dish. Vegetable soup is

mass-produced Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...

in canned, frozen, dried, powdered, and

instant In physics and the philosophy of science, instant refers to an infinitesimal interval in time, whose passage is instantaneous. In ordinary speech, an instant has been defined as "a point or very short space of time," a notion deriving from its ety ...

varieties.

History

Vegetable soup dates to

. A 5th-century Roman cookbook included a recipe for "a forerunner of onion soup."

Broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...

is mentioned by approximately the year 1000 and

potage Pottage or potage (, ; ) is a term for a thick soup or stew made by boiling vegetables, grains, and, if available, meat or fish. It was a staple food for many centuries. The word ''pottage'' comes from the same Old French root as ''potage'' ...

by the 1400s. Clifford Wright has stated that cabbage soup was important in medieval Italian cuisine. In central

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

, vegetable soup, also referred to as winter vegetable soup and country soup, is a traditional

staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply a staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and ...

and common dish during the months of December–February among Appalachian highlanders.

References

External links

* {{Soups Vegetable dishes

Overview

History

See also

References

External links