United States Senate Bean Soup or simply Senate bean soup is a

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 ...

made with

navy bean The navy bean, haricot, pearl haricot bean, Boston bean, white pea bean, or pea bean is a variety of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris'') native to the Americas, where it was first domesticated. It is a dry white bean that is smaller than ...

ham hock __NOTOC__ A ham hock (or hough) or pork knuckle is the joint between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals of the foot of a pig, where the foot was attached to the hog's leg. It is the portion of the leg that is neither part of the ham proper nor ...

s, and

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

. It is served in the dining room of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

every day, in a tradition that dates back to the early 20th century. The original version included celery, garlic, parsley, and possibly mashed potatoes as well.

Tradition

According to the Senate website, "Bean soup is on the menu in the Senate's restaurant every day. There are several stories about the origin of that mandate, but none has been corroborated." On September 14, 1943,

rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...

due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

left the Senate kitchen without enough navy beans to serve the soup. The ''

Washington Times-Herald The ''Washington Times-Herald'' (1939–1954) was an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It was created by Eleanor "Cissy" Patterson of the Medill–McCormick–Patterson family (long-time owners of the ''Chicago Tribune'' ...

'' reported on its absence the following day. In a speech on the Senate floor in 1988,

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican Leader of the Senate during the final 11 years of his te ...

recounted the response to the crisis: "Somehow, by the next day, more beans were found and bowls of bean soup have been ladled up without interruption ever since."

Recipes

Senate versions

A 1967 memo from the

Architect of the Capitol The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is the federal agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex. It is an agency of the legislative branch of the federal government and is ...

to the Librarian of the Senate describes the modern recipe, calling for "two pounds of small Michigan Navy Beans". John Egerton writes in ''Southern Food'' that the use of ham hocks suggests an origin in

Southern cuisine The cuisine of the Southern United States encompasses diverse food traditions of several regions, including Tidewater, Appalachian, Lowcountry, Cajun, Creole, and Floribbean cuisine. In recent history, elements of Southern cuisine have spread t ...

. Although the legislators credited with institutionalizing the soup did not represent

Southern states Southern States may refer to: *The independent states of the Southern hemisphere United States * Southern United States, or the American South * Southern States Cooperative, an American farmer-owned agricultural supply cooperative * Southern Stat ...

, most of the cooks at the time were

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

Southerners who would prepare bean soup in their own style. There was a period when the Senate dining services omitted the ham and instead used a

soup base Cooking base, sometimes called soup base, is a concentrated flavoring compound used in place of stock for the creation of soups, sauces, and gravies. Since it can be purchased rather than prepared fresh, it is commonly used in restaurants where co ...

. In 1984, a new manager discovered this practice; he later reflected, "we went back to the ham hocks, and there was a real difference." There are two Senate soup recipes:

Reviews and variants

Carrot is also present in Senate Bean Soup, as shown in the picture above. Although missing in the recipes above, nearly every recipe uses carrots. According to ''The Best Soups in the World'', "most reports ... suggest that it unfortunately leaves a lot to be desired."

Availability

As of 2010, members of the public can try the soup in the Senate dining room. There is a

dress code A dress code is a set of rules, often written, with regard to what clothing groups of people must wear. Dress codes are created out of social perceptions and norms, and vary based on purpose, circumstances, and occasions. Different societies an ...

, and entry requires a "request letter" from a senator. The soup is also available to the general public at the

Capitol Visitor Center The United States Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) is a large underground addition to the United States Capitol complex which serves as a gathering point for up to 4,000 tourists and an expansion space for the US Congress.Longworth Cafeteria Longworth is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, England. The 1974 boundary changes transferred it from Berkshire to Oxfordshire. The village lies between Faringdon, to its west, and Oxford, to the north-east. The United Ki ...

. The

Project Greek Island Project Greek Island was a United States government continuity program located at the Greenbrier hotel in West Virginia. The facility was decommissioned in 1992 after the program was exposed by ''The Washington Post''. Construction In the la ...

bunker, a

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

-era emergency relocation center for Congress, included a cafeteria that would have served Senate bean soup. Past prices for a bowl include: *1940: $0.15 *1996: $1.00 *1997: $1.10 *2004: $4.50 *2008: $5.00 *2010: $6.00 *2014: $3.60 for a bowl

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Senate Bean Soup Recipe
- from the official website of the United States Senate, accessed 27 October 2013. {{Soups United States Senate Legume dishes American soups American pork dishes