Top Soups
Chicken soup, the all-American comfort food, doesn’t mean only chicken noodle. With ethnic cuisine being a huge influence in our society, this includes soups such as chicken tortilla (Latin) and Asian chicken noodle soups as top sellers. For example, Booyah, popular in the Midwest, is a thick chicken and vegetable soup made in coal-fired cauldrons. Kits are sold that include greens, vegetables, grains, and chicken stock to create your own soup at Chook Charcoal Chicken in Denver, CO.
Eat Your Veggies
With corn as one of the top grains consumed globally, corn soup is a hit in any form, especially in the summer when it’s in the harvest. Vegetable soup with a mix of vegetables is also a top seller. With chefs looking to reduce waste in their kitchens, this soup is made with endless vegetable combinations. Also, with soups being comfort food, tomato and potato soups are prepared with two of America’s top vegetables. Other full vegetable soups include broccoli cheese, mushroom, and seasonal winter squash.
Seafood
More consumers are eating seafood for its delicious taste and health benefits. New England clam chowder still leads the seafood soup pack. We all have our favorites, whether thick or thin. A visit to New England will give you an authentic creation full of tender clams and potatoes, thyme, slightly thickened with flour and finished with butter. The New England Cookbook, Brooke Dojny, the Harvard Common Press, Boston, Massachusetts 02118.
Asian Persuasion
Asian Pho and Ramen Noodle Bowls are now mainstream in the United States. Full of umami, healthy vegetables, and herbs with various noodles, they have become a crave-able meal. Vietnamese Pho is made with broth, rice noodles, and meat. (A bowl of pho usually comes with a side of fresh herbs, lime, and crunchy bean sprouts to top off your soup). Ramen Noodle Soups are made from many different types of broths. Although ramen can come with a variety of noodles, the most common are thin and curly. The soup is most often topped with an egg. As ethnic fusion continues across cuisines, one example is a soup called French Onion Soup Dumpling from Chef Lon Symensa, ChoLon, Denver, CO.
Mediterranean diets with healthy olive oils and fresh grains and vegetables have led to Mediterranean restaurant chains’ opening. As for soups, they appear on the menu of any cuisine menu. Lemon Chicken and Rice, Tuscan White Bean with Sausage, Kale, White Beans, and Greens Lentil Soups are full of flavor and good health. Lentil Soup is high in protein and is not expensive to make. It adapts too many ethnic flavors from curry and cumin to seven spice. My family would love to take a trip to the Greek Islands and try Lentil Soup with Olive Oil and Orange (Greek Island of Crete) from Chef Koula Barydakis!
Regardless of your choice, we all flock to soup for comfort, whether we feel ill or need a “food hug” after a hard day. A hot, simmering bowl of goodness provides a sustainable way to create happiness!
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Eat Well,
Tony
Tony Lagana
Chef Tony is a 42-year veteran of the food industry and is often known by his peers as “The New Product Guru.” Throughout his illustrious culinary career, he’s earned several notable titles and positions including Acquisition International’s “Most Influential Product Development Expert, U.S.” in 2019.
In 1997, Tony also founded Culinary Systems Inc., a group of culinary consultants that assist with culinary training, restaurant start-ups, concept development, and more. Since then, Tony and his team have generated over two billion dollars in sales for their clients in restaurants, retail, and manufacturing.
The strategic, technical, and culinary skills of Tony and his team can be seen on the menus of national chains, in the portfolio of national food manufacturers, and on the grocery shelves of products produced by major retail companies.