Prologue

The pots and bowls and cups of soup contain the sensations of childhood, the heritage of families, the identities of peoples, the inspiration of land and water, and cooks’ inventions. Every culture has its soups and the soups may be said to represent them. Groups of culinary cultures may be defined by their use of fat or starch, but soups are more particular to smaller groups. A Chinese meal may have many soups, but will certainly have two: one to drink during the meal and one as the conclusion. Every Japanese meal, including breakfast, will have a soup. In Ecuador, the meal is defined by the soup. Mexicans equally will have a soup in every meal, let alone the Germans, French, Turks, and Russians. Aside from vegetarian cultures, chicken soup in one form or another is endemic.