History:
Origin of Chicken: South East Asia (India) Global
Origin of Soup: Global
Time: Domestication of chickens- 3000 B.C.E
Time: Soup- 6000 B.C.E
Chicken Noodle Soup Influences: Unknown
Chicken
Paige Smith and Charles Daniel wrote, "The origins of the domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus, as the Romans named it) go back tens of thousands of years. Charles Darwin, observing the Red Jungle Fowl of southeast Asia, identified it as the progenitor or the modern barnyard chicken. Some present-day archaeologists assume the time of domestication to be in 3000B.C. and, following Darwin's lead, the place India, or the Indus valley. Others prefer Burma and others the Malay Peninsula. There is evidence that chickens were known in Sumer in the second millennium and the Sumero-Babylonian word for the cock was "the king bird." In Egypt we find mention of chickens as early as the Second Dynasty...references in Greek writings of the fourth century B.C. to the fact that the Egyptians kept chickens and , moreover, that they were able to incubate large numbers of eggs...Indeed it was no accident that Egypt, like ancient China, was a mass society which mastered the technology of large-scale incubation. Some four thousand years ago the Egyptians invented incubators capable of hatching as many as ten thousand chicks at a time...From Greece, the chicken spread to Rome...When the Romans conquered Britain, they brought chickens with them...But they also found domestic fowl already there."
---The Chicken Book, Paige Smith and Charles Daniel [ University of Georgia Press: Athens] 1975 (p. 10-16)
Commercial USA Chicken Industry
Before the 1920s, chickens were primarily raised on farms for personal use. However, the practice of mass producing chickens did not become large-scale until that decade. Chicken was actively promoted by US government during WWII as a cheap alternative to beef.
Chicken Soup
The Chinese have a tradition of cooking chicken soup for several days, intensifying the nutrients with herbs until it becomes more like a medicine. Soups were often given to the ill because it was thought that since the broth was thin, it would be easy to digest. In fact, the Chinese still serve soup to drink with a meal because it is believed to be unhealthy to consume cold beverages while eating.
Chicken soup has claimed a similar spot in Jewish cuisine. Sometimes known as “Jewish penicillin,” chicken soup is often fed to family members who are not feeling well. Officially, in the 12th century, a physician called Moses Maimonides was the first to actually suggest chicken soup would help a patient over a cold. At one time in England, medical prescriptions were commonly given for chicken soup.
Chicken soup recipes have been included in all the earliest cookbooks. One version, from Scotland called cock-a-leekie, was published in 1598. This is still a traditional soup eaten in Scotland made from leeks and chicken. In Medieval times, the chicken was eaten separately after cooking and the broth and its contents were eaten like soup. It was originally made with chicken, onions, and prunes.
Chickens were introduced to the Americas by early settlers, who also brought their own recipes for soup. As more immigrants poured into America, the variations of chicken soup cooked there increased. Jewish recipes fill the rich golden broth with noodles, matzo balls, or dumplings known as kreplach. Chinese won ton and egg flower soups became popular. Greek populations brought over their recipes for chicken soup with eggs and lime.
As the years went by, chicken soup was consumed plain or with noodles, rice, potatoes or dumplings. Every grandmother had her own special recipe. The soup would be started on the stove and as the hours went by, it would eventually be transformed into a meal anyone could be proud of. First, each family kept their own chickens. As cities grew, flocks were grown by farmers and sold to stores. Today, most of the chicken we consume is raised by contract farmers working for large agricultural corporations. During the 20th century, new methods of processing allowed canning companies to make chicken soup. As people began buying readymade soup in a can, fewer learned the old tried and true recipes to make chicken soup.
source: http://www.amazingsouprecipes.com/articles-4/chicken-soup-articles/a-delicious-guide-to-the-history-of-chicken-soup/#.UajlXoLD_AMrce:
Fun Fact
The term Chicken Noodle Soup is a 20th Century term by Campbell's. It is said to have originated during a Campbell Soup Company advertisement on the Amos and Andy Show. Of all the soups that Campbell’s sold, their "Chicken Soup with Noodles" was not as popular and was on the verge of being discontinued due to low sales. The executives at Campbell’s made a last ditch effort to save the brand, and decided to promote it on the radio. It is said that the announcer, in error, referred to the product as "Chicken Noodle Soup". After the broadcast, listeners began to request the Chicken Noodle Soup. This prompted Campbell’s to change the name. Today, it is one of the most recognized and purchased soups in America, and remains one of Campbell's best-selling products.
Photo: Kevin Lynch
Gluten Free Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
6 skinless chicken breast fillets
12 cups Swanson’s chicken broth
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 celery sticks, finely chopped
3 parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 oz Gluten Free Noodles (Bob’s Red Mill or Trader Joe’s noodles)
2 Knorr chicken bouillon cubes
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Preparation
First, prep the vegetables by dicing the onions, finely chopping the celery and parsley then thinly slicing the carrots and parsnips
After the vegetables are prepped, place chicken breasts in a Dutch oven. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Let boil for about 3 minutes then skim away any foam that appears. Once most of the foam has been removed, reduce heat to a simmer and cook chicken thoroughly. After the chicken is done, remove the pieces from the broth and allow them to cool. After the chicken has cooled, cut them into bite sized pieces. Skim the fat from the broth once the chicken is removed. Bring the broth back to a boil and add onions, carrots, celery, parsnips and bouillon cubes. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender.
When the vegetables are tender, add egg noodles and cook until done. Add the cut pieces of chicken and parsley. Simmer just enough to heat the meat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
