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COOKING

Taking Stock of the Situation

between inventing philosophy, democracy and the theatre, figured out that chicken and broth are just the bee’s knees. Noodles found their way into the soup in Asia in the 1200s. The actual name — “chicken noodle soup”— is a modern inven- tion. The Campbell’s company premiered “Noodle with Chicken Soup” in 1934, but when a radio announcer was reading the advertisement, he misspoke, and a surge of “chicken noodle soup” orders spurred a name change. Campbell’s sells about 200 million cans of the soup every year.

cheesecloth, and pour the contents of the pot through it. The cheesecloth will catch the finer matter from the bones that you don’t want in your broth. Discard the solid stuff that’s left behind in the strainer. “You want a really nice, clean product,” says Ardoin. Broth is not only used in soups. It is often the foundation of pastas, pot pies — even turkey brines. “It creates this great flavor base for anything you might want to prepare,” says Ardoin.

A good broth is the most important element of a good chicken soup. “Just as if you were making a good hamburger, you would want to use the best ground meat. You want to use the best broth whenev- er you are making a chicken soup,” says Ardoin. If you are reading this article to learn how to make chicken soup, you probably have no idea how to make broth, either. You might not even know what broth is. Do not despair. The most elaborate soup I have ever made needed only two items: a can opener and a can of Campbell’s. So the two of us, you and I, reader and author, are on this journey together. Broth, as Ardoin explains, is not difficult to make. Remember that rotisserie chick- en meat we used in the soup? To make a good broth, you need the other parts of the chicken. So step one is to pull the meat from the bone and set it aside for the soup recipe above. Next, take out a giant pot and add a gallon of water to it. Add the chicken carcass, carrots, onion and celery. Add peppercorns. Next add to the pot a bouquet garni — a bundle of fresh parsley, thyme and bay leaves tied together with a little string. (In addition to really elevating the flavor of the broth, by drop- ping “bouquet garni” into casual conversa- tion, you really sound like you know what you are talking about.) If you are feeling ambitious, Ardoin advises adding a pound of chicken feet to the broth. “It adds a really great texture. Even though you wouldn’t think of broth as even having a texture, the gelatin in the chicken feet adds a great mouthfeel.” Before adding the chicken feet, howev- er, be sure to boil them first in water for about five minutes to eliminate impurities and extra proteins. Strain the chicken feet, rinse with cold water, and add them to the stockpot. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce it to a really low heat, and let it simmer for about three hours. Once the timer goes off, you’re going to strain the broth from the ingredients. The recommended method for this is to line a strainer with

(Incidentally, the company promises that every can of said soup contains 32 feet of noodles, which I just find deeply unset- tling. Thankfully, they have yet to reveal the number of chickens contained in each can.) The appreciation of the soup’s heal- ing properties belong chiefly to Jewish culture going back many millennia. The Babylonian Talmud mentions a curative chicken broth consumed by Abba Arikha, a rabbi in the second century. But it was Maimonides, the Jewish philosopher and physician from 12-century Egypt, who noticed its unique healing properties in patients with respiratory ailments. He wrote about it, and chicken soup was offi- cially off to the races. But is all this just a collective folk reme- dy? Something we eat simply to humor grandma — every grandma — going back

Doctor Chicken Chicken matzo ball soup is a comfort food in Jewish culture and the traditional soup of the Passover Seder. Because of its mysterious healing powers, it has been called “Jewish penicillin.” Matzo balls are dumplings made from matzo meal, eggs, water, oil, and seasoning. To prepare them, mix the ingredients and refrigerate for about an hour. With moistened hands, shape the mix into balls and boil them for 30 minutes. (Look, your grandmother has the best recipe here. You are advised to consult her. I’m the guy whose soup is made with a can opener, remember?) If we are now comparing soup to penicillin, it’s probably worth taking a look at the history of this salty chicken wonder. How did it get such a sterling reputation? The story of chicken soup goes back to the ancient Greeks, who,

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