Winter, spring, summer or fall, it’s always a great time for soup. In the winter months it may be something hearty like broccoli cheese. In the summer it could even be cold like chilled watermelon or Vichyssoise.
But whatever the season, families love soups. ESGI and ThinkFives polled hundreds of teachers to find out what their favorite soups were. Here is the tantalizing Top 5 list.
Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Starting our list of the Top 5 favorite teacher soups is a rich and creamy delight, Broccoli and Cheese Soup. Made with caramelized onions and a garlic-based thickened roux, it is simmered with veggie stock, broccoli, and carrots. However, what gives this fan favorite its velvety smooth texture is the half & half and freshly grated cheddar cheese added at the end.
The result is a deliciously rich, thick, and creamy broccoli soup that is loaded with the comforting flavors of broccoli and cheddar. Broccoli, a nutritional superstar, is low in calories and high in vitamins A and C, potassium, calcium, and iron, and a great source of fiber and antioxidants.
Fun Facts
- The average American eats 4 ½ pounds of broccoli per year.
- The word broccoli comes from the Latin word brachium and the Italian word braccio, which means “arm.”
- Broccoli was first grown in Cyprus about 2,500 years ago.
- Broccoli and cheese is always a great combination. They are cooked together in many delicious dishes
- Broccoli and cheese tapas
- Pan fried broccoli with cheese powder
- Broccoli cheese rolls (Broccoli cheese pockets)
- Broccoli cheese pasta
- Gratin broccoli
- Broccoli salad with cheese powder
Taco Soup
A surprising choice on our Top 5 list of teacher’s favorite soups originated in the Southwest of the United States in the 1950s. Taco soup is composed of similar ingredients to those used inside a taco: ground beef, tomatoes, chopped green chilis, onions, corn, beans, and taco seasoning.
Vegetarian versions combine beans with the other ingredients, avoiding the ground beef. Once cooked, the soup may be topped off with cheese, sour cream, raw onions, avocado, or tortilla chips.
Taco soup is fast, easy, and healthy, and you only need a pot to make it. Most of the recipe is simply opening cans and adding the ingredients to the pot!
Other soups with Mexican flavor
- Tortilla Soup: spicy, flavorful Mexican soup with tomatoes, garlic, onions, and chiles.
- Black bean soup: healthy and easy to make soup full of deep, bold flavors, and interesting textures. Smoked sausages made the taste stand out!
- Turkey pozole rojo: easy-to-make soup that you can make with your leftover turkeys. “Pozole rojo” means “red pozole,” referring to the tomato-based taste of this soup.
Fun Facts
- Although the exact origin of taco soup is unknown, it is known that it comes from the Mexico City area in Mexico.
- Traditional tortilla soup, which is different, is made with chicken broth combined with roasted tomatoes, onion, garlic, chiles, and tortillas, cut into strips and fried.
- It’s an easy soup to put together on the fly. A package of taco seasoning, a collection from the pantry, and even some frozen vegetables can all be combined into a great soup.
Potato Soup
A great hearty soup for the winter. Potato soup is mainly made of potatoes and milk combined with vegetables and seasonings. It is a rich and hearty soup preparation, popular in various cuisines. This soup has a creamy texture and mild flavor.
Variations of Potato Soups
- Crockpot Potato Soup: A potato soup prepared in a crockpot with leeks, potatoes, carrots, parsley, and cheddar cheese.
- Velveeta Potato Soup: Made of Velveeta cheese, potatoes, vegetable stock, and many different spices. Very easy to make, not time-consuming, and beginner friendly.
- Irish Potato Soup: a traditional dish in Ireland. The soup includes vegetables, potatoes, herbs, Irish butter, and chicken bouillon.
Fun Facts
- Potato soups are served as appetizers before the main meal.
- A sweet version of potato soup makes use of sweet potatoes (not potatoes!) coupled with cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar.
- Potato soup is a staple dish of Ireland, Poland, Russia, and America.
- Cold potato soup is called Vichyssoise. It is typically made of pureed leeks or onions and potatoes, cream, and chicken stock and usually served cold.
- Potatoes originated in Peru 7000 years ago but history has it that King Louis XV of France accidentally invented a version of today’s Vichyssoise Soup.
Tomato Soup
The 4th most popular soup on our list of teacher favorites is tomato soup. Sometimes served alone or other times with a half sandwich of grilled cheese, either way it’s a favorite of families across the US.
Tomato soup is a home remedy for the common cold in many cultures and is an excellent source of antioxidants, including lycopene, flavonoids, and vitamins C and E, among many others. These antioxidants help lower the risk of cancer and inflammation-related diseases, such as obesity and heart ailment.
Tomato is the richest source of lycopene among all food and lycopene plays an essential role in regulating bone metabolism by increasing bone mineral density, which reduces the risk of fracture.
Fun Facts
- Joseph A. Campbell produced the first ready-to-eat tomato soup can in 1895 (Does the name sound familiar?)
- Tomato soup was the first product of the Campbell Soup Company and the company’s success made tomato soup more popular than ever.
- Campbell’s tomato soup cans became a cultural icon featured in Andy Warhol’s pop art paintings in the 1960’s.
- Gazpacho is a cold tomato soup. While gazpacho comes from Spain, it’s common to find the refreshing dish on restaurant menus in the United States, especially during the summer.
- To a botanist, a fruit is an entity that develops from the fertilized ovary of a flower. This means that tomatoes are fruits. Is tomato soup a fruit soup?
Chicken Soup
Coming in as the favorite soup for teachers at #1 is none other than that staple of every pantry, chicken soup. Whether to warm up your soul on a cold winter night or to reap the medicinal benefits when you’re feeling under the weather, people from all around the globe make chicken soup.
How do you make chicken soup? Every grandmother will probably give you a slightly different recipe, each with a special ingredient. And that’s just in the US. Ingredients and recipes vary greatly across cultures. Just check out a few of these international treasures.
- Thailand: Tom Kha Kai (Coconut-Galangal Chicken Soup)
- Brazil: Canja de Galinha (Chicken soup with carrot and rice)
- Ethiopia: Ye Ocholoni Ina Doro Shorba (Peanut-Chicken Soup)
- Eastern Europe: Ashkenazi Jewish Chicken Soup (Chicken soup with matzo meal)
- Mexico: Sopa de Lima (Yucatán-Style Chicken-Lime Soup)
- Tibet: Thukpa (Tibetan Chicken-Noodle Soup with lots of vegetables)
- Iran: Abgusht-e Morgh Ba Kufteh-ye Nokhodchi (Persian Chicken Soup with Chickpea and Lamb Meatballs)
Fun Facts
- Chicken soup is considered to be one of the healthiest dishes in the world.
- Chicken broth was considered a restorative in the ancient world. According to traditions, broth had qualities that eased digestion and were specifically recommended for the sick.
- Europeans introduced chickens into the Americas, and chickens were used in soup-making from the 16th century onwards.
- In the United States and Canada, chicken soup often has noodles or rice in it, thus giving it its common name of “chicken noodle soup”.
- There is a motivational therapy series of books entitled Chicken Soup for the Soul.
What is your favorite soup?
Links
- https://cookswithoutborders.com/new-story/2021/2/4/around-the-world-7-chicken-soups
- http://justfunfacts.com/interesting-facts-about-chicken-soups/
- https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food-news/do-you-know-about-these-8-health-benefits-of-tomato-soup/photostory/79355134.cms?picid=79355154
- https://www.open.edu/openlearn/body-mind/health/health-studies/ever-wondered-about-tomato-soup
- https://cookieandkate.com/classic-tomato-soup-recipe/
- https://ifood.tv/soup/potato-soup/about
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taco_soup
https://themodernproper.com/taco-soup
https://district.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/pauldingcsd/files/Broccoli_Georgia_Grown.pdf - https://gimmedelicious.com/broccoli-cheddar-soup/
- https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/recipes/2015/04/5-ways-cheese-is-broccolis-best-friend