Soup Season

What’s for dinner?

At this time of year at our house, there is a good chance it will be soup. Chicken Soup. Tomato Soup. Vegetable Soup. Bean Soup. Potato Soup. Chili. Chowder. Gumbo. Ramen. Pho. Soup, Soup, Soup. It is not just our house. Mason’s Ice Cream, our neighborhood ice cream stand, offers ramen during the winter months. There are many places to get soup in Cleveland. Last year, Wanderlog published a list of the 46 Best Spots for Soup in Cleveland. That is a lot of soup.

There is officially a soup season. Campbell’s kicked off the first National Soup Month in January of 1986, to celebrate the food that “warms us up with piping hot bowls of comfort.” The company sold its first cans of soup (tomato) in 1895. Two years later, Campbell’s introduced condensed soup (still tomato). The familiar red and white labels came along in 1898. Many new flavors were introduced (chicken noodle in 1934) in the years since. In 2025, The Campbell’s Company reported over ten billion dollars in net sales. A lot of those sales were soup.

Soup comes in many varieties, and not just the ones in those red and white cans. They range from pouches of “cup-a-soup” to instant ramen to lobster bisques served in high-end restaurants. Soup can be both humble and decadent.  It is a course in a banquet to stimulate the appetite, or a hearty meal to satisfy it. It is a food found in cultures all over the world. Recipes, parables, stories and festivals about—and around—soup are universal. Liquid broth combined with meat, grains or vegetables (or all three). Thick, clear, thickened or creamed, in virtually every language there is at least one word for “soup.”

Comfort Food

Soup is a metaphor for comfort. The warming sensation of a hot bowl of soup on a cold day. The memory of a favorite recipe. A bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich is a good choice for lunch at the Souper Market; it also elicits a memory of long ago meals at my grandparents’ home. A can of soup elevated with a splash of Worcestershire sauce, a sprinkle of parmesan or a bit of bouillon. The grilled cheese with its crisp, toasted bread and melted cheese, sliced into triangles.

Soup is often a communal meal. Aside from those little red and white cans, it’s hard to make a “little” soup. Winter soups, simmering on the stove or in a slow cooker, are portioned in quarts, instead of cups. Served with crusty bread, they are full meals. Dried beans require an overnight soak. Meat and vegetables are sliced or diced. Roasting root vegetables and squash enhances their flavors before they go into the pot. There is ritual in the preparation and planning. And if you are home while the pot simmers, there is the promise of a good meal to come in the aromas from the kitchen. There are often leftovers. “Soup,” my mother would say, “is better the next day.” One of the chores my brother and I did for our parents before they moved into an assisted living community was to prepare meals for them. We made a lot of soup and put it in containers in their freezer.

Soup is also part of our social connections and support. The folk tale of the Stone Soup, tells the story of traveler’s humble meal that it transformed into a village feast when residents make a small contribution to the pot. Soup is often a simple way to feed a crowd. Meals for homeless and vulnerable populations are often provided by “soup kitchens,” even when the menu might not include soup. PTAs, volunteer fire departments and civic organizations host chili suppers or cookoffs as fundraising events. Many soup recipes are built around stretching ingredients to feed more people. Inexpensive cuts of meat, broth, and vegetables—fresh, canned, frozen and leftovers—are part of the recipe. A little goes a long way, at the table and in the community.

Food as Medicine

Beyond its ability to provide warmth and nutrition, soup is also recognized for its healing and restorative powers. Especially chicken soup. A home remedy for a cold. The first “real food” on the menu when recovering in the hospital. Campbell’s sells about 200 million cans of chicken noodle soup each year. Chicken is also among the most popular flavors of packaged ramen, and other instant soups. On top of that, Americans buy more than 316 million bouillon cubes each year. We spend more than 1.5 billion dollars on cans and boxes of chicken broth. A lot of that bouillon and broth is chicken. And a lot of it ends up in soup. And nothing feels better when you have a cold.

There are healing properties in chicken soup. Chicken meat is high in protein and amino acids, properties that are released in the cooking process. It is a helpful part of the diet for persons with dysphagia and neuromuscular diseases. Scientific studies demonstrate its value as cold remedy, relieving nasal congestion and runny noses. Chicken soup helps boost metabolism and fight against viruses. Health and healing in a cup, bowl or mug.

The downside of chicken soup can be its sodium content. There’s a lot of salt in chicken soup, especially in the packaged and prepared varieties. A can of chicken noodle soup may have up to 1,600 milligrams of sodium. A packet of dried soup mix can be have more than 2,300 mg. A bowl of chicken noodle soup from Panera has 1500 mg. of sodium. The won ton soup at P.F. Chang’s has nearly twice that amount. The American Heart Association recommends the average adult should consume no more than 1,500 mg of sodium a day. Other varieties of canned soups can also be high in sodium. When it comes to soup, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. There are lower-sodium soup offerings in the grocery aisles. Everyday Health has a list of lower sodium soups, broths and stocks on its website.

Try this at home.

If you really want to know what is in your soup, it’s hard to beat the ones you make yourself. Homemade soup can be simple or complex. And making soup can help build confidence in one’s culinary skills. Combine vegetables, broth and protein to recreate a childhood favorite, or something completely new. Virtually any item in your pantry, refrigerator or freezer can be part of a soup. You need a sharp knife, a large pot and a spoon. Once it’s finished, you will need a ladle, bowls and spoons. Your first efforts might rely on a bag of frozen vegetables and a can of tomato sauce. Don’t feel bad about using something from a can. If you combine multiple ingredients, it counts as “homemade.” Season to taste. Add and experiment as you go.

There are thousands of recipes online. Some of our favorites come from The New York Times Cooking site, including a creamy cauliflower soup, and another with chicken and rice. The American Heart Association has a variety of health soup recipes on its website. Simply Recipes, Epicurious and Allrecipes are other places to find recipe ideas. Reddit and Instagram have lots of suggestions for soup, too. Family members are good sources of soup recipes. Almost everyone likes soup.

Nutrition and aging well

At Benjamin Rose, we believe that access to fresh, healthy and filling food is vital to maintaining health and wellness and preventing malnutrition. Our Meals on Wheels programs and daily lunches offered at our Rose Centers for Aging Well offer balanced meals to meet each participant’s nutritional needs, including foods containing protein, dairy and starch, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. Visit our website to learn more about these programs.