Since chicken noodle soup is cheap, nutritious, and easy to digest, many people consider this dish to be the ultimate comfort food. In fact, a number of people believe that this dish has curative properties that can ease cold and flu symptoms.
Although it’s possible to buy canned soup in any grocery store, nothing beats the rich taste of homemade chicken noodle soup. Made with no artificial flavors or preservatives, homemade soup has a taste that’s simply impossible to duplicate with a mass-produced product. If you’re looking for a dish that’s guaranteed to impress your family and friends on a cold winter day, learning how to make this dish from scratch is a worthwhile endeavor.
Chicken soup is generally made in a large stockpot. This is a special pan with deep sides and a thick, heavy bottom to prevent burning or scorching. Stockpots are often made from stainless steel, aluminum, copper, or cast iron. If you don’t already have a stockpot, you can buy one wherever kitchen utensils are sold.
Ingredients used in recipes for chicken noodle soup will vary, since the dish is popular in many parts of the world. In the United States, however, it is typically made with chicken, chicken broth, carrots, celery, onion, and egg noodles. Salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, garlic, or bay leaves are commonly added for flavoring. Use fresh, high-quality ingredients for the best results when making homemade soup.
The key to successfully making homemade chicken noodle soup is patience. The soup’s rich flavor comes from slowly cooking the chicken and vegetables in the broth. If you’re planning to make homemade soup, you’ll want to set aside an entire afternoon for chopping and simmering. Rushing the process is a guaranteed way to end up with a bland and unappealing batch of soup.
If you’re on a diet, you can cut calories by skimming the layer of congealed fat off the top of the soup after cooking. You may also want to consider adding a small amount of turkey meat to the soup to boost its iron content.
Since making homemade chicken noodle soup can be a time consuming process, many cooks opt to freeze a portion of their soup for later use. Most recipes for this dish will freeze well if you leave out the egg noodles. Freeze the soup in zip top bags or plastic containers for up to three months. When the soup is thawed, simply add the noodles and heat to a simmer.
