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Domesticated chickens have been providing us with meat and eggs since before 1400 BC. The Chinese kept them and eventually the Polynesians brought them on journeys to Chile in the 1300s. Since these early times, chicken has earned a place all over the world. Easy to raise, they give nutritious meat that can be used in many different ways.

Almost every culture around the world has at least a few recipes for chicken. Mexico, France, Italy, and China… the list is endless. Chicken is low in cholesterol, mild, and relative cheap. The meat can be used in many different ways to create healthy, delicious meals.

What Kind of Chicken Can be Found?

At the market, you can find whole chickens, cut up fryers, or portions like all thighs, all breasts, all wings, or all drumsticks. You can even find small tubs of chicken livers or gizzards if you like them. You can find chicken with the bone left in and boneless chicken. With all these choices, a home cook has many options for easy meals.

Whole chickens are less expensive than a package of all breasts. The less processing the meat packers do, the more savings you get. If you do not feel comfortable or do not have time to cut up a chicken yourself, you can always opt for one that has been cut up or deboned for you.

Lots of Variety

Whole chickens can be roasted, and used for soup afterwards. Cut up chicken can be fried, fricasseed, baked, or stewed. Boneless chicken can be added to one-pot meals, chicken pot pie, soups, pasta, sauts, stir-fries and almost anything else you can imagine. Crockpot chicken recipes are very popular, and can be cooked while you are away.

Use chicken in Italian dishes like chicken linguine, French dishes like chicken and shallots, or Indian recipes like chicken tandoori. Asian recipes like peanut chicken, orange peel chicken and others add some zing to what may otherwise be an ordinary day. Make pollo relleno or chicken a la Tex Mex for a little spice. Each ethnic region also has many chicken soup varieties to try too.

Chicken also gives you the choice of white or dark meat. Each one has a different texture, and they each work well in different meals. Dark meat holds up better to long cooking times than white meat. It also really takes in the flavors of a marinade or sauce. White meat is better when you want to use it whole or put it on the grill.

The chicken gives us quite a bit to be thankful for. Low in fat and cholesterol, it helps us stay healthy. It is easily digested, even when we are sick. It is suitable for just about any cuisine you may want to try. Chicken is the ultimate versatile food. Soup made with chicken has even been proven to help us get better when we are sick. The little chicken has given us quite a lot.

To many people, soup is something that comes out of a can or packet but few things beat the wonderfully fresh flavor of homemade soup. Soup is also an excellent example of a food that anybody can make from scratch. If you can boil water and add things to it, you can make soup. It really is that simple. Soup is also very versatile and you can use your favorite ingredients to make your own particular favorite soup variety.

Different Kinds of Soup

There are literally thousands of different soups, certainly far too many to list here. You can, however, break the soup categories down into hot soups and chilled soups, thin consomms and thick chowders, meat soups, fish soups and vegetarian soups, country style soups, spicy oriental soups and many more. You have probably sampled some chicken noodle soup but have you ever tried a chilled cherry soup or a Chinese egg drop soup?

One of the most popular soups has to be chicken soup and most nations have their own version. Chicken is economical to buy and if you have eaten a chicken in some other recipe, you can make a tasty chicken bouillon from the bones and carcass. Chicken soup comes in many varieties. Examples include chicken noodle soup, cream of chicken soup, Chinese chicken soup, chicken rice soup and many more.

Perhaps chicken soup is so popular because it is so versatile. You might like to add potatoes or noodles to it or vegetables. Some people like a thick, hearty soup and others prefer a thin, watery soup.

Tips for Cooking Chicken Soup

One of the easiest ways to make a delicious chicken soup recipe is to cover a chicken carcass in water, bring it to the boil, remove the carcass, add herbs and vegetables, and simmer it for an hour. If you are using a chicken carcass and vegetables, which are leftover, you can make a really tasty soup out of ingredients, which would otherwise have been thrown in the trash without a thought. Because of this, the chicken soup will have cost absolutely nothing to make.

When you take out the carcass, it is best to use a sieve to make sure you remove any tiny bone fragments. You can pick bits of meat or fat off the carcass and add them to the soup for flavor.

Chicken noodle soup works wonders on colds and the flu. Fluids are good for sore throats and the steam from your soup is great to sooth congestion. Whether you are enjoying chicken and vegetable soup or chicken tortilla soup, it will definitely lift your spirits.

You might remember your mother or grandmother making this type of soup for you when you were a child with a cold or the flu. Now you know how easy it is to make soup, you might like to try making your own delicious soup recipes for your own family.