soup

Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot – though it is sometimes served chilled – made by cooking or otherwise combining meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. According to The Oxford Companion to Food, soup is the main generic term for liquid savoury dishes; others include broth, bisque, consommé, potage and many more.
The consistency of soups varies from thin to thick: some soups are light and delicate; others are so substantial that they verge on being stews. Although most soups are savoury, sweet soups are familiar in some parts of Europe.
Soups have been made since prehistoric times and have evolved over the centuries. The first soups were made from grains and herbs; later, legumes, other vegetables, meat or fish were added. Originally, sops referred to pieces of bread covered with savoury liquid; gradually the term soup was transferred to the liquid itself. Soups are common to the cuisines of all continents and have been served at banquets as well as in peasant homes. Soups have been the primary source of nourishment for poor people in many places; in times of hardship soup-kitchens have provided sustenance for the hungry.
Some soups are found in recognisably similar forms in the cuisines of many countries and regions – chicken soups and oxtail soups are known round the world. Others remain almost entirely exclusive to their region of origin.

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