Why every culture has a healing broth

文化
2 min read
2026-04-01
Guide
在美食的缤纷世界里,汤品宛如一颗璀璨的明珠,散发着独特的魅力。它跨越了地域与文化的界限,成为全球各地人们餐桌上的常客。无论是寒冷的冬日,还是身体抱恙之时,一碗热气腾腾的汤总能带来温暖与慰藉。汤的种类繁多,做法各异,其背后还蕴含着丰富的养生知识。不同文化里的汤究竟有着怎样温柔的故事?又藏着哪些健康的小秘密呢?让我们和 Jamie 一起走进今天的文章一探究竟吧。
Poster

Across cultures, broths have soothed illness, marked celebration and stretched scarce ingredients, long before they became a wellness trend.

What do you eat when you need comfort? The answer varies depending on where you're from, but it's likely some form of broth, served steaming in a bowl.

In the US, it may be chicken noodle soup, while Italians might crave nonna's homemade pastina in brodo, tiny pasta in a simple vegetable or bone broth. Across Asia, it's congee and other rice porridges simmered slowly in water or stock.

Across continents, stocks and broths are woven into cultural and familial memory. They are what we reach for when we are ill, when we need to stretch ingredients or when we feel homesick.

Historically, broth-making was an exercise in thrift and nourishment. Boiling meat and bones rendered tough cuts edible and extracted maximum flavour and sustenance.

Feeding colds with steaming bowls of soup is no modern discovery. One of the earliest written references to broth appears in the Huangdi Neijing, a foundational Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) work dating to the 2nd Century BC.

Centuries later, many Chinese families worldwide still simmer bones with medicinal herbs such as goji berries and ginseng to produce nutrient-rich soups, served before or after dinner to help support overall health.

Scientific research into broth's benefits is ongoing. Some studies suggest broth-based soups may help reduce inflammation and ease cold symptoms, while bone broths contain collagen and amino acids. However, many sweeping health claims surrounding bone broth remain contested, and its benefits are often overstated in popular wellness culture.

Check in to track your reading streaks

Sign in to check in
0:00 2:13
ECHO

Why every culture has a healing broth

2026-04-01

在美食的缤纷世界里,汤品宛如一颗璀璨的明珠,散发着独特的魅力。它跨越了地域与文化的界限,成为全球各地人们餐桌上的常客。无论是寒冷的冬日,还是身体抱恙之时,一碗热气腾腾的汤总能带来温暖与慰藉。汤的种类繁多,做法各异,其背后还蕴含着丰富的养生知识。不同文化里的汤究竟有着怎样温柔的故事?又藏着哪些健康的小秘密呢?让我们和 Jamie 一起走进今天的文章一探究竟吧。