Tomato soup facts for kids
Tomato soup with basil
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| Alternative names | Cream of Tomato | ||||||
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| Type | Soup | ||||||
| Serving temperature | Hot or cold | ||||||
| Main ingredients | Tomatoes | ||||||
| Variations | Gazpacho | ||||||
| 30 kcal (126 kJ) | |||||||
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Tomato soup is a yummy soup that mainly uses tomatoes. You can enjoy it hot or cold, served in a bowl. There are many ways to make it! Some tomato soups are super smooth, while others have chunks of tomato. People often add cream or chicken/vegetable broth to make it even tastier.
Some popular things to put on top of tomato soup are sour cream or crunchy croutons. In the United States, people often eat it with crackers. They might even crumble the crackers right into their soup! Tomato soup is a favorite "comfort food" in places like Poland and the United States. You can make it fresh by cooking tomatoes, taking off their skins, and then blending them until smooth.
Contents
How Tomato Soup Became Popular
The very first time tomato soup was written about was in 1857. A woman named Eliza Leslie included it in her book, New Cookery Book.
Later, in 1897, Joseph A. Campbell created a recipe for condensed tomato soup. This made it much easier for people to buy and prepare, which helped it become super popular!
Different Kinds of Tomato Soup
You can find tomato soup in stores in a few different ways. It comes in cans, sometimes as a thick "condensed" soup that you add water to, and even as a dry powder. The Campbell Soup Company makes a lot of soup, and "tomato" is one of their top three most popular flavors!
What's in Canned Tomato Soup?
Canned tomato soup is mostly made from tomato puree. This is like a mix of tomato paste and water. A few other ingredients are added to make it taste good and have the right texture.
Why is it Safe to Can Tomato Soup?
Tomatoes are naturally a bit acidic. This acidity helps keep the soup safe to eat and stops most bad germs from growing. Even though it's safe, food companies still take great care when canning to make sure no harmful bacteria can grow inside.
Main Ingredients and What They Do
Let's look at some of the main things you might find in a can of tomato soup: tomato puree, high fructose corn syrup, and wheat flour.
Sweetness from Corn Syrup
High fructose corn syrup is sometimes added to tomato soup to make it a little sweeter. It's a type of sugar made from corn. This syrup also helps keep the soup smooth and prevents water from separating. It can even help stop tiny germs from growing by soaking up extra water.
Thickening with Wheat Flour
Wheat flour is added to tomato soup to make it thicker. Flour contains starch, which acts like a gelling agent. When the soup is heated, the starch particles in the flour swell up and create a thicker, smoother soup.
Gazpacho: The Cold Tomato Soup
Gazpacho is a special kind of tomato soup that comes from Spain. The cool thing about gazpacho is that it's served cold! It started in a region called Andalusia in southern Spain.
Gazpacho is very popular in Spanish cuisine and also in nearby Portugal, where they call it gaspacho. People usually eat gazpacho during the warm summer months because it's so refreshing and cool. There are many different ways to make gazpacho, too!
What to Eat with Tomato Soup
Tomato soup often tastes great when paired with other foods. A very popular combination is tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. It also goes well with toast, crumpets, or English muffins.
See also
In Spanish: Sopa de tomate para niños
