A bit of trivia today. With the colder weather I have been thinking about soup. I love homemade split pea, bean, vegetable soup and chili. So while surfing the net, I clicked on “soup” and from Wikipedia I learned some facts I didn’t know and will pass on to you – maybe you don’t know, either!
“The word soup comes from French soupe (“soup”, “broth”), which comes through Vulgar Latin suppa (“bread soaked in broth”) from a Germanic source, from which also comes the word “sop”, a piece of bread used to soak up soup or a thick stew.
“The word restaurant (meaning “[something] restoring”) was first used in France in the 16th century, to refer to a highly concentrated, inexpensive soup, sold by street vendors, that was advertised as an antidote to physical exhaustion. In 1765, a Parisian entrepreneur opened a shop specializing in such soups. This prompted the use of the modern word restaurant for the eating establishments.
“In the US, the first colonial cookbook was published by William Parks in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1742, based on Eliza Smith’s The Compleat Housewife; or Accomplished Gentlewoman’s Companion and it included several recipes for soups and bisques. A 1772 cookbook, The Frugal Housewife, contained an entire chapter on the topic. English cooking dominated early colonial cooking; but as new immigrants arrived from other countries, other national soups gained popularity. In particular, German immigrants living in Pennsylvania were famous for their potato soups. In 1794, Jean Baptiste Gilbert Payplat dis Julien, a refugee from the French Revolution, opened an eating establishment in Boston called The Restorator, and became known as “The Prince of Soups”. The first American cooking pamphlet dedicated to soup recipes was written in 1882 by Emma Ewing: Soups and Soup Making.”*
Even “In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, thermopolia (singular thermopolium) were small restaurant-bars that offered food and drinks to customers. A typical thermopolium had little L-shaped counters in which large storage vessels were sunk, which would contain either hot or cold food. Their popularity was linked to the lack of kitchens in many dwellings and the ease with which people could purchase prepared foods. Furthermore, eating out was considered a very important aspect of socializing. (Kind of like today!)
“In Pompeii, 158 thermopolia with a service counter have been identified across the whole town area. They were concentrated along the main axis of the town and the public spaces where they were frequented by the locals.
“In China, food catering establishments which may be described as restaurants were known since the 11th century in Kaifeng, China’s northern capital during the first half of the Song Dynasty (960–1279). Probably growing out of the tea houses and taverns that catered to travellers, Kaifeng’s restaurants blossomed into an industry catering to locals as well as people from other regions of China. Stephen H. West argues that there is a direct correlation between the growth of the restaurant businesses and institutions of theatrical stage drama, gambling and prostitution which served the burgeoning merchant middle class during the Song Dynasty. Restaurants catered to different styles of cuisine, price brackets, and religious requirements. Even within a single restaurant much choice was available, and people ordered the entree they wanted from written menus. An account from 1275 writes of Hangzhou, the capital city for the last half of the dynasty: ‘The people of Hangzhou are very difficult to please.
Hundreds of orders are given on all sides: this person wants something hot, another something cold, a third something tepid, a fourth something chilled; one wants cooked food, another raw, another chooses roast, another grill.” (Again, sort of like today!)
“In the Western world, while inns and taverns were known from antiquity, these were establishments aimed at travelers, and in general locals would rarely eat there…. The modern idea of a restaurant – as well as the term itself – appeared in Paris around 1765.” At that time, Boulanger, a soup vender, began to sell “restaurants” and other foods. Certain soups were known as restaurants –literally “restoratives”.
“The Encyclopédie defined restaurant as “a medical term; it is a remedy whose purpose is to give strength and vigor.” Thanks to Boulanger and his imitators, these soups moved from the category of remedy into the category of health food and ultimately into the category of ordinary food….Almost forgotten in the spread of restaurants was the fact that their existence was predicated on health, not gustatory, requirements.”
“Restaurants became a type of eating establishment, where one can order a meal from a range of choices at a range of times and eat it on the premises.
“In the United States, it was not until the late 18th century that establishments that provided meals without also providing lodging began to appear in major metropolitan areas in the form of coffee and oyster houses. The actual term “restaurant” did not enter into the common parlance until the following century. Prior to being referred to as “restaurants” these eating establishments assumed regional names such as “eating house” in New York City, “restorator” in Boston, or “victualing house” in other areas. Restaurants were typically located in populous urban areas during the 19th century and grew both in number and sophistication in the mid-century due to a more affluent middle class and to suburbanization.” *
- Wikipedia, “soup,” “restaurants”
