We’ve done green juice, and we’ve done exotic super-grains. We’ve even done seaweed! The next trendy superfood is… soup! Yes, the most recent food trend is as old as the hills, or at least as old as the restaurant business—literally. Eighteenth-century French wayside inns used to provide bowls of broth, called restoratifs, for their restorative powers to weary travelers. Soon, a “restaurant” became a place to find restorative broths and other foods.
It turns out that those early French restaurateurs may have been onto something. Bone broth—with its similarities to English stock, French bouillon, and Italian brodo—is experiencing its 15 minutes of fame. Trendy New York chef Marco Canora has opened a takeout restaurant called Brodo, which serves nothing but bone broth and lauds the “old world nutrition and comfort that comes in each cup.” Paleo diet aficionados love the protein and nutrients, not to mention the lack of carbs.
So, what is bone broth, and what is all they hype about? Bone broth is simply a liquid made by roasting animal bones and then simmering them in water with aromatics like onions, garlic, and herbs for many hours. Chefs and home cooks have been making such broths—usually called stocks— in the United States for hundreds of years. What makes bone broth different is the length of time it’s simmered: from 12 to 24 hours. The long simmer time breaks down the collagen, keratin, gelatin, and glucosamine and makes them easier to digest.
Bone broth’s proponents cite an array of health and personal benefits:
- Improved immune system
- Reduced cellulite
- Stronger bones
- Shinier hair
- Better digestion, including the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome and “leaky gut”
Science doesn’t necessarily back up all of these claims, but bone broth certainly isn’t an unhealthy food. It’s high in protein and low in fat and carbs, so if you use it as a replacement of an unhealthy snack, it’s certainly a good thing. And if you’ve got a cold, chicken bone broth has actually been proven to make you feel better. So drink your soup today!
