Grandma Evie's Jewish Penicillin Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Serves a Crowd

by: healthierkitchen

April22,2010

5

1 Ratings

  • Serves 8 - 12

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

My mother, Evelyn, "Grandma Evie" or "Grandma E" to her grandchildren, used to say that though she based her chicken soup on her mother's recipe, she made it better. She once told me that a little old Jewish lady she met in a butcher shop told her to put a sweet potato into the soup and she did that ever since. My older sister used to make this soup and my brother's wife makes a version as well. My mother was a great cook, but other than very '70's foods like green bean casserole and jello mold, really excelled at the Jewish cooking she grew up with. I don't make too many of her specialties any more because they can be very heavy, but this one I hope my children will carry on. —healthierkitchen

Ingredients
  • 5 poundscut up chicken parts (I like to use Kosher for this as it's been salted and soaked)
  • 1 sweet potato, peeled and left whole
  • 1 large onion, peeled and left whole
  • 4 - 6 carrots, peeled and cut in two or three approximately equal lengths
  • 4 stalks celery, trimmed, cleaned and halved as with carrots
  • 1 large (or 2 small) parsnip, peeled
  • 1 "Jewish bouquet garni" - a large handful of parsley, stems and all, a large handful of dill, and 10 - 12 black peppercorns wrapped in muslin and tied with kitchen string.
  • salt to taste
Directions
  1. Place chicken pieces into a large stock pot, leaving out any giblets, livers, etc. Cover with water by a couple of inches, probably about 7 quarts.
  2. Set pot on burner on high and bring to a rolling boil. Lower burner to a slow boil. After the water has been boiling for about 5 - 10 minutes, skim off the foam and grey-brown globs that rise to the top. Keep chicken and water at this slow boil for about 30 minutes, skimming occasionally as needed, until water is mostly clear.
  3. Add the other ingredients into the pot. Bring back to a boil and then lower to maintain the contents of the pot at a simmer. Cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar. Simmer for about an hour.
  4. After an hour, taste soup and add salt and pepper. If you have the time, let it simmer another hour.
  5. Remove the chicken pieces to a bowl and reserve for another use - Amanda's chicken salad, maybe?
  6. Remove the parsnip and sweet potato and eat. This is the cook's prerogative. Break up the onion into smaller pieces and leave in the soup. Remove the Jewish b.g. (herbs).
  7. For Jewish holidays, the soup is ready to serve like this with noodles or matzo balls. If you would like a fancier presentation, strain the soup of all the cooked out vegetables and put just the broth back into the pot (and don't do what I did once and just pour it through the strainer right down the sink - oy!) Once strained, you can add fresh carrots and celery to the broth and cook them for another 20 minutes or so before serving, or use as stock.

Tags:

  • Soup
  • Jewish
  • Celery
  • Parsnip
  • Chicken
  • Carrot
  • Serves a Crowd
  • Winter
  • Entree
  • Lunch
Contest Entries
  • The Best Recipe or Technique Your Mother Taught You
  • Your Best Family Recipe
  • Your Best Family Recipe, Part 2
  • Your Best Jewish-Inspired Recipe

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • scott.finkelstein.5

  • healthierkitchen

  • dymnyno

  • drbabs

  • aargersi

Popular on Food52

9 Reviews

Squ1rrelG1rL November 14, 2020

I found this recipe last year. I have have made it multiple times. This is one of my favorite recipes.
Thank you so much for sharing. It is fabulous

scott.finkelstein.5 December 10, 2013

My mom and aunt did the pouring mistake with gravy years ago and still occasionally bicker over whose fault it was.

healthierkitchen December 10, 2013

This was all me! I haven't made that mistake again!

healthierkitchen April 22, 2010

It's such a shame to waste so much good soup!

dymnyno April 22, 2010

I have done the strain the liquid down the drain trick too....what a frustrating cooking misstep!

drbabs April 22, 2010

I love this, too. (especially the Jewish Bouqet garni, and your story about dumping the soup--that sounds like something I would do!)

healthierkitchen July 19, 2010

Thanks for your nice comments! I don't know how I didn't see this until now...

healthierkitchen April 22, 2010

Thanks aargersi. I love your recipes!

aargersi April 22, 2010

Love it! Never thought to add sweet potatoes but it is defintely a "must try" now, plus I love the cook's prerogative

Grandma Evie's Jewish Penicillin  Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What food is considered Jewish penicillin? ›

Your bubbe was not the first to notice the restorative powers of chicken soup, aka “Jewish penicillin.” The Egyptian Jewish philosopher physician Maimonides prescribed the broth in the twelfth century as a curative for respiratory illnesses—a recommendation that was backed up in 2000 by research at the University of ...

Why is homemade chicken soup called Jewish penicillin? ›

It has been renowned for relieving colds and nourishing pregnant women, and has even been said to cure asthma and leprosy — as the 12th century Jewish philosopher and physician Maimonides claimed in his book “On the Cause of Symptoms.” Hence the well-earned nickname of “Jewish penicillin.”

Does chicken soup contain penicillin? ›

It has also been shown that chicken soup contains the amino acid cysteine, which is very similar to acetylcysteine, which is used by doctors for patients with bronchitis and other respiratory infections. Chicken soup is also known as "Jewish penicillin", either as ersatz penicillin, or as alternative to penicillin.

Where did cream of chicken soup originate? ›

Cream of chicken soup has its origins in American culinary history. It gained popularity in the early to mid-20th century, with the exact origins somewhat unclear.

Can Jews eat peanut butter? ›

For Sephardim who eat kitniyot, peanut butter can be made kosher for Passover as long it made in a kitchen that has been kashered for Passover and with only kosher for Passover ingredients (like 100% peanuts that have only been processed by pasteurization).

Is chicken soup a natural antibiotic? ›

Chicken contains an amino acid cysteine which has been shown to reduce and break up mucous congestion in the lungs. Garlic- Garlic is a must in a chicken soup as nature's best natural antibiotic and antibacterial agent to help your body fight infection and get better quickly.

Why can't Jews eat chicken with dairy? ›

Prohibition on mixing dairy products with meat

Others associate it with the general prohibition on certain mixtures set out in the Torah, such as that of coupling animals from different species. Yet others see it as symbolic: the refusal to mix life (milk) and death (meat).

Why do Jews use matzo? ›

According to legend, the fleeing Israelites left their bondage in such a hurry that they didn't even wait for their bread dough to rise. Another theory holds that matzo-like flatbreads were simply easier to carry through the desert than regular bread.

Why do Jews eat matzo ball soup? ›

Traditionally, matzo ball soup was a Passover meal, consumed in remembrance of the unleavened bread that Jews ate when they were fleeing Egypt. During Passover, Jewish people would buy Matzo bread from their local bakery and use day-old leftover crumbs to make the balls.

What foods naturally contain penicillin? ›

griseofulvum is frequently isolated from corn, wheat, barley, flour, and walnuts (40) and from meat products (27), thus being a potential source for the presence of penicillin in food.

Is there penicillin in beef? ›

All meat, poultry and dairy foods sold in the U.S. are free of antibiotic residues, as required by federal law - whether or not the food is labeled “antibiotic-free.” Sometimes farm animals get sick, just like people. When that happens, farmers consult with their veterinarians to determine the best treatment options.

Why did I eat some chicken soup when I was sick? ›

Chicken soup has long been used as a home remedy for cold and flu. Some scientific evidence indicates that the soup could be anti-inflammatory. Though research is scant, experts say chicken soup is worth a try when you're sick.

Why is chicken soup black? ›

According to the nutrition of traditional medicine, the black chicken has the function of the tonic kidney, liver, and blood, and is also used to treat debilitating diseases, diabetes, long-term cholera due to damaged spleen, anorexia, bad breath, and diarrhea, spermatogenesis, mixed sweating, irregular menstruation.

Can you eat a can of cream of chicken soup by itself? ›

All structurally intact and properly processed food in cans have already been cooked at high enough temperatures and pressures to kill most all food borne pathogens, as long as you consume them within 4 hours after opening. So there is no danger from micro organisms when you eat the contents of the cans.

What is the white stuff in cream of chicken soup? ›

A: The white specks are chicken fat. While we try to skim off all of the fat, it's difficult and we don't always get it all., but don't worry! The chicken fat will melt when heated and is safe to consume.

What is matzo made of? ›

Matzo is itself typically made of wheat flour mixed with some water, and salt and sometimes olive oil for flavor. It's rolled very thinly and baked quickly at a high temperature. Talmudic tradition dictates that matzo should be completed in under 18 minutes, from mixing the dough to fully baked.

Can Jews eat peanut butter during Passover? ›

Peanuts are legumes. Ashkenazi Jews don't eat legumes during Passover.

Is chicken noodle soup an antibiotic? ›

Garlic, onions and leeks, all typical components of chicken noodle soup, are plant cousins which contain a range of phytochemicals that have antibiotic, antifungal and health protective properties. Garlic, especially, has been used for thousands of years by traditional herbalists to help fight infections.

Does kosher mean no antibiotics? ›

Like conventional chicken, chicken with a certified kosher label does not indicate any special restrictions in the use of antibiotics.

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