Chicken Corn Soup (Pennsylvania Dutch chicken corn soup)

Name: Chicken Corn Soup
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 1 stewing hen, about 2 kg; 1 onion and 2 celery stalks, chopped, and a pinch of saffron; 6 ears of sweet corn, kernels cut off; 150 g flour and 1 egg for the rivels; 3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped; parsley, salt and pepper

Overview

Chicken corn soup is a Pennsylvania Dutch soup from Lancaster County and the farmland of southeastern Pennsylvania. A whole stewing hen is simmered with onion and celery to make a rich, golden broth, often coloured with a pinch of saffron, and the meat is pulled into pieces. Fresh sweet corn cut from the cob goes into the pot with the chicken. Rivels, tiny irregular dumplings made by rubbing flour into beaten egg, are dropped into the boiling soup and cook in a few minutes. The soup is finished with chopped hard-boiled eggs and parsley. It is thick with corn, lightly chewy from the rivels and very filling.

History

Chicken corn soup was mentioned in Lancaster newspapers by 1866, and it became the classic dish of summer picnics. Churches, fire companies and community groups in Pennsylvania Dutch country have sold it for generations at fundraising suppers, auctions and fairs, cooked in huge kettles. Some cooks leave out the rivels and use noodles, and families argue about which version is correct.

Main ingredients

Chicken, sweet corn, rivels, hard-boiled eggs, celery, parsley. The soup is built on golden chicken broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.

Explore: Chicken soups · Egg soups · Corn soups · More soups from United States

Recipe

4Serves

2h 30m30 prep · 120 cook

~420kcal / serving

EasyDifficulty

Method

1
Simmer the hen with the onion, celery, saffron and salt in 3 l water for 1½ hours.
2
Take out the chicken, pull the meat into pieces and return it to the strained broth.
3
10 min
Add the corn and simmer for 10 minutes.
4
Rub the flour into the beaten egg to make small crumbs and drop them into the boiling soup.
5
7 min
Cook for 7 minutes, add the eggs and parsley and serve.
✓
Serve. About 2h 30m from start to bowl.

Sources

Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.

Chicken Corn Soup

Editor's score

Editor’s scores reflect the personal taste of the SoupWiki editors. They are not a measure of a soup’s quality or authenticity, and they don’t mean a soup is good or bad. More

6.7/10

Hearty, chunky soup with chicken and sweet corn; gentle and comforting.

Story & meaning 5/10 · Pennsylvania Dutch picnic and fundraiser soup since the 1860s

Local name: Pennsylvania Dutch chicken corn soupSay it: CHIK-in KORN soop
Country: United States
Region: Northern America
Continent: North America
Type: Meat & stew
Allergens i Based on the typical recipe. Recipes and products vary; always check labels if you have an allergy. Covers the 14 major allergens (UK/EU).: Celery, Gluten, Eggs
Base: Golden chicken broth
Served: Hot
Diet: Contains meat
Gluten-free: Not usually
Calories: ~420 kcal est.
Prep / cook: 30 / 120 min
Total: ~150 min est.
Difficulty: Easy