It’s not just a matter of eating out of a bowl with a spoon.
Categorizing food items may seem like an easy thing. However, sometimes the lines get crossed and confusion arises. Take cereal for instance. It’s eaten like soup, making some people want to classify it as soup. But is that really accurate? Maybe it depends on the time of day that you eat cereal. If you have it for lunch, is cereal a soup?
There is a debate going on and to get to the answer, we’ll need to slurp our way through the evidence. We’ll examine what defines a soup to see if cereal even fits the full criteria. Of course, there are factors to consider like temperature and flavor. And if you have a cold or the flu, would you find spoonfuls of chicken noodle soup to be comparable to relying on a bowl of Lucky Charms? There is a lot of food for thought to get through on this particular topic.
Just like the debate over whether or not a hot dog is a sandwich, you probably already have an answer in your head. Let’s see if we can either change your mind or confirm your thoughts with an attempt to settle the debate once and for all.
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Definition of Soup
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, soup is a liquid food made by boiling meat, vegetables, etc. in water, often eaten as the first course of a meal.
There is also a “legal definition” of soup that, like most legal documents, tends to add more confusion than clarity. According to Law Insider, soup is defined as “food prepared from meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, grains, fruit and other ingredients, cooked in a liquid which may include visible pieces of some or all of these ingredients. It may be clear (as a broth) or thick (as a chowder), smooth, pureed or chunky, ready-to-serve, semi-condensed or condensed and may be served hot or cold, as a first course or as the main course of a meal or as a between meal snack (sipped like a beverage). Soup may be used as an ingredient for preparing other meal components and may range from broths (consommé) to sauces (cream or cheese-based soups).”
This lengthier definition is what broadens the base of what could be considered a soup. Let’s see how cereal holds up to each of these definitions.
According to the Simple Dictionary Definition
- Is cereal a liquid food? – Yes
- Is cereal boiled in water? – No
- Is cereal often eaten as the first course of a meal? – No, because cereal is typically considered the main or only course
According to the Legal Dictionary Definition
- Is cereal a food prepared from meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, grains, fruit and other ingredients? – Yes, since cereal is a grain
- Is cereal cooked in a liquid? – In the case of oatmeal or other hot cereal, yes
- Is cereal clear, thick, smooth, pureed, chunky or ready to serve? Yes
- Can cereal be served hot or cold? – Yes
- Can cereal be a first course, main course or snack? – Yes
Related: Want to Get Your Day Off On the Right Foot? Try These 11 Healthy Breakfast Cereals
Why Do Some Say That Cereal Is Not a Soup?
Most would argue that cereal is not a soup based on the simple definition. The other factor that splits the two is the fact that cereal is typically sweet and soup is typically savory—they are not similar in taste.
Others look at the way soup is made versus cereal. Soup is often simmered for hours to meld the flavors together. Cereal, however, is simply drowned in a bowl of milk. Even oatmeal can be heated in minutes with no simmering required.
And that’s not all. Cereal is called cereal whether you put milk on it or not. However, the ingredients of soup are not called soup on their own. For instance, beef is simply called beef when it’s not in soup.
Then, there is the question of timing. Although you can eat cereal at any time of the day, it is considered a breakfast food. Most of us don’t have soup for breakfast—instead, soup is considered a lunch or dinner food.
Related: 40 Keto Cereal Recipes That Are Low In Carbs, Easy and Healthier for You
Why Cereal Is Considered a Soup by Some
Based on the legal definition, there is a lot more room for cereal to be considered a soup. Those who consider cereal a soup look at all of the little nuances that can make a soup. Cereal is grain plus milk, which is considered by some to be similar to a creamy soup. And since soups can be either hot or cold, cereal seems to fit.
So, Is Cereal a Soup?
Although both are eaten out of a bowl with a spoon, the majority of people would say that cereal is not soup. However, there are several loopholes in the legal definition of soup that make cereal a possibility for the category. In fact, the ambiguous definition may lead to also including things like chili, salsa or even a Bloody Mary as soup. Where does it end?
If we want to be technical, we could call pretty much anything mixed together a soup. However, we need specific categories to better define what we are eating. We’ll have to leave this one up to personal preference and conclude that everyone is right.
Next Up: New Kellogg’s Cereal Wants You to Just Add Water to the Bowl
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