Soup’s on!… In the last few weeks Le Futiloscope has seen two young French brands specializing in  ready-to-go broth. At Chic des Plantes, L’Enraciné (tomato, carrot, beet and curcuma blah blah) or Le Robuste (ash, black radish, bay leaf, etc.) strut their stuff in little infusion packets. At O (de), whose official launch is in April, they’re already working on bowls—bowls are important –on Instagram: 2 savory bouillons and 2 sweet bouillons (we admit, that piqued out interest).

100% natural, 100% lovely to see, thus 100% trendy, we’re far from the vintage Knorr Bouillon KUB OR. Of course, the very chic Japanese Ariake, “sachets to infuse” (sea food, beef, dashi, etc.) already well known to foodies, opened the way since 2008. But they’re mostly used as a base for soups or sauces. Here, we’re surrounded by purists: broth is taken plain. How did this old-fashioned drink—not even chic—leave behind its symbolism of “indigestion cure”? That’s in itself is a story…

To begin with, two schools of thought confront each other as to its benefits. On the naturopath side, there are the proponents of vegetable broth, a super detox beverage. And those who are on the side of meat and bone broth, full of collagen, glucosamine and other good things for the skin and articulations…In New York, Brodo, the take-out star since 2014, is so successful they now deliver in 48 states. Rocket Broth, a more recent upcomer, sells broth made in Brooklyn in plastic pouches touting “Broth is Cool”. Its manifesto ”Peace in every Belly” is illustrated by people with arms raised brandishing soupspoons : apparently drinking broth is a militant exercise.The French chef William Ledeuil, who is a fan since forever, is pretty much in agreement . His book Bouillons dates from 2015 (and was followed by lots of imitators), but his latest Parisian restaurant, Kitchen Ter(re) is specialized in pasta made from ancient grains and … broth, the former often cooked in the latter. His broth, served as a starter, is mostly fusion, spicy and Asian influenced . Right now it’s Thai: beef, foie gras, mushrooms and quince. Yum!

Another neat thing about broth: besides being a super comfort food, it’s from everywhere. Frenchy at the new Bouillon Pigalle in Paris, Asian, and not just a little, Italian (no risotto without it), American :  in the US there’s a real passion for Chicken Soup. And, of course, it’s also from Eastern Europe: the very likeable brand Yiddish Mamma serves it every Tuesday afternoon, in the boutique Alexia Hollinger, for her “Bouillon General”, in homage to her Ashkenazi family cuisine. Maybe soon instead of Tea Time, we’ll have Broth Time? That’s still to be seen…

Photo: Nourished Kitchen