Bone Broth History | Goodness Through the Ages

Sipping warm, rich broth made from healthy bones is something people have enjoyed since the beginning of recorded history. Talk about tradition. In fact, delicious stocks were on the menu at the very first restaurants –early inns served up broth to comfort cold and weary travelers. Today, savory bone broths have regained popularity for their nutrient and mineral density, yet they remain a staple of culinary masters. A good stock is every chef’s secret weapon to add a delicious depth of flavor to soups, stews, gravies, and sauces. Legendary French chef Auguste Escoffier was famous for saying, “Indeed, stock is everything in cooking. Without it, nothing can be done.”

At Bare Bones, we have a deep reverence for time-honored cooking methods and responsibly sourced ingredients.  And we’ve made it our mission to share bone broth’s rich history with a new generation of eaters. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Your grandma probably made a variation of bone broth in her kitchen. But just because many of us lack the time to prepare a proper bone broth, we’re no less appreciative of its healthy, velvety goodness and usefulness in countless recipes. It’s why Bare Bones likes to say we specialize in timeless taste in way less time.

But to be part of bone broth’s future, we think it helps to know a bit about its past. And boy does it have some history. In Chinese medicine, whose origins date back over 2,500 years, bone broth is used to support digestive health, as a blood builder, and to strengthen the kidneys. Then, beginning in 12th century Egypt, physician Moses Maimonides was known to prescribe chicken soup as a medicinal remedy for colds and asthma. Maimonides was a rabbi and revered Jewish philosopher so maybe that’s one reason chicken soup has been a part of traditional Jewish kitchens for generations. It even earned the nickname Jewish Penicillin for its anti-inflammatory benefits and as a longtime remedy for cold and flu symptoms. Cultures far and wide have nourished their families with bone broths and handmade stocks throughout history for the same reasons we’re proud to craft it today: we believe culinary tradition, warmth, and well-being have a place in every modern kitchen.