We Hunger For Soup Like No One Else

Spokane, stand up and give yourself a big pat on the back - or, perhaps, the stomach.

First it was U.S. News & World Report reporting the news that our fair city ranks first in total consumption of tortilla chips, at an annual 9 pounds per person.

Now comes word that Spokane is the biggest per capita consumer of Campbell’s soups (Seattle placed sixth). The top seller here? No, not tomato. Think casserole - as in cream of mushroom.

Some soup trivia:

The word “soup” comes from the Middle Ages term “sop,” which meant a slice of bread over which roast drippings were poured.

Archaeological evidence of soup consumption dates back to 6000 B.C., with the main ingredients being hippopotamus bones.

Worldwide, more than 100 cans of Campbell’s soup are purchased every second, for a grand total of 360,602 cans per hour (no word on how many are hippo consomme).

In a survey for Campbell’s, 62 percent of the people polled said they eat soup with a large spoon, followed by a teaspoon (29 percent), from a mug (7 percent) and - Miss Manners alert! - straight from the bowl (1 percent).

Dial-a-din-din

It’s hard to imagine that the recipes printed here in IN Food aren’t enough for you (yeah, right), but if you’re really stuck for dinner - and you’ve got a fax machine - maybe Cooking Light can help.

The magazine has started a service called Cooking Light Tonight. Dial toll-free to (888) 473-2473 and you’ll hear three different menu choices (updated each week); choose one, punch in your credit card number and fax machine number and the recipes will be faxed to you for a $2.50 fee.

Honor roll

Finally, not to pat ourselves on the back or anything, but IN Food has been judged one of the best food sections in the country for newspapers of our size by the Association of Food Journalists.

We placed third among papers with circulation of 100,000 to 250,000, behind the Raleigh, N.C., News & Observer and the Akron Beacon Journal (and ahead of the Seattle Times, which received an honorable mention). And with individual awards for stories on wild mushrooms (by Leslie Kelly) and school lunches (by yours truly), we won more awards than any other newspaper in our circulation category.

Of course, awards are only part of the picture; what really matters is what you think. These honors have made us more determined than ever to produce the best section we can, week in and week out. You’ll be the judge of that.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: We’re always looking for fresh food news. Write to: The Fresh Sheet, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O.Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Call 459-5446; fax 459-5098.