History of Italian wedding soup

A legend of sorts accompanies the Italian wedding soup recipe. The story says that this soup was served at Italian wedding receptions and that it worked more or less as an aphrodisiac. Following the wedding reception, when the bride and groom consummated the marriage they’d be full of plenty of vim and vigor. Even as I researched this I wondered about the effect of the soup on the other wedding guests. But that would be another story, and if it were true, I don’t think the soup would be reserved for wedding receptions. While it’s a great story, the truth is that Italian wedding soup has nothing to do with weddings. Not only that, but some people suggest its origins have nothing to do with Italy because Spaniards carried it into Naples. But again, that’s one side of the claims. The other side is that it was a well-known recipe in Italy long before that. I'm not here to solve who is right.

Why is it called wedding soup?

Minestra maritata, which means “married soup” is an ancient peasant soup recipe. That's how it got the name Italian wedding soup. It earned the title originally because of the 'marriage' of the main ingredients. Originally, it consisted of inexpensive bits of leftover meat and leafy greens. The green vegetables (minestra) blended well with meat (maritata) and was eaten by people in Italy who couldn’t afford food. It was usually made using bits of sausage or meatballs and whatever green or slightly bitter veggies they had on hand and often contained no meat at all. The soup helped them not to feel hungry throughout the day much like the cabbage soup fad years back. If you’re looking for the recipe, it turns out there are a number of variations. As the stories go, some say it originated in Naples, others in Calabria, and others in Puglia, but all the recipes contain green vegetables and bits of meat. The recipe also has ties to America because the Neapolitans brought it when they arrived, though the Americanized version tends to be lighter. The one thing they all have in common is that they are a delicious way to add some greens to your diet.

How to make Italian wedding soup

Today, pasta often finds its way into the soup pot. I’ve included a video below of the soup I’ve tried. It won’t disappoint, though it is far from a peasant dish with some added ingredients. For this one, pasta is added to the soup bowl before serving.

 

While Italian wedding soup isn’t traditionally a soup served at weddings, feel free to add it to your wedding menu and serve it with crusty bread, homemade croutons, breadsticks, or an arugula salad. For fun, you can add some Italian wedding cookies to your dessert table too. And if you’re not planning a wedding, it’s still a perfect dish for the holidays. Special, delicious, and with history you can make your own. Plus it's easy to adjust to be keto friendly too.

 

Photo credits: Tom Ipri

7 traditional wedding garter fun facts

The garter toss is a popular Western wedding tradition. This ritual can be traced back to the Medieval ages, but before we delve into the fun facts of wedding garter history let me explain how this tradition works today. 

 

How the garter toss works today

The garter toss is considered a lighthearted tradition that takes place during the wedding reception. Most often, the bride is seated on a chair while all the guests circle around. The bachelors within the group congregate in one area. The groom then removes the garter. How this is done varies these days, but most often the husband removes the garter from the bride’s leg (usually worn just above the knee), with his hands. Once he has it in his hands, the groom turns his back and tosses it over his head to the group of bachelors. Think of it as a counterpart to the bouquet toss to the single women. Some people even have the woman who catches the bouquet dance the next dance with the bachelor who catches the garter. This leads to the question, where did this tradition come from?

7 traditional wedding garter fun facts

1. The garter toss started in England and France where guests tried to take a piece of the bride's dress for good luck.
2. Zealous guests often followed the couple from the reception to their marital bed, ripping at their clothes for a tatter of good luck.
3. To appease the eager guests and give the bride a break from the nerve-racking experience of people tearing bits form her wedding dress practice grooms started to toss out a piece of the bride's wedding attire. This was the inspiration behind the garter toss and bouquet toss. It started with the toss of the garters that held up the bride’s stockings up.
4. The garter toss was used as a distraction so the newlyweds could make a quick escape from the wedding reception as everyone scrambled to get their hands on the good luck charm.
5. Today the wedding garter symbolizes good luck to the bachelors in attendance.
6. Superstition attached to the garter is that whoever catches it will be next to get married.
7. Today the garter toss is a way to gather all of the unmarried men to the dance floor.

 Garter toss not for everyone

While this is a popular wedding tradition that’s meant to be lighthearted in today’s Western culture, it is not for everyone. Some consider the long-standing tradition to be raunchy or at least awkward. Like any tradition, if you feel this way, feel free to skip it entirely.

The biblical story of Esther is about a woman chosen as a candidate to become queen to the Persian king after he deposed his first wife. As Esther waited her turn to see the king, she had help getting ready. While I can’t say for sure, tradition puts Esther at 40 years old at the time. In some ways, with many women involved, it was a beauty contest and the preparation took a year. First, Esther used myrrh for six months as part of her beauty treatments. Used topically, myrrh oil helps fade blemishes, reduces symptoms of eczema and other skin ailments, and effectively cleans, moisturizes, and tightens the skin. It is also said to bring emotional balance. Esther's myrrh routine was followed by six months of other beauty treatments.

 

Ancient skin care secrets

So what else can we learn from ancient cultures regarding skin treatments before the wedding day arrives? When it comes to ancient times and beauty, I couldn’t help but think of Cleopatra’s life. Maintaining beauty was a life-long endeavor for her. Many of the things she used were not available to common folk at the time but some are still available to us today.

Milk baths: Cleopatra was renowned for her milk baths which kept her skin soft and beautiful. Even if you’ve heard about her milk baths, you might not know that the milk was not cow’s milk. It wasn’t even goat or sheep milk. It was donkey’s milk. Soured donkey’s milk. I know you might be scrunching your nose at this, but donkey’s milk was the beverage of the rich and widely accepted as the best substitute for infants when breastmilk wasn't available. The soured milk provided an extra benefit for her skin because when soured, the lactose in the milk converted to lactic acid.  When alpha hydroxy acids, like lactic acid, are applied to the skin it works kind of like a mild chemical peel. The surface layer of dead skin cells is eaten away, leaving new smoother blemish-free skin. Other ingredients added to her bath included:

Honey: Honey helps open the pores to clear away dirt, gently exfoliates, lightens scars, fights acne, deeply moisturizes.

Lavender and rose petals: While this was probably added for fragrance, it is interesting to note that lavender oil heals skin conditions. Its anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and detoxifying benefits, helps diminish redness, soothes and calms the skin and rapidly heal minor cuts and scrapes, as well as any rashes.

A modern-day option to replace a milk bath is the use of plain Greek yogurt. It offers the same mild exfoliating action that removes dry skin and leave’s skin feeling refreshed and comfortable.

Egyptian Magic: Honey, Beeswax, Olive Oil, 

Royal Jelly, Bee Pollen and Bee Propolis.

 

Royal jelly: (This one is also from Cleopatra’s beauty secrets). Royal jelly is secreted by bees feeding the queen bee. As a cosmetic, it was used in her head-to-toe beauty treatments. Today it is a popular ingredient in skin care products, and research supports its use as a collagen enhancer. The same acid in royal jelly that boosts collagen production also suppresses skin pigmentation and can brighten dark spots. It not only nourishes the skin with vitamins and minerals, it also helps to protect against the effects of ultraviolet radiation.

Dead Sea minerals: Many Dead Sea products, including salts and water were imported to Rome for their unique medicinal use. The heavy mineral concentration offers more than 21 different minerals thought to help with skin problems like eczema and psoriasis. The clay from the Dead Sea also has high levels of calcium, magnesium, bromide, potassium and sulfate which get absorbed into the skin directly, nourishing and revitalizing it.

Other essential beauty secrets of ancient past: Almond, moringa, and castor oils. These full body skin treatments kept skin soft, with less wrinkles, and helped fight the side effects of excessive exposure to the sun.

Today, if you are working on your pre-bridal skin care at home, take a lesson from the past. Start early and be consistent to see the best results. Remember, Esther’s beauty treatments took 12 months. 

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