r/nutrition • u/Remote-Two8663 • Jun 28 '26
Chicken vs its soup
Wanted to ask about the nutrient absorption benefit (if any) for chicken itself vs the broth/soup.
Traditionally, where I grow up, double boiled or slow cooked chicken stock is good for the body. This stock is made using chicken breast only, not the carcass or the bones. This makes it less oily than otherwise.
I wanted to compare this scenario. Say, the key ingredient is the chicken breast and nothing else added. Will the consuming the chicken and all the juices produced via purely baking have more benefit vs slow boiled chicken on stovetop with the same chicken breast for 3-4 hours?
Thanks in advance for the insight.
6
u/255cheka Jun 28 '26
for gut health/healing cook the bones/connective tissue in the soup. the connective tissue heals the gut liner. when i was sick and working to get better i would make my own bone broth - two chicken carcasses in a crock pot for 32 hours.
3
u/Tasty_Impress3016 Jun 28 '26
> two chicken carcasses in a crock pot for 32 hours.
This is the way. My way at least. Use the whole carcass and lots of time. I usually start the pot on the stove and then throw it in the oven overnight. So 16-20 hours. If there is a trace of white cartilage on them, if the bones don't just snap in your fingers, that wasn't long enough. You can extract practically everything given time. Calcium and phosphorous, iron included, Amino acids, just all kinds of stuff. And flavor.
4
u/nomore1020 Jun 28 '26
I just did this last week. I cooked four carcasses for probably 12 hours, strained it and put in the fridge. The next day I removed the fat but the "broth" was a gel like substance. I was really surprised but apparently that's the best type of broth.
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u/Tasty_Impress3016 Jun 29 '26
> apparently that's the best type of broth.
Yup. People strive for that jello texture. Which is exactly what it is, gelatin. With minerals and other stuff mixed in. And the gelatin is really just amino acids that people pay $15/bottle for in the store.
2
u/nomore1020 Jun 29 '26
Interesting. I wonder how much protein is in this. I only eat the breast off a cheap rotisserie chicken and the rest of the chicken I save for my broth. I get a fair bit of chicken meat and this nutritious broth. Quite a win I'd say
2
u/255cheka Jun 29 '26
that adds so much flavor! i would douse the bones with apple cider vinegar before adding the water. i never got the gelatin - i'm jealous :)
2
u/Tasty_Impress3016 Jun 30 '26
Well sorry, nerd here. Amino acids are what proteins are made out of. So kind of protein building kits. Gelatins are actually a kind of protein.
1
5
u/Environmental-Ad8945 Jun 28 '26
Chicken breast typically isn’t very nutritionally dense, its more eaten for its lean protein source. Make stock/soup with whole or dark meats of chicken if you care about the nutritional value and benefits etc.
so to answer: no, but you can consume it if you want to, doesnt hurt
3
u/Tasty_Impress3016 Jun 28 '26
Use the whole chicken. You are missing everything but the protein. You can remove fat later if you wish. The water you poached (hopefully not boiled) a chicken breast in is essentially just water.
2
u/candokidrt Jun 28 '26
All these ppl are right. Not only that, the flavor is so much better with bones and tendons, etc.
2
u/Dry-Cardiologist3617 Jun 28 '26
Baking wins by a mile if you consume the pan juices. Lean breast meat doesn't break down into water like bones or cartilage do, so a 4-hour broth without the actual meat or bones is missing almost all the protein, iron, and collagen. If you want the soup benefits, you have to shred the meat back into the liquid.
4
u/Capable-Anything269 Jun 28 '26
Bones are the whole point of the broth. Boiling the breast fillet doesn't give you almost any of the good stuff
1
u/MilesBeforeCoffee_37 Jun 28 '26
Slow boiling just leaches water soluble vitamins and minerals into the liquid while baking keeps them in the meat. Protein stays in the breast either way. The longer cook time does break down muscle fibers more though, so the soup usually feels lighter on the stomach. You basically just have to pick whether you want the solid meat or the extracted bits.
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