Carl mentioned here that his family always adds parsnips to their chicken soup. Awhile back, several cooks mentioned adding sweet potato to theirs. Many or even most add carrots. Me, I've never deviated from my mother's onions-and-celery only version, although I do add a bay leaf and some whole peppercorns. Not adventurous, but for me it's the ultimate comfort food and therefore not in need of improvement.
Or was I just being stubborn?
With parsnips as this month's theme ingredient, I decided it was time to test the waters. Six cups of water, to be exact, for each pot, three pots total. Each also got: 1 chicken, quartered, 2 celery ribs, 2 smallish carrots, 1 med yellow onion quartered (including skin), 2 tsp salt, 10 whole peppercorns and 1 bay leaf. One pot received nothing more, one got a large parsnip cut into two inch chunks, and one got a medium-sized yam, quartered. The quantity of yam and parsnip were approximately equal. Each stewed on low heat for about three hours, half with lids on and half with lids off.
I then summoned my hubby Bob downstairs for lunch and presented him with three deep mugs. Each was white inside for viewing color and each held a single ladle full. He had no idea what the difference between the three was.
Color: the parsnip brtoh and mom's broth were identical and pale yellow compared to the yam broth which was a strong shade yellow-er.
Aroma: Mom's broth just smelled like chicken soup. To me, the parsnip version smelled impressively and definitively of parsnips, but had I not known what was in there I might have wondered it if also contained more celery and perhaps, even, turnip. Bob's blind assessment is more interesting: he said the parsnip version smelled "spicier" and "like flowers". But it was the yam broth that he liked best: "richer" was his first descriptor, then he asked if it had been made of roasted instead of raw chicken.
Taste: All were good. But mom's tasted simple compared to the more elegant parsnip, but the parsnip was not as evident as it was in the aroma. Rather, we seemed to taste the celery and bay leaf more. The yam broth, however, really tasted like it had extra ingredients. There was a new third entity there, and the result was bolder and much more complex. Bob's roasted flavor was on the palate too, like the flavor of the fond that sticks to the bottom of the pan and lightly caramelizes. Too, the yam broth had a long and lasting finish that stayed with me long after I put the mug down.
We then combined the yam and the parsnip to see if a combo was better than either alone. I really, really wanted to find the former, but in fact I think the nod goes to the yam by itself. As much as the parsnip added something 'pretty' to the nose, it diluted the roasted quality which was, for both of us, the most fetching quality.
So, I am quite humbled. Mom's broth has been a best friend through many illnesses and rainy days, but more really IS better. And for my family, the yam is best of all.