By Stephanie Duscher
With the recent heat we have patiently been enduring, the last thing most people want to eat is hot food like soup. However, aside from being able to cook with all the delicious in-season fruits and veggies this season has to offer, enjoying a hot, spicy soup, like Mexican street corn soup, offers many practical health benefits.
According to research, eating hot foods like soup in warm weather can benefit your body by cooling you even more than cold foods. Interesting, right? Eating hot food increases your body’s internal temperature, which causes you to sweat more. When your sweat naturally evaporates, your body becomes cooler than before. This effect is even more noticeable when eating a spicy soup, as spicy foods like peppers can cause you to sweat, making your body cooler.
For this reason, hot soups like Mexican street corn soup are perfect for the heat. Not only is it super tasty, but you can enhance its flavor by using fresh, locally grown ingredients like peppers, cilantro, garlic, and onions from the farmers’ market.
For this soup, the real spotlight is on fresh corn, and Gomez Veggie Ville has a plentiful supply this season. Their farming practices ensure that their corn is sweet and grown without using GMOs or harmful chemicals. So, whether you make street corn soup or use it in other seasonal dishes like grilled corn on the cob or a fresh summer salad, you’ll know that your food is grown with care and comes from a good place.
Is corn not your thing? Plenty of other delicious in-season fruits and veggies are perfect for soup-making. Grab some soup supplies at the farmers’ market on Wednesdays or Saturdays. The market has plenty of watermelons, eggplants, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, peas, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and many more summertime favorites.
Don’t limit yourself to Mexican street corn soup either! The possibilities for soup-making are endless. Summer vegetable soup, zucchini soup, and even a creamy broccoli soup can be refreshing in the summer heat. Go ahead and raise your body temperature. Ultimately, it will cool you off!
The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. at High Rock Park in downtown Saratoga Springs. Find us online at saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
