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Generations of grandmas have been saying it, and some doctors even agree: Chicken soup is great therapy for a cold.

Whether you make your own chicken broth or use a commercial brand, add curry, cayenne pepper, dill or basil, it makes little difference. The result is a tasty bowl of heart-warming, cold-soothing chicken soup that is bound to make you feel better.

Below are three recipes for making chicken soup, two from doctors who firmly believe that chicken soup has medicinal benefits and one that is a Chinese version.

Dr. Ziment's Garlic Chicken Soup

1/4-pound stewing chicken
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth (or 3-1/2 cups homemade broth)
1 head garlic (about 15 cloves), peeled
1 medium onion, quartered
1 1/2 tbs each, minced parsley and cilantro
1 tsp each, minced mint and basil leaves
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt to taste
1 tb fresh lemon juice

1. Put all ingredients and the lemon juice in a saucepan, and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer covered or uncovered (if you want to inhale the therapeutic steam) for 30 minutes. In a blender or food processor, puree the cooked garlic, onions and herbs with a little liquid and stir back into the soup.
3. Add lemon juice. If you want a clear broth, filter out the solid constituents.

Makes about 3-1/2 cups.

Irwin Ziment, M.D., is a pulmonary specialist and professor at the UCLA School of Medicine.

Ziment says chicken soup contains drug-like agents similar to those in modern cold medicines. Also, he says spices that are added to the soup work the same way as expectorant drugs and cough medicines, by making breathing easier.

Dr. Rennard's Chicken Soup

1 large roasting chicken or baking hen (6 to 7 pounds)
1 package chicken wings or drumsticks (10 to 12 pieces)
10 medium carrots, peeled
3 large onions, peeled and quartered
3 parsnips, peeled
1 large sweet potato, peeled
2 turnips, peeled
6 stalks celery
1 bunch parsley
salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash the whole chicken and chicken parts. Place in 8-quart soup pot, fill three-quarters full with water and bring to a boil. Add carrots, onion, parsnips, sweet potato and turnips.
2. Simmer covered for 1-1/2 hours. Add celery and parsley and cook for another 45 minutes. Spoon out the chicken and bones.
3. Remove the vegetables along with a small amount of the broth; puree, then stir back into the soup. Salt and pepper to taste.

Stephen Rennard, M.D., is chief of pulmonary medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Rennard found that chicken soup has some anti-inflammatory qualities. Specifically, the soup blocked the movement of inflammatory white cells (neutrophils) in lab tests. Neutrophils, in great numbers, can trigger an inflammatory response that exacerbates cold symptoms. The recipe actually is a time-tested family recipe, handed down by his wife's grandmother.

Chinese Three Mushroom Chicken Soup

8 to 10 dried Shitake mushrooms, soaked 30 to 45 minutes in boiling water, cut stems and reserve for other use, quarter each mushroom
Bones from one roasted chicken
Meat from about 1/2 roasted chicken
12 Chinese dried red dates, cut so essence can permeate soup
1-inch by 3-inch pieces Chinese salted turnip
3 to 4 clumps
Snow mushroom (Tremella fusiformis), soak about 15 minutes in hot water, cut out hard center and break into 1-inch to 2-inch pieces.
2 cups sliced oyster mushrooms, substitute reconstituted and coarsely chopped cloud ears (Auricularia auricula)

Cook the first five ingredients in 8 cups water for about 1 hour. Remove bones, meat, dates and turnip from broth. Add snow and oyster mushrooms, and cook for about an additional 10 minutes. Strip meat from bones and tear into pieces. Reserve for next step.

Mix together:
2 to 3 tbs cornstarch or to taste
3 tbs soy sauce or to taste
1 tsp sugar
3 tbs water
Add mix to boiling soup and return to boil. Return meat to soup and once more bring to boil. Top with 3 green onions, chopped, cilantro leaves to taste, optional.

Note: Snow mushrooms, or snow ears, and Shitake mushrooms are available at Asian markets.

This article was reviewed and updated May 2003.