Is it foamy? Just skim it off.

According to the link, it doesn't matter if you leave it. but I skim it off.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.epicureantable.com/articles/archicsoup.htm

That's very strange, dishesdone, your link leads to a UTube video featuring a song called, "Hey There Delilah". Wonder how that happened?

Here is a link that might be useful: Try This One

Chicken always does that to me when I boil it. My wife said it was the blood cooking out. You just skim it off as it come to the top until it quits.

That's so weird, I had Delilah on youtube on another tab, and must have screwed up the copy and paste! Sorry! Thanks for adding the correct link! Not a bad song anyway!

I also just skim off the foam. If you don't want to worry about skimming soup when you are in a hurry you can poach the meat and then cut it up and add it to the soup. This is good if someone is sick and you will be making fresh soup on multiple days. Just poach several breasts, cut the meat up, and freeze in bags or containers in the portion you need for soup.

Thanks for the info, next time I will definately skim it off. It still tasted good and I had several cups which is probably a good thing as I think I'm catching whatever DH has. :(

next time put in a ton of garlic as well. Garlic has wonderful healing properties.

Bacon sometimes has a sort of nasty foam (not just fat bubbles). I was listening to the author of a new book on Bacon on Splendid Table PBS say that was due to the wet processing bacon goes through. (He said the best bacon is dry processed) Course you don't cook bacon in water.

Since you were using skinless breast it doesn't seem like it would be just blood - I wonder if its basically the water the chicken was processed with that now has a little fat and blood in it that makes it foam. Or they inject a lot of meat products with tenderizing chemicals these days don't they?
I would skim it too but it is something to wonder about.

The restaurant I used to work in, we found there was a lot less "bits" in the broth if we cooked the breasts whole and cut them up after they were cooked.

The foam/scum on chicken soup is just bits of protein from the chicken that coagulate out. It isn't harmful; it isn't new; it doesn't even detract from the taste, but people skim it off if they want clear broth. My very old Settlement Cookbook describes the need to skim the foam off if you want clear broth and I get some anytime I make chicken soup which I've been doing for more than 30 years.

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen says that you can reduce the amount you have to skim by blanching chicken first in cold water because some goes into the water. They also say there will be less if the chicken parts are cooked whole as colleenoz mentions - anything that disrupts the chicken less so that less breaks off during cooking. It also helps to keep the soup from boiling hard - a hard boil breaks off more protein bits than a gentle simmer and it makes it more difficult to skim what does come off to get a clear broth.

Usually I just leave it, because I figure some extra protein in the soup isn't a bad thing and I'm often going to put enough stuff in the soup that perfect clarity isn't my goal. And cooking whole chicken pieces with the skin I don't get that much scum - the fat can easily be lifted off the soup if it will be chilled so I don't see a need to use skinless.

Better the Delilah song than 2girls1cup, Dishes

ROTFL! Jessica, YOU ARE TRULY EVIL! It's 7am here and I have no possible comeback for that one!

When I make Chicken soup I boil the chicken in water first and then when that foamy stuff appears I drain and rinse the chicken & add fresh water & add all my ingred., this makes for a clearer broth. My grandma taught me this.

Shasta, that's how I'm going to do it from now on.

Delilah on youtube, lol. Can you imagine youtube 10 years from now? oy

I really cannot believe anyone would drain the water off of chicken and add more when making soujp....I also cannot believe anyone would skim the coagulated protein. If you want crystal clear broth, strain it through a coffee filter......or add a beaten egg white....but if you are adding carrots and celery and onion, what do you care about bits of protein added?....thats a good thing!
I make chicken soup by first making broth....with bones and wings and backs....and onion, celery carrots, parsley, leek, bayleaf etc....and strain it
Then I use thatg broth and add either some of the meat from the wings, or cut up boneless breasts, more onion, carrots, parsley,celery....and slowly simmer about 20 to 30 minutes....too long and the meat gets stringy.
But to bring the meat to a boil and drain the water and add new is loseing about half of the flavor.