In the USA, Ukrainian borscht was recognized as one of the best first courses on the planet

If a steaming bowl of soup sounds like the most comforting meal in the world, many will agree with you. According to Janet Clarkson, author of Soup: A History of the World, soup is one of the oldest and most versatile foods. Writes about this CNN.

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“Every culture has its own soup,” she said. “It has very ancient roots.”

“Early people cooked everything from turtle shells to pieces of bamboo in soup,” she writes in the book, “beginning with the Bronze Age, when metal soup pots were made.”

Boiling food made it possible to feed on grains, adding herbs and other ingredients for nutrition or medicinal purposes. Clarkson said that every time you bring a pot of soup to a sick friend, you are continuing an age-old tradition.

Today, soup is softer than old broths and stews are more substantial, but spoonable foods never fit into the two English-language categories.

“It’s just something cooked in water,” she wrote, “the flavored water becomes an important part of the dish.”

On the subject: The battle for borscht and the hummus war: how countries argue over national dishes

This definition leaves room for the world's amazing culinary diversity. Here are CNN's 20 Best Soups nominations:

Borsch | Ukraine

Pieces of tender beetroot float in the bright red broth of the soup, which is so popular in Ukraine and throughout Eastern Europe.

Borscht, often flavored with a dollop of sour cream, is anything but a simple beet soup. It gets its tangy flavor from kvass, lactic-fermented beet juice, another regional specialty.

And although the soup is sometimes referred to as Russian cuisine, this claim is heavily disputed. Ukrainian chefs are campaigning to include their version of the recipe for this dish on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Kharcho | Georgia

A plum sauce called tkemali lends a bright spicy flavor to this traditional soup, which is one of Georgia's most beloved dishes.

The sauce is made from unripe plums, whose sour note balances the richness of the fatty beef and chopped walnuts cooked in the soup. An aromatic composition of a mixture of spices of hops-suneli, coriander, thyme, fenugreek, black pepper, calendula and many others adds piquancy.

On the subject: Ukraine and Russia continue the war over borsch: Michelin was dragged into the scandal

Here are some more top rated soups:

• Banga | Nigeria
• Pho from beef | Vietnam
• Bouillabaisse | France
• Caldu verde | Portugal
• Chorba freak | Algeria, Libya and Tunisia
• Chupe de Camarones | Peru
• Gazpacho | Spain
• Peanut Soup | West Africa
• Gumbo | United States
• Harira | Morocco
• Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup | China
• Mohinga | Myanmar
• Menudo | Mexico
• Shrimp soup | Brazil
• Soto ayam | Indonesia
• Tom Yam Gung | Thailand
• Ramen Tonkotsu | Japan
• Yayla Chorbasy | Turkey

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