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The Melting Pot
Avgolemono Soup hero image coming soon
1900-1929 - Greek immigrants and Greek American diner cooks
A silky Greek-American chicken, rice, egg, and lemon soup made by tempering eggs into hot broth for a creamy dairy-free finish.
Difficulty
Medium
Prep time
15 minutes
Cook time
35 minutes
Total time
50 minutes
Servings
6
Region
Greek-American diners and home kitchens
Era introduced
1900-1929
Introduced by
Greek immigrants and Greek American diner cooks
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Avgolemono is both a Greek egg-lemon sauce and the name many Americans know for the chicken soup enriched with it. Greek immigrants carried versions into home kitchens, church suppers, lunch counters, and diners, where lemony chicken soup became a recognizable Greek-American comfort dish. The key is technique: hot broth must be slowly whisked into eggs and lemon before the mixture returns to the pot, creating a silky soup without cream.
Drafted with technique from The Mediterranean Dish (https://www.themediterraneandish.com/avgolemono-soup-recipe/), Greek avgolemono background from Olive Tomato (https://www.olivetomato.com/authentic-avgolemono-soup/), and Sephardic egg-lemon sauce context from My Jewish Learning (https://www.myjewishlearning.com/the-nosher/this-greek-chicken-soup-has-a-surprising-sephardic-history/).
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