For many, autumn spells annual pumpkin carving competitions, cosy evenings streaming the latest Netflix blockbuster, and weekend afternoons spent hunting down some really good pub grub.
If you’ve been seeking out bowls of creamy tomato soup or been whipping up hearty homemade broth recipes on the regular, then you may have just put it down to the weather turning.
Because, let’s be honest - sometimes all you need is a steaming hot vat of the good stuff and a doorstop-thick slice of bread to turn a bad day into a delectable night.
We’d forgive you for thinking your soup craving is down to colder weather, darker mornings, and your hot water bottle coming back into action.
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But it may interest you to know that your penchant for a hot pot of the good stuff has nothing to do with the environment at all.
According to a psychotherapist, your constant yearning for soup is actually related to nostalgia; it’s heavily linked to emotion.
Stelios Kiosses, course director in culinary psychology at the University of Oxford, has argued that our need for soups, stews, and other autumnal dishes is connected to memories associated with the foods, rather than the meals themselves.
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“You're not just craving the soup itself, you're craving a feeling. Food taps into memory, emotion, and the desire to return to something joyful and familiar,” the expert determined.
"Winter foods are often steeped in memory. The scent of spices warming on the stove, the crackle of a fire, the first sip of something hot after coming in from the cold.”
Kiosses, whose work on his forthcoming book on culinary psychology has led him to this hypothesis, continued to say that for many, soup isn’t just ‘filling a hole’.
“All of these can transport us instantly… it's a flashback to cosy evenings, time spent with family, and the comforting rhythm of festive traditions. Think pumpkin picking as a child.”
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He explained to the Daily Post: "That's because our senses – especially smell and taste – are closely linked to the limbic system, the part of the brain involved in emotion and memory. When we eat certain foods, we're not just satisfying hunger, we're activating a whole emotional network.”
The educator admitted that home-cooked meals, like roast dinners, as well as seasonal fruits and vegetables, also make us feel more aligned with the season.
"So whether it's broccoli and stilton, a cream of tomato or ham and leek, whatever you're drawn to, don't overthink it. Just notice the story it's telling and enjoy it,” Kiosses added.
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If you’re stuck for soup inspiration, then why not take a leaf out of your favourite celebrity's cookbook?
Twilight actress Kristen Stewart swears by an unconventional tortilla soup, previously sharing the recipe with Vogue, while Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wrote about her pumpkin and lentil soup on her now-defunct blog, The Tig.
Black bean soup is the dealer's choice of Marvel star and beauty mogul Gwyneth Paltrow, and mum-of-three Reese Witherspoon loves making lentil soup in her slow cooker, according to Instagram.
Ella Scott