During the blustery winter months we crave hot chocolate or a bowl of hot soup. During the sizzling summer months, it's ice tea, lemonade or thirst-quenching, hunger-quenching, nourishing gazpacho soup we want.

Gazpacho is a cold, uncooked vegetable or fruit soup made with water, moistened bread, tomatoes, red or green peppers, onions, cucumbers, garlic, fruit such as melon, with salt, oil and vinegar added. It was traditionally made by pounding garlic cloves and soaked stale bread into a bowl (dornillo). Water and cut vegetables or fruit and especially ripe tomatoes were then added, making for a refreshingly cool meal enjoyed by harvesters working under the hot summer sun. Today, though, the ingredients are usually poured into a blender or a food processor to make a smooth or chunky textured soup

Gazpacho has a long history. Roman soldiers would carry dried bread, garlic, vinegar, salt and olive oil to make an early form of the soup. But it was in Andalucia in southern Spain that gazpacho became popularized. From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Spain had been controlled by Ottomans and Moors from Morocco. Entering Spain, these Arabic people brought with them Apo Blanco, a white soup made with bread, almonds, garlic, vinegar, olive oil and salt. With the discovery of America and the conquest of Mexico, peppers and tomatoes from the Andes were introduced into Southern Spain. The red peppers and tomatoes gave gazpacho its characteristic red color.

Gazpacho soup is not only red but can be white or even green, depending upon locality and ingredients used. Red gazpacho will contain tomatoes while white gazpacho will contain dried fruits such as peeled almonds. Green gazpacho contains added spices and green vegetables and herbs. Varieties of gazpacho soup, therefore, truly abound. In Cordoba, for example, red gazpacho is a thick, creamy soup made without water but with ripe tomatoes added to the basic ingredients of bread, garlic, oil, vinegar and salt. Garnishments such as chopped almonds and cumin might be added. Interestingly, variations of gazpacho soup within Cordoba and within each of Andalusia's provinces exist, differing in ingredients used as well as texture and consistency. In fact, individual families within a community might prepare gazpacho soup differently from each other, adding various vegetables, fruits, meats and garnishments to the common basic ingredients.

Whatever the ingredients, gazpacho is a healthy soup rich in minerals, antioxidants, fiber and in vitamins C, A and E. Red tomatoes, for example, are high in carotenoids such as lycopene and beta-carotene, antioxidants that can prevent prostate cancer, high blood pressure and eye problems. Other brightly-colored fruits and vegetables used in preparing gazpacho soup also contain carotenoids which may serve as anti-inflammatory agents.

Gazpacho, once relegated to southern Spain, is now a widely popular soup, refreshing in the hot summer months, but also enjoyable in the cold winter months—that is, when eaten indoors. Although best tasting in the summer months when tomatoes are most ripe and most flavorful, it surely is a soup for all seasons.

For more information on the history of gazpacho soup along with various recipes for its preparation, a Google search will yield fine results. In The New York Public Library's online catalog, checking under the subject SOUPS will reveal many books under the call number 641.813. Although none of these books are entirely on gazpacho soup, most of them will have information on its history along with recipes. One can also check the subject COOKING, SPANISH which will reveal many titles under the call number 641.5946. Some fine examples are:

• Soup of the Day: 150 Delicious and Comforting Recipes from Our Favorite Restaurants, by Ellen Brown
• The Cuisines of Spain: Exploring Regional Home Cooking, by Teresa Barrenechea
• The Food of Spain by Claudia Roden

Many databases can yield journal articles on gazpacho soup, its history and its health benefits. Try EBSCOhost, a database that offers general as well as scholarly articles on gazpacho soup. A popular Spanish refrain: "De gazpacho no hay empacho" (One can never have too much of a good thing.)