If you keep up-to-date on food trends, you know all about bone broth. If you don’t keep up-to-date on food trends, you probably have a lot more free time than I do. Bone broth is essentially soup made from boiling bones long enough to release the collagen/marrow inside to create a super rich stock. It’s a subset of the Paleo Diet, which encourages people to live like cavemen and there’s nothing that says “Caveman” more than a pot of water flavored with bones. The amazing thing is that people are treating it as a health trend. It’s not. People have been making rich, intense stocks for centuries. Tonkotsu ramen broth in Japan is made from pork bones simmered for 60 hours. Matzo ball soup with chicken stock has been known as “Jewish Penicillin” pretty much since Penicillin was introduced to the world.

In California, Belcampo Meat Co. is charging $5 for a 12 oz. cup of bone broth. Marco Cannora, of New York’s Hearth Restaurant and Terroir Wine Bar, opened a to-go window attached to Hearth called “Brodo” that only serves bone broth. It’s been a massive hit in the two months since it opened.

Perhaps the biggest evidence that this trend is about to get even bigger is that it has a celebrity endorser. Kobe Bryant claims that he regularly consumes bone broth and it’s been the key to his longevity in the NBA. In a story on ESPN.com, Bryant credits the liquid gold for helping him recover faster from injuries and boosting his energy on game days.

“I’ve been doing the bone broth for a while now,” Bryant said. “It’s great – energy, inflammation. It’s great.”

Sandra Padilla, the chef for the Lakers, starts making the soup at 5 a.m. on game days so it’ll be ready for Kobe and the other players before tip-off. Read the whole ESPN.com story if you want to get a sense of how the Lakers are using bone broth (despite the fact that it doesn’t seem to be helping them win games).

We’re still in the early stages of the bone broth revolution, but it’s safe to say that the trend is going to keep growing all winter long and possibly well into the future. Will airport restaurants start offering bone broth to weary travelers as a pick-me-up? I wouldn’t be surprised one bit.

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