Whenever I open a can of Campbell’s soup I check the label to make sure I just didn’t open a can of dog food. They always smell awful and don’t taste much better. The vegetables usually look like they’ve been in a rock tumber for the better part of a month. Progresso isn’t much better. Anyone know of a decent canned or jarred soup?
I actually like the Chunky soups. I haven’t bought a can of plain Campbells in years though (except for “cream of…” to add to casseroles, etc.)
There are some good soup mixes that you can add your own touches to; they’re usually on the upper shelf with the broth cubes, etc. Safeway makes some that are pretty good in a pinch: a couple potato and bean soups you can add ham or veggies or whatever to.
Soup is of course pretty darn easy to make from scratch. You can make up a big ol pot and freeze it in smaller portions you know, then you won’t have any excuses!
I heart Progresso soups. Campbells tastes too salty and too…ick. Progresso is great, though. I love the chicken & wild rice.
StG
I’ve gone over to powdered soups. I order mine online. There’s this place called Ed Foods that’s out of Canada. They make some darn good soups. Everything from a very yummy cream of three mushroom to chicken veloute and leek-and-potato chowder.
I don’t know if you can get these in your world but Wolfgang Puck’s Soup Line is excellent.
IMHO pretty much anything smells like dog food when you first open the can, but they get better heated up.
Some flavors are better than others, too. Campbells has one, in one of their “don’t add water” lines, called Italian Wedding Meatball, that I like.
Progresso has a lot more flavors than many stores carry… in upstate New York they carried some forty-odd kinds, but in Texas I’ve never seen more than about twenty. Maybe you need to upgrade your grocery store?
I never just eat a can of soup all naked ‘n’ stuff. I add spices like garlic powder or oregano and basil and ground chipotle or a few drops of Tabasco or liquid smoke or Worchestershire sauce or something.
You can get decent frozen soups some places. I think there’s an ethnic Jewish brand called “Tabatchnik” that’s pretty good, though I haven’t had any for years.
Good luck in your noble quest, fellow Doper!
I like Campbell’s Garlic Herb Tomato. I cook some couscous and mix it with the soup. Yum.
Otherwise, I make my own. That’s the only canned soup I’ll eat.
Progresso French Onion Soup is mighty nice. It’s made with chicken stock instead of the usual beef.
I’m not a soup person. In fact I find very little purpose for soup. For me, it has to be thick, nearly stew. Little pieces of food in a bowl of water is not a meal. When I go with canned, I go Chunky. I love their clam chowder and bean with ham, and a few others are pretty tasty too, without that nasty aluminum foil taste.
The two exceptions to thick soup are a really good french onion soup, which you simply cannot find in a can or in most restaurants, and the classic chicken noodle by Campbells. Heat it up, throw in a ton of pepper, throw the noodles away and pour it into a big mug. Perfect cold day drink.
Whatever you do, do NOT try Campbell’s soup in the can that is “drinkable”. I tried two types, and it was a thoroughly disgusting experience in both cases. There is something unnatural about drinking soup with little chunks of vegetables out of a can. Yuck!
I second Wolfgang Puck’s. Old Fashioned Vegetable (or something like that) is my absolute favorite!
You might like the Campbell’s soup in the plastic bottles better. But you might not.
Have you thought about making your own soups and freezing portions?