I bought a can of Amy’s (some kind of organic brand) soup the other day and I had it for lunch. It really seems to be about as good as you can expect for any kind of canned soup.
Why does all canned soup taste the same? My roommate seems to love the stuff, but I really did not enjoy it. It seems to have that same damn taste as Dinty Moore stew. You know what I mean? That weird canned taste? I’m sick of it, and all soup has that taste, it seems.
Really the only thing I like from a can would probably be tuna fish, but that is a different matter. That is simply expected to taste that way almost. Soup can be so good when it’s not from a can.
So that’s it. I’m not eating any more soups or stews from the can. I think I’d prefer freeze-dried soup to be honest. Anything to avoid that canned taste. I think I’d prefer to make my own soup or just get it from a restaurant.
I feel happy that I’ve finally come to that conclusion instead of eating bowl after unsatisfying bowl because I think i might enjoy it for once.
I find all canned soups bland and disgusting except for Archer Farms (Target’s generic brand). I like their vegetable soup. It has a lot of zing (salt? MSG?) and not that typically watery metallic taste.
I think it’s the MSG. I don’t hate Progresso as much as the rest, but they’ve gone downhill in recent years. I only eat them when canned soup is the only thing that will work (sick at work, usually).
I don’t care for canned vegetable and chicken soups. However, I think that the higher end canned split pea and bean soups can be pretty good. I’m making a big batch of ham and bean soup in the crockpot tomorrow. Just beans, water, celery, onion and ham hocks. My kids love it and it’s cheap and easy.
I used to really like Progresso’s tomato tortellini soup, but I haven’t been able to find it in the San Diego area.
Campbell’s Chunky “Beef with Country Vegetables” is pretty good. And you can get it in their microwave-ready containers, so no metallic can taste. However, the portion size is about one-third larger than an individual can’s portion, so I usually just divvy up several into proper-sized portions.
Good point. You guys are right in that certain soups seem to be better than other. The worst seem to be the “soupy” soups. Is that why you don’t see them in Trader Joe’s? Or does Trader Joes sell any kind of Chicken Noodle or Vegetable Soup? Because that’s what I like but it seems to be the worst from a can.
I’ve haven’t tried any carton soups but I have compared canned broth to cartons of broth and the cartons are much better, no tinny canned flavor. So I am guessing that cartons might taste a little better solely because they don’t have the tinny flavor.
I rather like the Campbell’s Healthy Choice Tomato with Garden Vegetables. The broth actually tastes to me like honest-to-god tomatoes rather than salt.
I concur with Wile E that the cartons have no metal and therefore no metallic flavor. TJs does indeed have canned chicken noodle soup, but there is not much of it in the can. It tastes okay.
The closer to broth the soup is, the better it is canned (ie, chicken noodle). The ‘creamier’ soups start to taste kind of gross, or any soup labled ‘hearty’. In the case of canned soup, simple = good.
Campbells had jarred soups a few years ago that tasted much better than the canned ones. They are gone now, mores the pity.
I find the key to great soup is make it from scratch. I have been surprised how easy it is. I made some black bean and ham soup this weekend that was really tasty.
Personally, I like the old favorites from Campbells, like cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and chicken noodle. But they are supposed to taste tinny, they always have.
Ooooh, I did discover something else last week. Aluminum free baking powder. It really does result in better, less metallic tasting baked goods.
Rats - I thought you were going to post recipes! I have a crock pot and it’s recently occurred to me that I could make a bunch of really tasty soups and freeze them, but I don’t even know where to begin - recipe sites have so many soups it’s intimidating.
The Knorr brand soups in a box are pretty good. I liked their butternut squash and their spicy tomato mixture. However, at 200Cal/box, it’s probably not enough for an at-work lunch.