New soups have more refined flavor but you pay for it
Campbell’s soup has grown up.
You won’t think kid-soup concentrate when you open the packages of the new Campbell’s Select Gold Label soups. The flavors are far more sophisticated: Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato; Golden Butternut Squash; Blended Red Pepper and Black Bean; Creamy Portobello Mushroom; and Italian Tomato with Basil and Garlic. They don’t even come in a can. The soups are sold in a vacuum-sealed square box.
The Spokesman-Review reader food panel members couldn’t agree on whether they liked the soups. Some loved them, while others panned the effort. The one thing everyone agreed on was that the price was too high.
The soups sell for $3.19. Each package contains two 1-cup servings. There’s no preparation required other than heating it.
“(It) tastes better than even homemade tomato soup! The seasoning is absolutely perfect and they used remarkable restraint with the salt shaker,” Tina Johnson said after tasting the Italian Tomato with Basil and Garlic.
Larry Inman agreed, “Please… give me about a quart of this and a handful of saltines and I’m good for dinner. Unfortunately, (it’s) overpriced.”
But Donald Clegg was unimpressed.
“One-note flavor that works well enough for what it is but not worth paying money for,” he said.
Some tasters had trouble identifying the main ingredient of the Butternut Squash Soup. Despite that, most gave it high marks for texture.
“Nice and creamy with just the right amount of spice. The subtle squash flavor makes it a perfect, light first course,” Skip Hubbard said.
Others said it wasn’t worth eating if you can’t taste the squash.
The tasters were similarly conflicted over the Creamy Portobello Mushroom soup.
“Yummy mushroom soup with a creamy consistency that is not the least bit gluey,” Johnson said.
That was not true for Peggy Kazanis. “(It) has a glue-like texture to it and a pasty color, but it was fairly edible,” she said.
Hubbard liked the soup and even thought his kids might like it, too.
“Fantastic mushroom flavor and itty, bitty pieces of mushrooms, just small enough to get in under the kids’ radar,” he said.
Overall, the soups received three stars from the panel members, although the Italian Tomato Soup eked out another half star.
Campbell’s Select Gold Label Golden Butternut Squash soup
Price: $3.19 for 18.2 ounces
Nutrition per 1-cup serving: 90 calories, 1.5 grams fat (1 gram saturated, 15 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 17 grams carbohydrate, 5 milligrams cholesterol, 3 grams dietary fiber, 750 milligrams sodium.
Taste: • • •
Value: • 1/2
Comments: “Perhaps a little bacon or small ham chunks would improve it even more, but it’s very good as served. Unfortunately, (it’s) overpriced.” – Larry Inman
“Nice creamy texture, pleasing yellow ochre … absolutely zero flavor.” – Donald Clegg
“Nice and creamy with just the right amount of spice. The subtle squash flavor makes it a perfect, light first course.” – Skip Hubbard
Campbell’s Select Gold Label Italian Tomato with Garlic and Basil
Price: $3.19 for 18.2 ounces
Nutrition per 1-cup serving: 90 calories, .5 grams fat (no saturated fat, 5 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 19 grams carbohydrate, less than 5 milligrams cholesterol, 3 grams dietary fiber, 820 milligrams sodium.
Taste: • • • 1/2
Value: • •
Comments: “Good tomato taste with some nice spices.” – Matt Quesnell
“Pleasant, but too expensive.” – Andy Hoye
“A heartwarming soup. Winter is coming and this soup could warm you up.” – Peggy Kazanis
Campbell’s Select Gold Label Creamy Portobello Mushroom
Price: $3.19 for 18.2 ounces
Nutrition per 1-cup serving: 100 calories, 4 grams fat (3 grams saturated, 36 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 14 grams carbohydrate, 10 milligrams cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber, 790 milligrams sodium.
Taste: • • •
Value: • •
Comments: “Yummy mushroom soup with a creamy consistency that is not the least bit gluey.” – Tina Johnson
“I really enjoyed this soup. Thick and creamy with a good flavor.” – Matt Quesnell
“Perhaps the ugliest gray I’ve ever seen, with an unappealing bland flavor to match. What a waste of mushrooms.” – Donald Clegg
“I could only muster two bites of this mushroom soup. Are you sure it isn’t toadstool?” – Marilyn Moore