It’s surprisingly difficult to find soup that isn’t chock full of nasty stuff. I just want some veggies and maybe a bit of meat in broth or some kind of chili. Why is that so difficult for companies to make?
Because it doesn’t last long in cans. All the extra ingredients are to keep the appearance and taste stable. Meats and starches are particularly hard to safely can without preservatives.
You honestly don’t need them though. If you pressure can homemade chicken soup yourself (don’t water can meat or starches, but pressure canning is the same thing with different equipment and not very difficult), the quality loss you have over two years is negligible. It’s possible that the meat gets a little tougher, but it’s honestly surprising how little it’s affected by 90 minutes of superheating.
You only use them if the only things you care about are consistency and price.
My heart goes out to those without the knowledge, skill or time to make their own. Great healthy soup is not hard to make. Relatively easy, cheap and with litteral food scraps. 99% of the time requirement is just an unattended pot simmering, with just a wee bit of chopping, tasting as you do and ammending.
If anyone is on a very tight budget, you can go a long way for cheap with:
beans and rice
pulse dishes
soups!
Some important ingredients in a good soup include bones (boil 'em for the broth - beef, pork, chicken, soup company EVP, whatever). Diced carrots, celery and salt and voila! You have an amazing versatile soup base.
Everything else is optional and to taste. Throw in beans, groats, herbs, spices, mushrooms, meats, rice, fish sauce, sirracha, chillies whatever is cheap and available. You can buy from the “almost spoiled” discount section of the grocery because you’ll never notice diced up in a soup. You can also dress it up fancy with premium ingredients for a treat and variety.
Old canned and frozen foods are also great in soups.
An instant pot is a great investment. Tons of recipes online, so much easier and faster than tending to something on the stovetop, you don’t have to soak the beans, etc.
$0.96 is pretty damn cheap and I don’t need to make any extra effort for all the protein I need for the night. I wish I had time and energy to cook more often, but I really appreciate having affordable options like this. If I was single I would be eating very cheaply with very little effort.
Generic store brands are better and more affordable. But any canned soup with High Fructose Corn Syrup is horrible for you.
It’s surprisingly difficult to find soup that isn’t chock full of nasty stuff. I just want some veggies and maybe a bit of meat in broth or some kind of chili. Why is that so difficult for companies to make?
Because it doesn’t last long in cans. All the extra ingredients are to keep the appearance and taste stable. Meats and starches are particularly hard to safely can without preservatives.
You honestly don’t need them though. If you pressure can homemade chicken soup yourself (don’t water can meat or starches, but pressure canning is the same thing with different equipment and not very difficult), the quality loss you have over two years is negligible. It’s possible that the meat gets a little tougher, but it’s honestly surprising how little it’s affected by 90 minutes of superheating.
You only use them if the only things you care about are consistency and price.
My heart goes out to those without the knowledge, skill or time to make their own. Great healthy soup is not hard to make. Relatively easy, cheap and with litteral food scraps. 99% of the time requirement is just an unattended pot simmering, with just a wee bit of chopping, tasting as you do and ammending.
If anyone is on a very tight budget, you can go a long way for cheap with:
beans and rice
pulse dishes
soups!
Some important ingredients in a good soup include bones (boil 'em for the broth - beef, pork, chicken, soup company EVP, whatever). Diced carrots, celery and salt and voila! You have an amazing versatile soup base.
Everything else is optional and to taste. Throw in beans, groats, herbs, spices, mushrooms, meats, rice, fish sauce, sirracha, chillies whatever is cheap and available. You can buy from the “almost spoiled” discount section of the grocery because you’ll never notice diced up in a soup. You can also dress it up fancy with premium ingredients for a treat and variety.
Old canned and frozen foods are also great in soups.
An instant pot is a great investment. Tons of recipes online, so much easier and faster than tending to something on the stovetop, you don’t have to soak the beans, etc.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Bean-with-Bacon-Condensed-Soup-11-25-oz/10316792
$0.96 is pretty damn cheap and I don’t need to make any extra effort for all the protein I need for the night. I wish I had time and energy to cook more often, but I really appreciate having affordable options like this. If I was single I would be eating very cheaply with very little effort.
That is pretty cheap. You can probably make better for less in bulk.