Campbell's Creme de Champignons Sauvages

[Jenise]

A confession: since I was a small child, I have loved Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup. Particularly for breakfast--or make that brunch, since I typically have my first meal late in the morning between 10 and 11 a.m. As an adult I usually doctor it, but to be honest it's perfectly fine just plain, made with less milk than the can reccomends and lots of ground black pepper. There's always a can or two in the pantry for those emergency days when there's nothing else about for me to eat and a mid-morning warmup sounds good.

And so it was that I was grabbing some groceries on the other side of the border the other day and discovered Campbell's Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup (my label's in French). I've never seen it on this side.

I just had it for breakfast, and here's the news: it's good. The mushrooms chunks in it vary in mouthfeel: I guessed shitake and oyster or straw mushrooms--several pieces had that slithery feel. But the label only owns up to crimini and shitake (not that crimini qualifies as wild in my book). It's definitely more complex than the original, and there's a bold beefy flavor to it. For those of you who cannot face Thanksgiving without that green bean dish, if you can find this product you'd be very pleased with the substitution.

And if you're just an idiot like me who sometimes stoops to canned soup, then this is something to look for, too.

Both Janet and I love Campbell's cream of mushroom and cream of celery soups -- especially good in simple noodle casseroles. Another addiction revealed on FLDG!

And, it's interesting how many different types of mushroom soup are offered by Campbell's of Canada, at least five according to their website. I've only seen two types here -- mushroom and low fat/low sodium.

It's the sodium that the killer in our house -- 860 mg per serving according to the Canadian label:

http://64.40.110.103/fr/products/conden ... prod_id=57

How would you duplicate their soup without the salt, Jenise? Or isn't it possible to do so? [I've tried with a couple of me-too recipes and although the results were good, they don't quite capture Campbell's Magic.

Regards, Bob

There's a great independant supermarket / dept store in a small town near us which stocks some german soups. Not cheap but wild mushroom, game and venison soups have been stunning.

Might have a go at home-made sometime

regards

Ian

[Jenise]

Ian, there's nothing like home-made. But home-made isn't ready in five minutes, alas, and sometimes one needs that.

Bob, agreed, the celery is the one I buy in addition to mushroom. And the salt IS oppressive, but the low sodium versions taste odd. The only to get rid of the salt is through dilution--if I have an extra fifteen minutes I'll often add a rounded tblsp of flour to almost two cans of milk, and bulk it out flavorwise with a few shakes of Worcestershire, a dash of nutmeg, white and black peppers and dill. Sometimes I saute some onions first in a bit of butter to set up a roux, too.

Thanks, I was afraid you'd write that. I love the stuff right out of the can -- it will remain a preferred dish when Janet is out and about.

[Jenise]

There you go. Take it straight like a man. And drink two quarts of water. (And you were complaining about the sodium?)

I love salt Jenise -- it's my only customer who has a problem with it.

When I was a kid, we were taught never to eat stuff out of cans, especially the very top where bad bacteria were said to grow. Folks were said to die if they tasted the stuff at the top to see if it was ok -- usually by sticking their finger into it if memory serves.

In any event, every time I open a can of Campbells and pig out I think about that speech. The memory has never dissuaded me -- somehow the soup tastes just as great as I remembered from all the previous times.

I've been following all the salt discussions on FLDG and trying every new favorite that appears. Don't use much, but I like to keep my hand in, as it were.