When Did This Happen? - Bacon Soup

As a big (in all senses) bacon fan, I thought I'd have noticed this. Saw it in a store recently and thought it might be worth a taste.

Anyone had it?

[Jenise]

Nope! But then you get a lot of flavors up there that we don't get down here. And vice versa, I'm sure--regional specialties and all that.

Maybe go with that instead of half of the cream of mushroom soup in a tuna noodle casserole?? Sounds like it would be a bit much to eat on its own.

Never had it and I don't even think I've seen it. I think it was released in Aug 2016: http://www.marketingmag.ca/consumer/campbells-revamps-condensed-soup-products-180890

And two new broths:

Mushroom Broth is infused with mushrooms and hints of cabernet sauvignon and permeated with the classic combination of rosemary and thyme, while Pho Broth is a traditional broth featuring the savoury flavours of ingredients such as ginger and star anise.

Hmmm - chilled pho broth shots with a shot of cooking brandy?

[Jenise]

I'm going to have to stare hard at the Campbell's display next time I'm at the store, while thinking it likely I'm not going to see much that strikes me as different (my region isn't a land of adventurous eaters).

But one of the fun things about moving here was staring at the offerings on your side of the border, Bill. You guys don't just have Cream of Mushroom, you have Cream of Wild Mushroom (Champignons Sauvage!). And there was a weird yellow pea soup. Yes, I confess, I tried both. Thumbs up on the mushroom, thumbs down, way down, on the yellow pea.

You guys don't just have Cream of Mushroom, you have Cream of Wild Mushroom (Champignons Sauvage!). And there was a weird yellow pea soup. Yes, I confess, I tried both. Thumbs up on the mushroom, thumbs down, way down, on the yellow pea.

That's Habitant pea soup and its French Canadian - neither the language nor cuisine is up to their mother country - poutine???? I ask you.

[Jenise]

So thinking about your Bacon soup I went to the Campbell's website to determine what other new things are in the lineup that might reflect our country's changing taste, and actually didn't find much (beyond the large lineup of Disney-related soups, which I've never noticed before). Three notable (to me) things:

1. No Cream of Bacon soup in the U.S., but
2. But we do have Chicken and Won Ton now, in light of our large Asian population, and
3. They got rid of one of childhood favorites, Scotch Broth.

[Jenise]

Oops, meant to include this link to anyone else curious.

https://www.campbells.com/campbell-soup/our-soups/

Nah, I always go with Kirkland Signature and not thinking of changing it either. I just love it.

I once again throw myself under the culinary bus in pursuit of truth!

Picked up a tin of this today and had it for lunch.

I once offered the flippant comment that bacon would make library paste taste good. I never expected to actually test it out. Now I know the answer - it makes it taste better than it does without bacon, but it doesn't make it taste good.

Imagine Campbell's cream of mushroom soup with no mushroom flavour nor bits - library paste but without the flavour interest - neutral white glop. Add bacon bits like you'd see at a salad bar (I believe it is real bacon, at least) and you get a very slightly smoky hint plus the pleasure of eating the odd miniscule fragment of bacon.

I really think this stuff must have been meant for casserole recipes - make some macaroni elbows, shred some Velveeta over it and dump a can of this stuff on top. Yum.....enough said. You have been warned!

[Jenise]

I bought and tried one, too. Was not impressed. Tasted more to me like the ransid bacon FAT left behind in the pan than the excellence of real bacon meat. HOWEVER, I added it to some sautéed onions and seasoned it with vermouth, garlic and dried cilantro, then thickened it and poured it over sliced potatoes and topped the gratin with a smoked pork chop and baked it. The result was divine. But that soup was the least important part--all I did was figure out a way to not waste it.

I have to say that I've pretty well given up hope of finding any commercial soups that I really *like*. Most of them seem to have a vaguely metallic, "industrial" flavour. Also too much of some food-related flavour that might be allspice but probably isn't. No matter what variety of soup it is.

Currently, there is one commercial soup that the Francophile and I can bear to keep in the cupboard for emergency lunches and *not* mind eating: Heinz Soup of the Day Chicken & Corn Chowder, which comes in a 430g sachet. The flavour is ok but the consistency is a bit jelly-ish. Something like crazy-glue.

I have an emergency can of Progresso. Right now, it's clam chowder, but sometimes it's chicken noodle.

[Jenise]

My emergency can is Campbell's Cream of Celery. But I never make it without adding stuff, at the very least dried chives.

My no brainer dinner for my wife when neither of us wants to think, much less cook, is 'Wifesaver'.

Saute up a pound of ground beef, drain, add frozen peas and/or corn and maybe some chopped sauteed onions, some spicing (I like cumin, she likes curry) and then dump in a tin of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup, stir and serve.

You may laugh, but I assure you it hath charms to soothe the savage breast.

(Pedantic footnote - that quote is fro Congreve, and is one of the most commonly misquoted passages - usually rendering breast as beast. Oddly enough, he also wrote one of the other most commonly misquoted phrases in the same work - Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned / Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.” which is almost always chopped up and reassembles as "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" Wonder what poor Congreve did to be misquoted so often?

Pardon me for being exact about language, but it just grates when I see stuff twisted to no good end, or sometimes completely changing the original meaning. As in the Bible: "Love of money is the root of all evil" becoming "Money is the root of all evil.)

[Jenise]

Hmm...no reason that wouldn't taste perfectly good. I actually don't have a Wifesaver. I mean, there are times when I wish I didn't have to cook, but I don't have any standard way out of that hole. Not one. I usually just put a little less effort into dinner than I otherwise might.

You can vary it tremendously with different veg or spices and it is quick and satisfying.

Not such a big deal since I retired but we still fall back on it once or twice month. And she can always take leftovers and make herself a lunch with rice or pasta.

[Jenise]

My celery soup emergency is never dinner, it's breakfast on a cold day or lunch when combined with a can of chopped clams. But only for me (Bob can't eat clams) so now that Bob's retired and I have to feed two, that basically doesn't happen anymore.

Otherwise I'm like a 24 hour restaurant here--I don't get to close! Hopefully, even what feels like a lazy day meal to me never comes across to Bob as same. There are almost no repeat meals. Even things that are similar concepts, say tacos, something we LOVE, only comes around about once every six months and it's never exactly the same as the last time.