The supermarket soup aisle continues to expand, with ever-increasing varieties and easier preparation. For this tasting, we chose a classic flavor, tomato, with an eye toward convenience: All eight soups are ready to heat from the container, with no additional water or milk required.
We were surprised to find so many organic options. In past tastings, organic contenders have not fared so well, but the drought ends here. Pacific and Amy’s, the top two finishers, are both organic. Third place went to a familiar name, Campbell’s.
Tasters sought an authentic tomato flavor with a good balance of seasoning and salt. The “creaminess” touted by all of the soups we tried was supplied by various ingredients: cream, milk powder, milk; it’s worth noting that last-place finisher, Imagine Natural Organic Creamy Tomato, contains no milk products.
Products are scored on a scale of 1 to 9, with 9 being highest. Prices are based on what we paid for them at the store and may reflect sales or discounts from frequent-shopper cards. Price-per ounce is rounded off to the nearest cent. Here are the winners, with tasters’ comments. The remaining soups are listed in order of finish.
And the winners are . . .
1. Pacific Organic Creamy Tomato (6.2 points. 32-ounce package, $2.89; 9 cents per ounce.) “Deep, intense tomato flavor.” “Cooked flavor but creamy and soothing.” “Tomato is there, but masked by sugar and salt.”
2. Amy’s Organic Cream of Tomato (5.3 points. 14-ounce can, $1.75; 13 cents per ounce.) “Plain, simple, sweet; good for cooking with.” “Sweet! But with balancing acid and good tomato taste.” “Overwhelming thickness, underwhelming flavor.”
3. Campbell’s Ready to Serve Creamy Tomato (5 points. 32-ounce jar, $2.79; 9 cents per ounce.) “Sweet tomato flavor, almost buttery aroma.” “Sweet with tomato balance; very sweet finish.” “Almost cloyingly sweet.”
Others tasted
4. Baxter’s Cream of Tomato (4.9 points). 5. ShariAnn’s Organic Cream of Tomato (4.3). 6. (tie) Healthy Choice Creamy Tomato, Progresso Creamy Tomato (3.8). 7. Imagine Natural Organic Creamy Tomato (3).
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