Taste Sacrificed at the Altar of Convenience (Batchelors Cup-a-Soup)

Member Name: mattygroves10

Product:	Batchelors Cup-a-Soup
Date:	13/07/09 (121 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy, quick, convenient

Disadvantages: Salty, erzatz in flavour, very un-Minestrone like

There's nothing quite like a good Minestrone soup, is there? So chunky, it's nearly a stew, full of succulent vegetables, lots of tomato goodness, and small soup pasta, with maybe a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese over the top, this is a soup that is truly a warming and filling meal.

Sadly, Batchelor's Cup-a-Soup is nothing like a good Minestrone soup. Taste is sacrificed on the altar of convenience. Cup-a-Soup typically comes in a box containing four sachets. According to the back of the box (or it might be the side), you can also buy a big tub of this stuff - I can't imagine wanting to. Opening a sachet reveals rust red powder with tiny, freeze dried vegetables (the most recognisable of which being carrot), bitsy little croutons and equally tiny round 'pasta' (I use the word in its loosest sense) rings. There is an artificial tomato-y smell immediately apparent upon emptying the packet into your mug.

The instructions on the box are straightforward - the soup has (apparently) no artificial colour, and is suitable for vegetarians. Using a reasonably large mug (the box actually tells you to use 230ml of water, but I have never bothered to measure it out, I just make sure I use a biggish mug (if you don't, you'll end up with red gloop at the bottom of the mug - you may well end up with this anyway, no matter how well you stir), you empty the stuff into the mug, and then top with boiling water. The instructions tell you to wait a few minutes and then 'enjoy' (a direct order?!)

You really do need to stir quite a bit to avoid the aforementioned gloop. Once you've done so, the synthetic tomato smell becomes even stronger. The vegetables and pasta swell somewhat, but not a huge amount. Once the soup has cooled slightly (to avoid third degree burns to the roof of your mouth), the taste is predominantly salty (VERY salty), with the somewhat fake tasting tomato (now there really is a fair amount of dried tomato in this soup, according to the ingredients the soup, once reconstituted, contains 16% tomato). The colour is a rust red as expected, with a fair amount of suspended 'vegetables' and pasta. There is a slightly bitter aftertaste, especially as you near the bottom of the mug (where that sludge sits). The soup has been thickened (with, amongst other things, potato starch) and sweetened, so the consistency, whilst not syrupy (at least until the gloop at the bottom of the mug), is slightly thicker than water or powdered stock. The vegetables and pasta don't really have any mouth feel at all, though the croutons do provide crunch, and at least give the illusion of eating more than dried, reconstituted vegetable extract.

You may, by now, have worked out I'm not a fan. However, I do have the odd Cup-a-Soup. They are undeniably convenient and quick. They fill a hole when you are in a hurry, and have no other cooking appliances or utensils than what is often found in an office - a kettle, a mug and a spoon. Because of their heat, they take a while to eat, so may fool you into thinking you've consumed more calories than you have (and, for the record, if you've finished your soup, you've had around 90 calories). However, you may well be thirsty when you are done, as one serving contains a whopping .72g of sodium - that's a full 12% of your daily allowance.

If you have the time and inclination, you'd be better off making a batch of good Minestrone soup, to a recipe that you fancy, and then freezing them in lunchtime quantities (assuming, of course, you have a microwave at work). Alternatively, a cup of low-salt Marigold stock with maybe some noodles thrown in will be far tastier and equally as convenient.

Recommended only for dire need!

Summary: A quick and convenient snack, that tastes fairly vile. Your call, really.