HALLOWEEN WARMTH IN A SPOON. (Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup)

Member Name: thingywhatsit

Product:	Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup
Date:	03/10/06 (352 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superbly easy to prepare, delicious to taste.

Disadvantages: I can't discover the recipe myself.

The evenings are getting cooler, and it's the time of year that you think of warmer treats. “Trick or treat ?” ask the children as they mischievously look through the windows to see if anyone is home. Not here. I found a neat trick for a Winters' evening. Open a tin of Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup, pour it into a pan, making sure not to waste any by rinsing the tin with a little water, and simmer. It's thick, it's creamy and the taste of spicy tomato is unmistakeably good. Campbells tried to make a tomato soup that compared in price, and even beat Heinz at times, although they never quite got the recipe right. I love this soup. I buy it here in France much dearer than you would be expected to pay in the UK at 1.99 Euros and believe me, for me, it's a taste of home, and worth every penny.

As you stir the gently simmering soup, you cannot help but notice its' thick and creamy consistency, and nor can you help your taste buds actually going into overdrive although the aroma in the cooking stages is really not that recognisable or special. The anticipation is. Heinz got it right, and here have stuck to the original recipe which is a good idea. It has no additives and is 84 per cent tomatoes which can't be bad, the other ingredients being rather vague which I suspect to be intentional on the part of a manufacturer that wants to keep their ingredients a secret. Extracts of herbs and spices doesn't tell you much about which ones were used and try as I may to copy their recipe, believe me, after years of trying, my home made soups come nowhere near the taste and savour of this stuff.

For those concerned with healthy diet, the tin (400g) contains rather a large proportion of your daily need in salt at 1.4g of the recommended 6g daily intake. You really cannot taste salt, but you do taste a wonderful mixture of tomato laced with something that you cannot quite put a name to but delicious enough to make you want to wipe the dish clean with a nice piece of bread. Nutritionally, the soup contains quite a high calorific value and here Heinz cheat a bit by telling you the calories for 100g at 57kcals, but let's face it, who is going to eat a quarter of a can. I find this size is actually not enough for two ample portions and a little piggy for one person, although it's a rarity in my diet and a treat and I manage to polish off the whole tin in one sitting. Fat, fibre and sodium are in smaller quantities and are of little concern, even if like me, you are on a low fat diet. The only concern for those purchasing this product would be that it is not to be eaten by those with dairy food intolerance, since it does contain milk. This also affects its storage once opened, although my tin gets consumed the same day, though could be left chilled for two days maximum.

The kids are out tricking or treating. The doorbell goes, but I did my trick earlier and closed the shutters, and am now in the middle of my treat, steaming hot soup that remains unchanged in recipe and still satisfies the taste buds enough to sit back and enjoy every spoonful.

Rachel

Summary: Souper !