There's Not Mushroom In `Ere (Heinz Cream Of Mushroom Soup)

Member Name: Emmald

Product:	Heinz Cream Of Mushroom Soup
Date:	13/04/09 (103 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good satisfying soup

Disadvantages: None

Have you noticed how expensive a can of good soup is these days?
I would think that soup is one of the major players in anyone's store cupboard, more so during the winter months but it is increasingly difficult to find good soup that has a decent price tag attached to it.
If there are sufficient left-over vegetables and plenty of spare time I am more than happy to make a pot of soup but sometimes its just not going to work that way.
Heinz do have a good reputation for producing good hearty soups and to be perfectly honest they make one of the only baked beans that I enjoy too.

A 400g of Heinz cream of mushroom soup comes in at around 80p, they do produce a smaller tin but that would be a waste of time from my point of view, though for a single person with a small appetite it would be a good solution.
We have become so accustomed to the famous Heinz labelling now and can instinctively pick it out a mile away. The can has the warm and hearty red label that informs us that it contains a classic cream of mushroom soup. In pride of place on the front of the can Heinz have displayed a bowl of piping hot creamy looking mushroom soup.

Heinz have saved us from using the can opener and we are treated to a ring pull, it is beginning to show that we are becoming thoroughly spoilt as a nation and are taking ring pull cans for granted !
Lift the tab and slide the lid back, inside of the can the cream of mushroom soup definitely doesn't look its best, the lid that you are holding has a thick coating of mushroom soup which needs to be scraped off into the saucepan along with the contents of the can.
You notice that I say saucepan, I find that the soup heats far far better on the hob, the soup keeps its creaminess. If I microwave it within seconds I have all but lost that thick creamy texture.
Having scooped the thick soup out of the can and given the inside of the can a thorough run over with the spoon to clear all of the soup that is sticking to the sides I can then happily wash out the can and put it in the recycling box.

The cold mushroom soup still manages to have an appealing smell, a combination of mushrooms and spices maybe. In its cold state the mixture is very thick and looks quite glutinous.
You can just spot the odd flake of mushroom in the soup, I imagine that the remainder of the mushrooms have been blended into the mixture when it has been creamed.
Put the pan of soup onto the hob with a fairly low heat under it, if you heat the soup too quickly it does lose texture and flavour. Make sure that you keep an eye on the pan and take it off of the heat before it comes to boiling point, boiling the soup causes loss of flavour too.

The 400g can provides a snack for two, served with some crusty bread or a substantial meal for one.
As you pour the hot soup into the serving bowl you are treated to the mouth watering aroma of mushrooms, The soup that in its cold state had a glutinous appearance has transformed as it has been heated and when you see it in all of its glory in the serving bowl it looks thick and creamy.
It is just the right consistency to `spoon up`, I don't know about you but I love to dunk my bread into my soup and it coats the bread perfectly.
You can taste the mushrooms and sitting in the background is a slightly tangy spicy touch.

A half of the can contains 104 calories and I have just investigated the ingredients and noticed that the soup contains both yeast and spice extract, so this explains the `tang` in the background.
Heinz soup is free from artificial colours and preservatives.
The soup is fine for vegetarians though it does contain gluten, wheat and milk, I have just noticed that a half of the can contains 5.5g of fat.

A bowl of hot soup makes the perfect snack and Heinz have a good variety to offer.

Summary: A rich and creamy meal in a bowl.