No Soup For You!

I tend to eat a lot of soup in the winter when the weather is cold outside. Since graduating from Ramen Noodles in college to actual soup a few years ago my soup buying habits haven't changed much. I buy Progresso soup, cause it tastes so good. My standing favorites are Chicken Noodle and Chicken Rice but I have been known to buy Clam Chowder, Italian Wedding Soup and even Minestrone if the mood strikes.

There is a bit of a soup war going on right now between Campbell's and Progresso. They have been trading barbs in their TV ads about MSG. Your soups have MSG and ours don't, blah, blah, blah. I decided to try the Campbell's Select soups after seeing one of their ads saying their soup is MSG free, so the ads worked on me.

Soup was on sale at Giant (not my trailrunning cousin, the local grocery store I patronize) last week. In fact both brands were on sale, so I decided to have a little taste test to see which I preferred better. Progresso was 2 for $5 and the Campbell's Select was 2 for $4. 1 point for Campbell's! I bought cans of Chicken Noodle and Chicken Rice from both brands.

Upon closer inspection back at the ranch the Campbell's cans are taller but they are also skinnier. They hold 18.6 ounces of soup while the Progresso cans hold 19.0 ounces. 1 point for Progresso! Skimming over the ingridients did indeed show that both Progresso soups contained MSG and neither Campbell's soup contained it. 1 point for Campbell's!

Now the good stuff - the taste test. I started with the Campbell's Chicken Noodle. Poured it in a pot, threw in some minute rice and heated it up on the stove and waited for it to cool. The first taste was...hot! Got to let it cool some more. Once I could wolf it down I really wasn't that impressed with it. I thought it was too bland. It just didn't have the flavor the TV commericals promised. Next was the Progresso Chicken Noodle which I have been eating for years. No comparison here. Progresso wins hands down. It was much more flavorful and hearty. 1 point for Progresso!

A few days later I tried the Chicken Rice soups, starting with Progresso. Same routine - pour, rice, heat, wait. The Campbell's Chicken Rice was very close in taste to the Progresso Chicken Rice. The Progresso seemed to have more chicken in it, the Campbell's had more carrots. I would give Progresso the edge here but by the slimest of margins. 1 point for Progresso!

Final score: Progresso 3, Campbell's 2.

My conclusion is that you get what you pay for and MSG stands for "Makes Soup Good".

Mood: Satiated.

Cheezy Pick Up Line of the Day:

Are you from Mars? Cause your ass is out of this world!

Random Movie Quote:

"We just get Miami Wice on television. Miami Wice is number one new show!" - Eurotrip