If you're a fan of some of Campbell's Soups more out-of-the-ordinary varieties (such as Chicken Gumbo, Scotch Broth, and Pepper Pot) the photo at right will go a long way towards explaining why you can't find your favorites any more.
Fourteen spaces on that display are devoted to varieties of chicken noodle soup marketed directly to children. All of them are based on the same cheap and kind of nasty chicken broth and the only difference between them is the shape of the noodles. But because they are extremely inexpensive to produce and kids are highly susceptible to advertising, Campbell's has found them to be highly profitable.
Years ago, Campbell's outsourced the production of some costly soups to their Canadian division. Scotch Broth and Pepper Pot were two examples. But they began getting scarce in New England markets late last summer, until finally they became completely unavailable.
For now, Pepper Pot and Scotch Broth are still in production in Canada and available in supermarkets there. I don't know what happened to Chicken Gumbo.
Even my kids don't care for their soggy noodles and oversalted broth. I have trained them well :)
ReplyDeleteIs nothing sacred anymore? I tell you one thing. When Cream of Chicken, Cream of Shrimp, and Cream of Mushroom go out of vogue, there will be a LOT of recipes that won't work anymore.
ReplyDeleteThat display reminds me of the supermarket scene from Borat.
ReplyDeleteRe: "cream of" soups. I have made this recipe and it works pretty well: http://www.tammysrecipes.com/homemade_cream_chicken_soup
Has anyone tried the Pacific Natural Foods condensed soups yet?
I've found Pepper Pot at Big Lots every once in a while. Never heard of Scotch Broth, what's in that? The other favorite Campbells soup that is hard to find here - Won Ton. When I do find it the price is at least double if not more than what a regular can of soup is.
ReplyDeleteJerks! Iused to love the Wonton soup and the Gazpatcho and the Bean with Bacon
ReplyDelete