20 October, 2011

Chef's Cupboard Canned Broths by ALDI

I'm not a big fan of canned broths - most of them taste like salty, flavorless water.  Nevertheless, there are times when I don't have the time or enthusiasm to make broth or stock from scratch and have to use a prepared product.  For the past few months, that product has been Chef's Cupboard, the house brand sold by ALDI.

I discovered it completely by accident.  Last winter, I went on a make-my-own-doggie-treat kick.  Most recipes for homemade dog treats are basically low-sugar cookies that use beef or chicken broth for flavoring.  As much as I love my dogs, there was no way I was going to use expensive Wolfgang Puck organic roasted chicken broth to make dog treats.  So I started looking for a cheap alternative, and that led me to ALDI, because virtually every time I've bought an ALDI brand of anything, it's been great.  And there, right by the soups at the local ALDI, was Chef's Cupboard chicken broth and beef broth.  I picked up a couple cans of each and went home to make the dog biscuits.

And of course, I couldn't resist taking a sip of each of the broths as I used them.  

Damn.  They were good.

Since then, I've used both the chicken and the beef broths a few times, always with good results. You can use them straight up to make a quick soup, or pour them into a dutch oven for three hours of braising a batch of short ribs (the broths don't have so much salt that a long cooking time makes your dish too salty to eat.)

So, I guess you could call this a combination review and recommendation.  It's yet another good, solid, inexpensive product from ALDI.

5 comments:

Jeff the ALDI Shopper said...

Hey Dave,

Just found your blog - fabulous! And good to see you share the ALDI love!

I agree with you on the Chef's Cupboard beef and chicken broths. I was amazed at how good they were the first time I tried them. I tell you, Aldi really has their shtuff together these days, they're getting better all the time!

If you haven't already, try the Fit & Active chicken broth - it has even less salt, and still tastes great. I'm using it in all my recipes that call for chicken broth.

I might even try making my own dog treats - do you have a good, basic recipe you wanna share?

Kim said...

Hmmm, will have to look for this one. I hardly ever buy broth, but it is always good to have some on hand. :)

Michele Hays said...

Ditto to the post, and to what Jeff said.

Anonymous said...

Hello! I randomly found this while looking for Chef's Cupboard information, and have to agree - I've been feeding my SO the roasted pepper tomato soup and we love it!

If you're looking for cheap and easy ways to feed the pups, though, might I recommend Better Than Bullion? It'll initially cost more as the little jars typically cost ~$3, but they last for years in the fridge, take up very little storage space, and the taste is out of this world. It's my favorite favorite chicken/veg/beef broth. :)

Keep on bloggin', and thanks for the good info!

Anonymous said...

We love their soup also. I always get the clam chowder which beats any other canned chower.We use the carton form of the broths all the time but when we just want to add flavor without liquid we use Better Than Bullion. You can get the large jars at Costco much cheaper. It is great to add to gravies which are a little weak on flovao.