I bought this at Dollar Tree as one of those "what the hell" purchases. Lynnafred and I were ther to buy some cheap holiday-themed paper dessert plates (which were out of stock) and on our way out Southgate Beef Stew caught my eye. Despite her protests - "Damn it, Dad, you and your crappy dollar store food!" - the label promised beef stew with textured vegetable protein added, and the ingredients panel seemed pretty straightforward: Water, beef, potatoes, carrots, TVP, modified food starch, tomato paste, dehydrated celery and onion, sugar, caramel powder, paprika, black pepper, celery seed. Nothing really outrageous there. My expectations were actually pretty low, so I wouldn't be very easy to disappoint, you know?
And therefore, I was pleasantly surprised by how decent Southgate Beef Stew is considering that it's a canned beef stew. Big hearty chunks of potato and a fair quantity of beef. Real beef in chunks of various size, and by "real" I mean that it isn't some sort of bastardized loaf product made of beef and TVP mixed up, cooked, and cut in blocks for the stew. The TVP was there, but separately, in little hamburger-like crumbles of their own, not trying at all to convince you that it was anything but crumbly TVP bits. The gravy was also good, too. Only a little hint of grease, not too salty with a beefy flavor and a hint of tomato and carrot, just like you'd get if you made your own.
All told, it was a pretty solid and satisfying lunch and a good deal for a buck.
Info and Link:
The Southgate brand is one of a number of brands produced by Choice Food of America, a company which has gathered many small labels and their recipes under a single corporate umbrella. They produce and pack their own product rather than contracting it out to other companies and they're proud enough of what they make to put their name and address prominently on each label. I'm obsessive about reading labels and you'd be surprised how many times I've had to search the fine print on some brands to get a mailing address - some companies make it as difficult as possible to find out who's responsible for getting that can or box onto the supermarket shelf. I've emailed Choice Foods to find out more about them and the brands they market, and hope to be able to write more about them in the future.
12 comments:
Every single guy needs a few cans of beef stew in his cupboard. For me it was Dinty Moore, way back when they still made Meatball Stew. I loved it, good bad or indifferent. Plop it in a pan and heat it up. I'm glad this brand seems to carry the same flag to battle. Bachelors take note.
Funny - if I didn't know better I'd say that photo looks like ma po dofu.
Y'know.. even though I don't eat meat, this can has become very familiar to me in a household setting. Maybe I saw it at my mother's or brother's.. Anyway, great post. Hope you hear from Choice Foods soon!
I ♥ Dollar Tree!
out here in Oklahoma we have a chain called Food Pyramid, which broke off from the larger regional chain Albertson's. They have a one dollar aisle where they have a variety of Southgate canned soups and stews. I haven't tried much of their product, but they have a corned beef hash that my wife liked and a Chili that's quite decent. (we joked about dying from the contents of the can, being fatal, as we'd gotten it out of a marked down bin when it was already a dollar.) My favorite cheap chili is still Wolf brand, but Southgate wasn't a bad alternative and is cheap as dirt.
hey Eric M me and my family are from Tulsa as well. Which Food Pyramid did you see this product at??? My daughter loves it and I cant find it anywhere. Thanks!!
I found me a couple cans of "Southgate Beef Stew" and about to try it. Lets see if its as good as said ....
Ok ok so I suppose its pretty good . I cant say nothing bad about it ... even the cat ate some lol
Sorry guys but this stuff tastes REALLY TERRIBLE. And for my fellow bachelors out there I hope your standards on women aren't as low as for beef stew in you actually like Southgate beef stew.
Tried it. Contacted the company to find if they sell to the public in bulk...i got mine from the .99 store 2 cans for/1.00. Im a full time RVer, my gurl always gives me the stinkeye when i grab cheap food...so i often have to buy a "brand" name version too...i prepare both put them on a plate half n half , and if she cant taste the difference (3 nights in a row), i win. Southgate vs dinty moore..3-0
"Many a small thing has been made big by advertising" -mark twain
I know this is an old post.
I just wanted to say that I recently found this South Gate Beef Stew at the local 99 Cents store and I too was surprised at the real beef chunks and in my opinion it is a decent stew.
Not bad for the price and hearty. For $1.00 you eat a meal with calories in comparison to a Cheese burger at one of the main Fast Food chains in the states.
I'm adding these to my stock up meals along side the dry ramen packets for my back pack whether lunch at work or when I'm on the trail.
Thanks for posting this
Nick
Just tried this beef stew for my first time. Other than being really greasy, it was good. Ate the whole can. Not as good as Dinty Moore but would eat Southgate brand again.
I was given a can today and tried it. I have always loved Dinty Moore so I wasn't expecting it. I think it tastes better than Dinty Moore. But that's my opinion. Had to look it up and saw this blog. Thanks.
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