Instant or homemade soup?

Discussion in Food & Drink started by Dora M • Aug 20, 2014.

  1. Dora M

    Dora MWell-Known Member

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    Do you regularly buy dry soup mixes? Usually they come in little packages and are quite expensive. Even though they might be fast and convenient, they often contain artificial enhancers and additives.
    The only dry soup mix I buy is miso bouillon which makes a nice base for my vegetable soups. I get it at my local health food store. It's not difficult to create a tasty soup with a few simple ingredients. All you need is some imagination and half an hour of your time.
    What do you prefer?
     
  2. Hedonologist

    HedonologistActive Member

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    Dry soup is far too thick and sticky for my liking, tinned soup is a lot better. Homemade soup is better than dried, but not as good as tinned in my opinion.
     
  3. Verity Darkwaters

    Verity DarkwatersActive Member

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    I like homemade soup. You can make a huge pot that will last you a week and many times it just tastes better. Occasionally if I'm in a hurry I'll eat instant soup, but not often. They taste funny too me. I like making my own broth, but understand it can't always be done so I'll use bouillon occasionally.
     
  4. True2marie

    True2marieActive Member

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    I prefer homemade soup, but rarely take the time to make it. So I do use dry mixes on occasion. If you get higher quality ones, they are alright. Lipton and a few copycats don't taste that great to me. They have a chalkiness to them.
     
  5. Parker

    ParkerWell-Known Member

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    I used to like instant soup until I made some homemade soup. Homemade soup is very delicious and fairly easy to make. I never realized how easy it was to make soup until I gave it a try. I eat some type of soup every week. Delicious and cheap.
     
  6. Pat

    PatWell-Known Member

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    I make my own soup, I use what ever is left in the refrig mostly chicken parts that did not get eaten, all of the vegetables that are left and rice or potatoes if there are any left in the refrig. I usually put all of the leftovers into the freezer to keep them from spoiling until I am ready to make the soup. I also add celery and onions to the broth of the soup.
     
  7. ohiotom76

    ohiotom76Well-Known Member

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    I enjoy making soups entirely from scratch if I have the time, but otherwise I will make them "semi homemade" in under an hour. I use the Better Than Bouillon brand soup base, which comes in a jar, to make my broth. It's a huge money saver since a jar costs like $4 at WalMart and it's enough to make the equivalent of 9 boxes of boxed broth. Plus it tastes much better than the powdered bouillon stuff which is loaded with MSG.

    If I am using pasta or rice in the soup I usually cook them separately then add them into the soup. I don't like cooking them in the broth because they make the soup too starchy tasting, and everything else gets overcooked & mushy before the pasta is cooked in the soup.
     
  8. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

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    I love instant soup and I honestly kind of prefer the flavor a lot more for some reason because it is very salty most of the time and I'm kind of a sodium junkie. However, I think homemade soups are a lot more hearty and I tend to eat a lot more of these because I know they are healthier. The instant kind is just too much of a guilty pleasure so I tend to limit my intake.
     
  9. Theo

    TheoWell-Known Member

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    I think buying soup can be cheaper, especially if you are making your own vegetable stock and it can be less time consuming. I would rather buy soup and then add my additional ingredients.
    I know it may be healthier to make your own, but it does requires time and a balance of flavors.
     
  10. prettycolors

    prettycolorsActive Member

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    I prefer homemade soup. Not that instant is more expensive, I just like my food fresh. Soup is one of the easier foods I know to cook - add vegetables, meat (chicken usually), water and salt - then let it all boil. To finish add seasonings like more salt, pepper and some green herbs and you're done. What's even better is that you can easily modify the recipe by changing some ingredients, you can add potatoes for example. Or add a mix of eggs and sour cream when the soup is done and you get cream soup. Cheap and fast, yum!
     
  11. isabbbela

    isabbbelaWell-Known Member

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    Homemade soup is definitely better than instant soup. However, I find that homemade soup gives too much work. Depending on the flavor it gives more work that they are worth it. I am not a big fan of soup, so if it's too much work I just won't do it. I have some instant soups at home for when I am on a rush or when I just want to eat something very quick, but it's not usually my choice of meal.
     
  12. Athenagdlyt

    AthenagdlytActive Member

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    Due to time constraints, we get to settle for instant soup. But yes, nothing beats home made soup. I can only serve some during the weekends. This is also the only time my husband can make his family favorite potato soup.
     
  13. jellybean

    jellybeanMember

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    I prefer homemade soup. I had a soup-swap with friends last year, though I made more than one type of soup, and it was great having frozen soup on hand for a good stretch of fall/winter. Plus it is fun to try soups other people make that perhaps you yourself wouldn't have selected. I have found that most soup is so easy that if you have the time for it to cook there really isn't a good reason not to make it from scratch.
     
  14. richc3

    richc3Active Member

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    Reminded me that I really need to put some effort into making my own soup. Of course the big reason is so that you always know what ingredients are going in, but especially the preservatives.
    That said, I'm usually eating canned soup for its simplicity, but I can't really say I thoroughly enjoy it -- just needs to fuel up. I do tend to use mushroom soup and pour it into a glass to drink. As for the powdered soups, more-often they're kind gross and goopey.
     
  15. allswl

    allswlActive Member

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    I prefer home-made soup because to me it tastes a lot better. When making home-made soup you are in control of what ingredients go in and how much. So if you want to make it spicy or fresh it is up to you. I find that instant soup are generally bland in taste so I would have to add a spice or two. Also instant soup tens to have a lot of sodium, which bothers me because high sodium intake can lead to medical issue such as hypertension.
     
  16. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    No I don't buy dry soup mixes, since I'm not really fond of soup, but when I do get to eat them it's when I order some food in the fast food chain and they bundle it with soup. I like the taste, but I'm not really fond of it like I crave it.
     
  17. sharpayvargas1

    sharpayvargas1Member

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    I'd choose homemade soup. Other than expensive, instant soup don't taste that good and natural. All I can taste is the seasoning that is salty and too strong. It's not me who prepare our meals. But every time that there's soup in the table, the ingredient I want to taste is the whisked egg added into it. I want lots of black pepper, garlic and chili and it will definitely make my day complete!
     
  18. kitchencatlover

    kitchencatloverMember

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    I make most of my soups and I too use bouillon. I also use cream of... whatever in some of my soups too. If I don't make mine homemade I generally just buy canned soup because I don't like the dry mixes.
     
  19. Jessi

    Jessi<a href="http://www.quirkycookery.com">QuirkyCooke

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    I don't buy them very often, but I do like keeping some on hand.

    Also, I use the dry ones for non-soup things. For example, dried onion soup mix is great for gravies and french onion chip dip.
     
  20. Parker

    ParkerWell-Known Member

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    A soup-swap? I have never heard of such a thing, but it does sound interesting. Do you exchange recipes or actual soup?