Who can forget Andy Warhol’s famous thirty-two canvases dedicated to Cambell’s soup cans – one for each flavor at the time? He claimed to have eaten it every day for lunch for twenty years but the question is, did he dilute it?
Read on to find out more.
How did Campbell’s soup start?
Campbell’s soup dates right back to 1869, when the Campbell Soup Company was founded in the U.S. It has always been known for its excellent quality products and has won numerous awards over the years.
Starting off with selling just 500 000 cans of soup annually, by the 1920s they were selling around 18 million cans a week.
Today, Americans alone buy 440 million cans a year and it is estimated that 95% of them have at least one Campbell Company product in their store cupboard at any time.
Is Campbell’s soup condensed?
Condensed soup was invented in 1897 by a chemist and Campbell’s embraced the technology. Since then, Campbell’s soup has been condensed. This simply means that around half of the water is removed from the product before it is canned.
This process gave the company leverage over its competitors because selling canned condensed soup meant that shipping costs were much lower. Campbell Soup was therefore one of the earliest food companies to distribute nationwide.
Condensing the soup made sense because it lowered shipping costs. Today, it makes even more sense because it is environmentally friendly to ship concentrated products rather than sending tons of unnecessary water in cans across the world.
Do You Add Water To Cambell’s Soup?
Yes, if you are going to use it as soup, you need to dilute it. You simply use the can to measure when diluting the soup.
Open the can and tip the contents into a saucepan to heat it. Then fill the can with water and tip this into the pot. Stir over medium heat until the soup reaches a boil. Remove and serve hot.
You may also use milk to dilute your soup – this works particularly well with the creamed varieties. For a gourmet touch, serve the soup with a swirl of cream and top with anything from a sprinkling of paprika to some croutons and toasted seeds.
If you don’t dilute the soup with an equal volume of water or milk, it will be too salty, too thick, and have a “gloopy” consistency. However, Campbell’s concentrated soups are not only used as soups.
Recipes abound for using them as a thick broth or flavor base for casseroles and sauces. In this case, you would not dilute the soup but add the concentrate to other ingredients to add flavor.
What else does Cambell Soup Company produce?
Today, besides selling its iconic canned soup, the company sells canned pasta products, snacks, canned sauces, and even chocolates.
The soup flavors have expanded over the years and besides the classic tomato, cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, chicken noodle, and French onion, we now have flavors like the more adventurous spicy steak and potato, clam chowder, and chicken and sausage gumbo.
To cater to today’s more health-conscious society, Campbell’s has also introduced its “Healthy Request” and “98% Fat-Free” ranges as well as low sodium options.
To Conclude
We hope you’ve learned something today about Cambell’s soup and have enjoyed the journey. Do you add water to Campbell’s soup? Yes! Dilute the soup at a 1:1 ratio with water or, if preferred, milk. Buon appetito!