In search of the perfect tomato soup

Politics and social movements aside, perhaps the one thing most of us can agree on is there’s nothing finer than a steaming hot, aromatic bowl of soup, tomato soup to be exact.

I spent decades in pursuit of the perfect recipe. I tried all kinds of tomato concoctions, only to have them taste gritty and not velvety, or too acidic and not tomato-y enough.

Thankfully, I was able to stop searching after my husband discovered Food Network star Ree Drummond’s “Best Tomato Soup Ever” recipe. It’s easy and tasty, and hits on all the right notes. Drummond’s recipe is easily found online.

If you’re out and about in Kalispell and have a hankering for tomato soup, head immediately to the 4B’s restaurant on East Idaho Street, where their tomato soup is somewhat famous and rightly so. It’s so creamy and luscious, you’ll want to order a bowl and not a cup.

Like many baby boomers, I grew up eating Campbell’s tomato soup and a grilled-cheese sandwich as the quintessential go-to meal, and made them for my kids, too. Now my granddaughter is a tomato soup fan.

It had been quite a while since I’d purchased any Campbell’s tomato soup, but I grabbed a couple of cans recently, thinking it would be nice to have on hand.

I was somewhat shocked, though, when I opened a can and found it to be some kind of thin, watery red glop, not the taste and consistency I was used to.

“Campbell’s changed their tomato soup recipe,” I declared to my husband. “Why would they do that?”

Wanting to get to the bottom of this rotten tomato debacle, I went online and found I wasn’t the only one who’s claiming the soup had changed, and not for the better.

I found a lengthy Facebook chain of comments from disgruntled soup customers, and we all had the same opinion: this was not the thick rich soup we were accustomed to.

Many had done what I did — buy more cans of Campbell’s tomato soup, only to find they were filled with the same watery red juice.

One commenter said this: “Tried your tomato soup today and had to google if you changed the recipe. It tastes like hot tomato syrup. So gross.”

Campbell’s PR department graciously responded to the criticism, claiming the company hadn’t made any recent changes to its classic condensed tomato soup, but Facebookers weren’t buying it.

“Opened a can, warmed it just as I have for 50 years,” one man reported. “So sweet and nasty. Into the trash. I figured just a bad can so I opened another can. Same thing, thought it might just be me; had the wife try it, had the kids try it... Nope, NASTY... We opened 4 more cans from the cupboard and all were very sweet and nasty... Definitely not the same as I have been eating for the last 50+ years.”

Campbell’s, to its credit, responded to every negative comment, offering to “make this right” for their disgruntled diners and asking consumers to send in packaging information such as the UPC and stamped date codes. The company offered to replace the soup and was very thoughtful with its responses.

Now that I have the recipe for what I consider the best-ever tomato soup in my possession, I can easily go without ever buying another can of Campbell’s, and probably will.

I don’t like when manufacturers tinker with tried-and-true products. Don’t even get me started on Wheat Thins…

News editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.