FOOD What has happened to soup variety in stores?

Dennis Olson

Dennis Olson

Chief Curmudgeon
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First, I’ll move this to the shortages thread in a day or so. But I’ve been looking for a certain soup: Campbell’s condensed split pea. No one locally carries it. Oh, the various stores have it in the computer for you to order, but if you try, it’s unavailable. And that’s not the only one. What happened to Campbell’s cream of shrimp? Or about a half dozen others that aren’t coming to mind right now? There used to be over 30 different soups available on store shelves. Now there are only about a dozen (on a good day.) I just thought I’d put that out there. I used to have about 8 different varieties on my food shelves. Now I have three: chicken noodle, cream of chicken, and creme of celery. Go, and vegetable beef, with whatever fake “beef things” they add to it.

Anyone else noticing your favorite is no longer available? I had to get it from Amazon by the flat.
 
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SmithJ

SmithJ

Veteran Member
Dennis Olson said:
First, I’ll move this to the shortages thread in a day or so. But I’ve been looking for a certain soup: Campbell’s condensed split pea. No one locally Carrie’s it. Oh, the various stores have it in the computer for you to order, but if you try, it’s unavailable. And that’s not the only one. What happened to Campbell’s cream of shrimp? Or about a half dozen others that aren’t coming to mind right now? There used to be over 30 different soups available on store shelves. Now there are only about a dozen (on a good day.) I just thought I’d put that out there. I used to have about 8 different varieties on my food shelves. Now I have three: chicken noodle, cream of chicken, and creme of celery. Go, and vegetable beef, with whatever fake “beef things” they add to it.

Anyone else noticing your favorite is no longer available? I had to get it from Amazon by the flat.
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Carrie =
Image
 
phloydius

phloydius

Veteran Member
Dennis Olson said:
First, I’ll move this to the shortages thread in a day or so. But I’ve been looking for a certain soup: Campbell’s condensed split pea. No one locally carries it. Oh, the various stores have it in the computer for you to order, but if you try, it’s unavailable. And that’s not the only one. What happened to Campbell’s cream of shrimp? Or about a half dozen others that aren’t coming to mind right now? There used to be over 30 different soups available on store shelves. Now there are only about a dozen (on a good day.) I just thought I’d put that out there. I used to have about 8 different varieties on my food shelves. Now I have three: chicken noodle, cream of chicken, and creme of celery. Go, and vegetable beef, with whatever fake “beef things” they add to it.

Anyone else noticing your favorite is no longer available? I had to get it from Amazon by the flat.
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It is happening with most grocery items. Major manufactures are focusing on making the "most popular" items, because of shortages in some of the shared items between the recipes. Of course there are pieces of the recipes that are keeping them from making particular items from time to time too.

There is also some issues with stores stocking some of the less popular items due to the logistics of transporting them. But that problem is not as well defined.

With my dietary issues (allergies), I've noticed it dramatically. Some of my "favorite" snacks have not been in HEB for a year. Many of those go in an out of stock on [Sold by] Amazon for a couple months at a time. So I keep them all well stocked, and refill when they pop back into stock.
 
mzkitty

mzkitty

I give up.
I have found that over the years, your best soup buys with more variety are in the Fall. I don't know why that is, but if you suddenly see more soup, you'll know why. That's when I buy it.

Also, when we lived in Florida they had Campbell's cream of onion, which is very good. Can't seem to find it up here, but I'll keep looking.
 
Josie

Josie

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Walrus Whisperer said:
I've never seen a Campbell's cream of shrimp!
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Oh yes! I haven't seen it for a long while. I use it in a dip I make for Christmas parties. That dip has been MIA for at least the last four years.

One I really liked was Campbell's Thick and Chunky (or was it turkey?) Chicken Tetrazzini. Haven't seen that one in almost 15 years. I guess I was the only one buying it.
 
mzkitty

mzkitty

I give up.
Well.......... not to be a little snot, but I was just thinking we could make those ourselves.

1. Main ingredient
2. Cream

There ya go.

As for pea soup I always make my own, but I need a new blender first. It's to die for. And then there's Princess Di's cream of carrot soup. nom nom. But I need a new blender for that too.

:)
 
Macgyver

Macgyver

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Campbell's cream of shrimp. Can't say I've seen that one.
I'll try and remember to peek at the Campbell's section this weekend when I go to the store.
I'm going to bet I will see more just due to the proximity of the factory's.
 
Dennis Olson

Dennis Olson

Chief Curmudgeon
_______________
It’s their condensed one, not their chunky one. The chunky split pea isn’t that great. Too thin. I only add about 2/3 can of water, because I like it thick.
 
G

gunnersmom

Veteran Member
I really really miss Campbell's noodles and ground beef. I can come close to the flavor, but it had these three widths of noodles in the can and I cannot find substitutes for them. It was a beef based broth, but also had a little bit of tomato soup or juice in it. It was yum. Good amount of ground beef. Used to send cans of it to work with hubby. Thanks for bringing this subject up!
 
kyrsyan

kyrsyan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Gone. I have a very picky friend that I occasionally grab stuff for. Almost all of his favorites have been out of stock for a year or more. When winter hits I'll probably work on some canning recipes for him.
 
Seeker22

Seeker22

Has No Life - Lives on TB
If you still have an Instapot, here's their Recipe for Split Pea Soup.


  • 8 slices bacon chopped
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 carrots chopped
  • 1 stalk celery chopped
  • 1 clove garlic chopped
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 32 ounces chicken broth 1 container
  • 2 cups Water
  • 16 ounces dried split peas (1 package) rinsed and sorted
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
Split-Pea-Soup.jpg





Instructions
  1. Press Sauté; cook and stir bacon in Instant Pot® until crisp. Remove to paper towel-lined plate. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon drippings.
  2. Add onion, carrots and celery to pot; cook and stir 5 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Add garlic and thyme; cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in broth and water, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pot. Add split peas, half of bacon, salt, pepper and bay leaf; mix well.
  3. Secure lid and move pressure release valve to Sealing position. PressManual or Pressure Cook; cook at high pressure 8 minutes.
  4. When cooking is complete, use natural release for 10 minutes, then release remaining pressure. Stir soup; remove and discard bay leaf. Garnish with remaining bacon.

Recipe Notes

NOTE: The soup may seem thin immediately after cooking, but it will thicken upon standing. If prepared in advance and refrigerated, thin the soup with water when reheating until it reaches the desired consistency.

Split Pea Soup – Instant Pot Recipes
 
Dennis Olson

Dennis Olson

Chief Curmudgeon
_______________
mzkitty said:
Well.......... not to be a little snot, but I was just thinking we could make those ourselves.

1. Main ingredient
2. Cream

There ya go.

As for pea soup I always make my own, but I need a new blender first. It's to die for. And then there's Princess Di's cream of carrot soup. nom nom. But I need a new blender for that too.

:)
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Yes, you’re being a snot. It’s the spices and texture that matter most. MYO just doesn’t hit that mark.
 
psychgirl

psychgirl

Has No Life - Lives on TB
gunnersmom said:
I really really miss Campbell's noodles and ground beef. I can come close to the flavor, but it had these three widths of noodles in the can and I cannot find substitutes for them. It was a beef based broth, but also had a little bit of tomato soup or juice in it. It was yum. Good amount of ground beef. Used to send cans of it to work with hubby. Thanks for bringing this subject up!
Click to expand...
That one was delicious!
 
Dennis Olson

Dennis Olson

Chief Curmudgeon
_______________
gunnersmom said:
I really really miss Campbell's noodles and ground beef. I can come close to the flavor, but it had these three widths of noodles in the can and I cannot find substitutes for them. It was a beef based broth, but also had a little bit of tomato soup or juice in it. It was yum. Good amount of ground beef. Used to send cans of it to work with hubby. Thanks for bringing this subject up!
Click to expand...
Yes! Another winner that’s gone.
 
mzkitty

mzkitty

I give up.
Dennis Olson said:
Yes, you’re being a snot. It’s the spices and texture that matter most. MYO just doesn’t hit that mark.
Click to expand...

I get that, and I know how to do that stuff too. Lots of people do. For those who don't, there are the cans. Which admittedly are very very handy and time-saving.
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Never we seen the cream of shrimp or the split pea. Local fareway has a bunch of different varieties, most of which I cannot eat because they contain potato in some fashion.
 
bbbuddy

bbbuddy

DEPLORABLE ME
Wicked Thai
Jazzy jambalaya
Chicken & Sausage gumbo
Spicy Chicken Quesadilla
Etc, I stacked these and more deep as covid was hitting. Add some fresh veggies and meat, serve over rice, nice filling quick cheap meal. Not for those who are salt sensitive of course.

Dennis, the Campbells split pea & ham soup is on Amazon by the case right now...$27.12 per case of 12.
Bbbut split pea soup is sooo easy to make...
 
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S

SAPPHIRE

Veteran Member
Just saw an Australian food haul which included Campbell's Cream of Asparagus.........it's unobtanium here, but apparantly if you shopping oversea there's quite a variety of C soups we never see............alas......Amerika's on the bottom and sinking each day.................these omissions are deliberate IMO.........
 
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