Thread: When Did Campbell's Soup Go Upscale ???

Mark Thorson wrote:

> I was looking at the Campbell's soup section the other day,
> probably not having bought a can in at least a couple years,
> when I noticed a new flavor -- Won Ton Soup.
>
> Whoa! That's interesting! I'll bet it's terrible with
> tiny wontons that are mostly dough. But I should try that,
> just to see how Campbell's would make it.
>
> But then I noticed the price! $3.19 for one can! And this
> wasn't some giant can -- it was the normal Campbell's soup
> size can!
>
> What happened? Since when is Campbell's soup a premium
> brand? I grudgingly accept that inflation over the years
> would push the price of Campbell's soup over a dollar.
> But $3.19? Where do they come up with a price like that?
> Are the wontons filled with French truffles and hand-folded
> by Chinese virgins? How can they expect the public to pay
> $3.19 for a can of Campbell's soup, no matter what's inside.
>
> I'm tempted to buy one just for the bragging rights. Maybe
> I'll buy one and keep it unopened, then sell it on eBay
> after the product is discontinued. Or somebody opens up
> a Campbell's soup museum.-

While I can't find any links *to* it, I found references to a Campbell
Soup Museum in Camden, NJ.

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"Mark Thorson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> What happened? Since when is Campbell's soup a premium
> brand? I grudgingly accept that inflation over the years
> would push the price of Campbell's soup over a dollar.
> But $3.19? Where do they come up with a price like that?
> Are the wontons filled with French truffles and hand-folded
> by Chinese virgins? How can they expect the public to pay
> $3.19 for a can of Campbell's soup, no matter what's inside.
>
> I'm tempted to buy one just for the bragging rights. Maybe
> I'll buy one and keep it unopened, then sell it on eBay
> after the product is discontinued. Or somebody opens up
> a Campbell's soup museum.

Since they already have a museum just go ahead and eat it. They'll make
more.

They come up quite a bit since the tomato soup. Some of the new ones are
fairly good as canned soup goes.

Mark Thorson <[email protected]> news:[email protected]: in
rec.food.cooking

> I was looking at the Campbell's soup section the other day,
> probably not having bought a can in at least a couple years,
> when I noticed a new flavor -- Won Ton Soup.
>
> Whoa! That's interesting! I'll bet it's terrible with
> tiny wontons that are mostly dough. But I should try that,
> just to see how Campbell's would make it.
>
> But then I noticed the price! $3.19 for one can! And this
> wasn't some giant can -- it was the normal Campbell's soup
> size can!
>
> What happened? Since when is Campbell's soup a premium
> brand? I grudgingly accept that inflation over the years
> would push the price of Campbell's soup over a dollar.
> But $3.19? Where do they come up with a price like that?
> Are the wontons filled with French truffles and hand-folded
> by Chinese virgins? How can they expect the public to pay
> $3.19 for a can of Campbell's soup, no matter what's inside.
>
> I'm tempted to buy one just for the bragging rights. Maybe
> I'll buy one and keep it unopened, then sell it on eBay
> after the product is discontinued. Or somebody opens up
> a Campbell's soup museum.

I'm not real big on canned soups but I buy and use them fairly often.
Never seen the Campbell's Won Ton thing though. I usually buy cream of
"something" or the other. Nothing against canned soups. I just like the
fresh variety but many times the canned is all I have time for. I looked
in the pantry. I've got a "homeselect" or some such name of New England
Clam Chowder and Cream of Mushroom. There is also a condensed "Cream of
Celery" in the back of the pantry. There is also a huge can of condensed
"Cream of Chicken" way back there. I'm sure I'll use them for something.
As far as Gourmet... I haven't paid much attention. However, the canned
soup detractors will denounce it immediately

Michael



--
Best license plate seen in a long time.

~ S CARGO ~

To email - michael at lonergan dot us dot com

Well, I did it. I bought the soup.

It had 12 machine-made "won tons" in it.
They were tiny, mostly dough, like little
ravolis. They had an odd five-sided shape,
like a rectangle with a triangle added to
one side. The filling was almost non-existent,
a layer only about a millimeter thick,
undetectable when eating them.

As a Campbell's condensed soup, most of the
contents of the can were salt water. Very
salty water. When I read the label, I thought
that the calories were not too bad, only
60 calories per serving, 2.5 servings per can.
(I assume that's the standard serving size
in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.)

At 870 mg sodium per serving, that's a lot of
sodium. I dumped the broth down the drain,
because my feet swell up if I eat too much salt.

This is a product which will not long survive.
It's exactly as wretched as you'd expect a
Campbell's Chicken Won Ton condensed soup
to be, and certainly not worth $3.19, except
to satisfy my curiousity.

Mark Thorson <[email protected]> wrote:
> Well, I did it. I bought the soup.
>
> This is a product which will not long survive.
> It's exactly as wretched as you'd expect a
> Campbell's Chicken Won Ton condensed soup
> to be, and certainly not worth $3.19, except
> to satisfy my curiousity.

Perhaps you haven't paid much attention. I've seen it on store shelves for
at least two years now. I have no idea about the price; I've never bought
any and am not likely to, even though I'm not rabidly against canned soups.
I'm not really sure what you expected; too much salt is a given in canned
soups of that nature.

Jill

On Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:45:13 -0700, Blinky the Shark
<[email protected]> wrote:

>While I can't find any links *to* it, I found references to a Campbell
>Soup Museum in Camden, NJ.


It may not be built yet, Blinky.
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelp...l?ana=from_rss


--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.

Mae West

sf wrote:

> On Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:45:13 -0700, Blinky the Shark
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>While I can't find any links *to* it, I found references to a Campbell
>>Soup Museum in Camden, NJ.
>
>
> It may not be built yet, Blinky.
> http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelp...l?ana=from_rss


From a 1995 New York Times article (which may or may not be accessible
without a login) listing "FORTY-FIVE things to love about New Jersey":

<q>

40. The very existence of a Campbell Soup Museum in Camden, and visitors'
discovery that there is a soup tureen collection with faience bowls.

</q>

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...pagewanted=all

= http://tinyurl.com/5q75qt

So at least there *has* already been one; I can't say if it's still there.


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On Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:51:54 -0700, Blinky the Shark
<[email protected]> wrote:

>So at least there *has* already been one; I can't say if it's still there.

We also know there will be another one. Maybe they're betwixt and
between at the moment.


--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.

Mae West

sf wrote:

> On Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:51:54 -0700, Blinky the Shark
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>So at least there *has* already been one; I can't say if it's still there.
>
> We also know there will be another one. Maybe they're betwixt and
> between at the moment.

How do we know there will be another one? (We don't even know, from
what's been shown here, that the old one isn't still around.)


--
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"Mark Thorson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
>I was looking at the Campbell's soup section the other day,
> probably not having bought a can in at least a couple years,
> when I noticed a new flavor -- Won Ton Soup.
>
> Whoa! That's interesting! I'll bet it's terrible with
> tiny wontons that are mostly dough. But I should try that,
> just to see how Campbell's would make it.
>
> But then I noticed the price! $3.19 for one can! And this
> wasn't some giant can -- it was the normal Campbell's soup
> size can!
>
> What happened? Since when is Campbell's soup a premium
> brand? I grudgingly accept that inflation over the years
> would push the price of Campbell's soup over a dollar.
> But $3.19? Where do they come up with a price like that?
> Are the wontons filled with French truffles and hand-folded
> by Chinese virgins? How can they expect the public to pay
> $3.19 for a can of Campbell's soup, no matter what's inside.
>
> I'm tempted to buy one just for the bragging rights. Maybe
> I'll buy one and keep it unopened, then sell it on eBay
> after the product is discontinued. Or somebody opens up
> a Campbell's soup museu

Cambell's won ton has been around for many years, at least in this area. I
think they market their soups regionally. Anyone out there getting Pepper
Pot soup or are we the lucky ones? :-\
AFAIK, the soup tureen museum is in the Campbell's building (which is a
quite lovely art-deco style building), but it doesn't have any Campbell's
memoriabilia - it's really just tureens. They used to sponsor programs on
the now-defunct Phila. classical music station.

"dejablues" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:g4vje4$kc0$[email protected]..
>
> "Mark Thorson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]..
>>I was looking at the Campbell's soup section the other day,
>> probably not having bought a can in at least a couple years,
>> when I noticed a new flavor -- Won Ton Soup.
>>
>> Whoa! That's interesting! I'll bet it's terrible with
>> tiny wontons that are mostly dough. But I should try that,
>> just to see how Campbell's would make it.
>>
>> But then I noticed the price! $3.19 for one can! And this
>> wasn't some giant can -- it was the normal Campbell's soup
>> size can!
>>
>> What happened? Since when is Campbell's soup a premium
>> brand? I grudgingly accept that inflation over the years
>> would push the price of Campbell's soup over a dollar.
>> But $3.19? Where do they come up with a price like that?
>> Are the wontons filled with French truffles and hand-folded
>> by Chinese virgins? How can they expect the public to pay
>> $3.19 for a can of Campbell's soup, no matter what's inside.
>>
>> I'm tempted to buy one just for the bragging rights. Maybe
>> I'll buy one and keep it unopened, then sell it on eBay
>> after the product is discontinued. Or somebody opens up
>> a Campbell's soup museu
>
> Cambell's won ton has been around for many years, at least in this area. I
> think they market their soups regionally. Anyone out there getting Pepper
> Pot soup or are we the lucky ones? :-\
> AFAIK, the soup tureen museum is in the Campbell's building (which is a
> quite lovely art-deco style building), but it doesn't have any Campbell's
> memoriabilia - it's really just tureens. They used to sponsor programs on
> the now-defunct Phila. classical music station.

Wiki says the tureens have been donated to the Winterthur Museum, which is
definitely worth the trip!
>
>

jmcquown wrote:
> Mark Thorson <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Well, I did it. I bought the soup.
>>
>> This is a product which will not long survive.
>> It's exactly as wretched as you'd expect a
>> Campbell's Chicken Won Ton condensed soup
>> to be, and certainly not worth $3.19, except
>> to satisfy my curiousity.
>
> Perhaps you haven't paid much attention. I've seen it on store
> shelves for at least two years now.

Are we talking about the familiar canned soup line
from childhood? Because I've seen Campbell's wonton soup
for years and years. Never bought it.

nancy

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
>
> They come up quite a bit since the tomato soup. Some of the new ones are
> fairly good as canned soup goes.


When Jim was sick with something or other a few months ago, he got an
unusual craving for canned tomato soup. I offered him a home made
version, but he wanted supermarket soup. (You know the way it is when
you're sick. You get strange cravings for something you had as a
child.) We don't normally buy canned soup, so I was unfamiliar with
that shelf in the store. I discovered what the original poster
discovered. I was expecting to see a whole bunch of Campbell soup cans,
find the tomato, and make my purchase. (My memory must have been frozen
30 years ago.)


Instead, there were all different brands and packages (and prices!). I
ended up buying three. One was in a box. One was in a plastic tub.
One was a can. One had cream. One was some sort of gourmet tomato
something with a pretty picture of herbs. One was Campbell's. I
figured he could average my selections and get what he wanted.


--Lia

Mark Thorson wrote:
>
> I was looking at the Campbell's soup section the other day,
> probably not having bought a can in at least a couple years,
> when I noticed a new flavor -- Won Ton Soup.
>
> Whoa! That's interesting! I'll bet it's terrible with
> tiny wontons that are mostly dough. But I should try that,
> just to see how Campbell's would make it.
>
> But then I noticed the price! $3.19 for one can! And this
> wasn't some giant can -- it was the normal Campbell's soup
> size can!
>
> What happened? Since when is Campbell's soup a premium
> brand? I grudgingly accept that inflation over the years
> would push the price of Campbell's soup over a dollar.
> But $3.19? Where do they come up with a price like that?
> Are the wontons filled with French truffles and hand-folded
> by Chinese virgins? How can they expect the public to pay
> $3.19 for a can of Campbell's soup, no matter what's inside.
>
> I'm tempted to buy one just for the bragging rights. Maybe
> I'll buy one and keep it unopened, then sell it on eBay
> after the product is discontinued. Or somebody opens up
> a Campbell's soup museum.

While I do stock a selection of the Campbell's soups, I'm a bit ticked
at them. There are a number of varieties that are regional for no
apparent reason, a couple that I like and have to get shipped in from
other areas. There seems to be no good listing of all the varieties on
their site, and when I emailled them about it, the SOBs never responded.

Julia Altshuler wrote:
> When Jim was sick with something or other a few months ago, he got an
> unusual craving for canned tomato soup. I offered him a home made
> version, but he wanted supermarket soup. (You know the way it is when
> you're sick. You get strange cravings for something you had as a
> child.) We don't normally buy canned soup, so I was unfamiliar with
> that shelf in the store. I discovered what the original poster
> discovered. I was expecting to see a whole bunch of Campbell soup cans,
> find the tomato, and make my purchase. (My memory must have been frozen
> 30 years ago.)
>
> Instead, there were all different brands and packages (and prices!). I
> ended up buying three. One was in a box. One was in a plastic tub. One
> was a can. One had cream. One was some sort of gourmet tomato
> something with a pretty picture of herbs. One was Campbell's. I
> figured he could average my selections and get what he wanted.
>
> --Lia
>

If he ever decides the Campbell's doesn't live up to his
expectations, try getting Amy's Chunky Tomato Bisque.

A few years ago, I bought a number of Campbell's Soups--?Chunky
Soups?, I don't remember. There was some underlying flavor I
didn't like. A lot of them seemed kind-of the same.... And the
pieces of meat had a very unappealing texture.

--
Jean B.

Julia Altshuler <[email protected]>
news:[email protected]: in rec.food.cooking

<snip>

> When Jim was sick with something or other a few months ago, he got an
> unusual craving for canned tomato soup. I offered him a home made
> version, but he wanted supermarket soup.

It's strange isn't it. When I'm sick I either want Campbell's condensed
Chicken Noodle soup or Tabatchnik's chicken soup. No other will do...
Well, once Steven brought me home Straub's home made cream of mushroom
(in a mason jar) which was really good too, but paying $7 for something
that will most likely get puked up anyway is hardly worth it ;(

> Instead, there were all different brands and packages (and prices!).
> I ended up buying three. One was in a box. One was in a plastic tub.
> One was a can. One had cream. One was some sort of gourmet tomato
> something with a pretty picture of herbs. One was Campbell's. I
> figured he could average my selections and get what he wanted.

Like you guys, we're big on soups but of the home made variety. I've
always got stock on hand and can throw together a nice soup in a flash.
We seldom buy canned soups but I always like to have some on hand. I do
okay at Dierberg's and Schnucks. The canned soups are pretty much the
same... mostly Campbell's in one variety or another. At Shop 'N Save
it's a whole 'nother story. There are 5 or 6 different brands. Some
condensed, some not. Some chunky, some not. Once I bought 3 different
brands of clam chowder (too lazy to make it). They all tasted the same
except the Wolfgang Puck brand which has less sodium in it. And THEN
there are the dehydrated boxed soups ... oy

Michael



--
Best license plate seen in a long time.

~ S CARGO ~

To email - michael at lonergan dot us dot com

Mark Thorson wrote:
> I was looking at the Campbell's soup section the other day,
> probably not having bought a can in at least a couple years,
> when I noticed a new flavor -- Won Ton Soup.
>
> Whoa! That's interesting! I'll bet it's terrible with
> tiny wontons that are mostly dough. But I should try that,
> just to see how Campbell's would make it.
>
> But then I noticed the price! $3.19 for one can! And this
> wasn't some giant can -- it was the normal Campbell's soup
> size can!
>
> What happened? Since when is Campbell's soup a premium
> brand? I grudgingly accept that inflation over the years
> would push the price of Campbell's soup over a dollar.
> But $3.19? Where do they come up with a price like that?
> Are the wontons filled with French truffles and hand-folded
> by Chinese virgins? How can they expect the public to pay
> $3.19 for a can of Campbell's soup, no matter what's inside.
>
> I'm tempted to buy one just for the bragging rights. Maybe
> I'll buy one and keep it unopened, then sell it on eBay
> after the product is discontinued. Or somebody opens up
> a Campbell's soup museum.

I've been eating Campbell's wonton soup since I was a little kid. It's how
I first discovered wonton soup, actually. I haven't bought it in years, (I
usually make my own), so I haven't checked the price. IIRC, it was
basically chicken noodle soup broth (sans noodles, of course) and chicken
filled wontons. Not bad when you have a cold.

kili

jmcquown wrote:
> Mark Thorson <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Well, I did it. I bought the soup.
>>
>> This is a product which will not long survive.
>> It's exactly as wretched as you'd expect a
>> Campbell's Chicken Won Ton condensed soup
>> to be, and certainly not worth $3.19, except
>> to satisfy my curiousity.
>
> Perhaps you haven't paid much attention. I've seen it on store
> shelves for at least two years now. I have no idea about the price;
> I've never bought any and am not likely to, even though I'm not
> rabidly against canned soups. I'm not really sure what you expected;
> too much salt is a given in canned soups of that nature.
>
> Jill

It's been on the shelves for at least 25 years, honestly. It's just chicken
broth with chicken stuffed dough balls. Think of chicken noodle soup with
the noodles wrapped around the chicken and it's their Wonton soup.

kili

Nancy Young wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>> Mark Thorson <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> Well, I did it. I bought the soup.
>>>
>>> This is a product which will not long survive.
>>> It's exactly as wretched as you'd expect a
>>> Campbell's Chicken Won Ton condensed soup
>>> to be, and certainly not worth $3.19, except
>>> to satisfy my curiousity.
>>
>> Perhaps you haven't paid much attention. I've seen it on store
>> shelves for at least two years now.
>
> Are we talking about the familiar canned soup line
> from childhood? Because I've seen Campbell's wonton soup
> for years and years. Never bought it.
>
> nancy

It has been on the shelves for years and years. Unless they've upped it and
made it "Select" or something. But from the OP's response after it was
purchased, it sounds like the same stuff I had as a kid.

kili