I finally made canned soup taste like homemade with one weird step

I got tired of my canned tomato soup tasting like metal and salt, so I tried browning a tablespoon of tomato paste in the pot before adding the soup. Then I stirred in a splash of heavy cream and a pinch of sugar. It made a huge difference, like something my grandma would have made. Has anyone else tried doctoring up canned soups with a quick extra step like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

grace_white1mo ago

jenny, I get what you're saying, but for me it's more about using what I have in the pantry when I'm in a rush. I started adding a little dried basil and a pat of butter to canned chicken noodle soup, and it really rounds out the flavor without making a whole new pot. It takes maybe two minutes extra, and the soup ends up tasting less like the can and more like something I threw together from the cupboard.

jennys721mo ago

Hold up, you're putting this much work into canned soup? I mean, browning tomato paste and adding cream... that's basically making a new soup from scratch at that point. Might as well just start with fresh tomatoes and save yourself the can opener hassle. A pinch of sugar isn't gonna transform a can of salty metal into grandma's recipe either. It's still canned soup at the end of the day, just with extra steps and dirty dishes.