Campbell's Clam Chowders

Tasting and comparing various takes on the same type of food is an excellent way of knowing exactly what you like and should expect out of a perfectly made, finished product. One kind of food that is great to taste test and compare is soups, as there is a lot of elements to focus on. My favorite kind of soup to order out has always been clam chowder. A good clam chowder should have a perfectly seasoned, creamy textured broth consisting of the right amount of clams and potatoes. There is no doubt that Campbell’s soup is the leader in the canned soup market. It turns out they make three different kinds of Clam chowder: Original, Chunky, and Slow Kettle Style. I tried all three of them, ensuring that I had a few saltine oyster crackers in between each serving to avoid any bias in the results. Trying all three was an interesting experience to say the least.

The First soup that I decided to try was the original clam chowder. My first impression as I attempted to pour the soup in the pot was that it was really thick and had a very gooey texture similar to glue. This is normal with a lot of soups out of a can, however typically those types of soups become less thick as they get hotter in temperature. This was not the case with this particular soup. Upon the cooking process, the thick broth formed to the potatoes and clams and became more of a mushy mess. Eating the soup was actually particularly unpleasant and the only bites that I had were just enough to give me an adequate idea of how it tastes. The chowder was very salty even after I added a bit of milk. The potatoes were relatively tough and the clams weren’t whole but rather they were in tiny, subtle strips. This specific soup was not anything special.

The next one that I tried was my personal favorite of the three for various reasons. This soup, Campbell’s Chunky New England Chowder, was not too thick like the original one. This broth was creamy and perfectly salted with a peppery after taste. I personally enjoy soups that are really filled with a large quantity of chunks and this particular brand of Campbell’s is my favorite for that reason. The potatoes were soft but still apparent in the soup itself and the clams were in whole pieces which was very enjoyable.

Finally, I ended my taste testing adventure with what I thought would be my favorite at the end of the process. This one was Campbell’s Slow Kettle New England Clam Chowder (with thyme). The thyme was a nice touch at first but ended up taking over more and more of the soup as I ate more. The potatoes were relatively my favorite of the three as they weren’t too soft and were not too tough like the first one that I tried. The clams tasted great but were not very prevalent throughout the soup and some of them were a bit grainy in texture. Overall, I did enjoy this soup. With a little more clams and a little less thyme, this one could have probably taken the reigns over the Chunky brand.

This test was actually pretty fun and I learned a lot about what to look for in other clam chowders that I order in the future. Ultimately, the key to an amazing clam chowder is balance. The texture of the broth needs to be a perfect medium between thick and thin and not too salty, the clams should be widespread and apparent throughout, and the potatoes need to be well cooked and not mushy. Though these are all simply soups out of a can, Campbell’s does a nice job at giving off a homemade feel to most of their soups; particularly the kettle styles.