* At this point it is possible to add fresh tomatoes instead of canned ones.
Ingredients
500g tinned tomatoes
1 pint water
1 small bacon rasher
1 tablespoon margarine
Mixed herbs
1 tsp. flour
Small onion
Small carrot
Salt & pepper
Sugar and lemon (to taste)
Equipment
1 white tray 1 chopping board (white)
1 frying pan 1 Measuring jug
5 bowls 1 vegetable knife
1 tablespoon 1 wooden spoon
1 can opener (electric) 1 pan
Nutritional Information
From the above we can see that although the Heinz soup contains 1.6g of protein, it also has the highest fat content.
The Campbell’s soup has even more protein than the Heinz soup does, but less fat and 21% less carbohydrate.
The Weight Watchers soup is nutritionally deplete. The soup contains the lowest protein, carbohydrate and fat levels. This is because these are the nutrients that increase cholesterol levels if absorbed in excess.
The fat, carbohydrate and protein levels in the two home-made soups do not vary. However, fresh tomatoes have an extra 0.2g fibre per 100g and often taste better. Compared with the manufactured soups, they both have relatively low fat levels although these could be lower if the bacon was not added as it is very fatty. They also provide 0.4g more protein than any of the others.
Ingredients
By looking at the different ingredients I can see which soup contains the most artificial additives, preservatives, colourings etc.
Heinz
Tomatoes, Water, Vegetable oil, Sugar, Modified Cornflour, Salt, Dried skimmed milk, Whey portion, Spices, Herbs, Citric Acid.
Whey portion has been added to give the soup a better consistency, but there are no flavourings or colourings added, which makes the soup safer for people who suffer allergies to certain additives.
Campbell’s
Tomatoes, Onion, Modified Starch, Flavour enhancers, Sugar, Hydrogenated vegetable oil, Salt, Lactose, Yeast Extract, Milk protein, Spinach, Flavourings, Malic acid, Colours, Pepper.
This soup contains flavourings and flavour enhancers, which are chemicals (often man-made) that make the food taste stronger and also make it more palatable. Colours have also been added to make the soup more appealing visually. The most common colourings in soup are carotene and brilliant red, the latter to which many people are allergic. It also contains lactose, which could be deadly to someone who is lactose intolerant.
Weight Watchers
Tomatoes, Water, Modified Cornflour, Salt, Dried Skimmed Milk, Vegetable Oil, Whey Protein, Sweetener - Acesulfame Potassium, Spice Extracts, Herb Extract.
To reduce fat levels, the soup does not contain sugar, but instead contains sweeteners. Although these don’t contain many calories, they are dangerous chemicals and some have been proven to be carcinogens.
The Homemade ingredients can be found underneath the timeplan. From those you can see that all the ingredients are natural and can be purchased separately.
Taste Tests
Below is a blank copy of the proforma the taste testers had to complete. Unfortunately due to time I did not get to do two tests for each soup, so with all of my results the testers could see the soup and so could be influenced by colour etc.
Five different people chosen at random tasted the soups using a spoon, sterilised in between usage in boiling water. After each taste, they rinsed their mouths with water, therefore ensuring a fairer test.
Below are the results, which I collated from the taste test.
From the above I can take the mean and then round it to the nearest whole number therefore giving me the average results.
Results
In the following section, the average results for each soup will be displayed as star diagrams and then I will use pie charts to compare the sweetness’ etc. of the different soups.
Evaluation
The graphs show that all the soups seemed to have a high level of blandness, with only the Campbell’s soup having a strong taste.
All the soups looked similar and this reflected in the marks for colour, with 3 out of 5 scoring a 3 and the others a 2. It is interesting to see here that the home-made soup with canned tomatoes had a greater colour than the soup made with fresh tomatoes. This could be due to colouring added to the tinned tomatoes to make them appear more appealing. The 2 home-made soups were also a lot thicker than the others due to a few possible factors; either they were not blended properly, or they had more ingredients than the others did and so was more broth like than soup.
The home-made soups took a long time to prepare (1hr30) compared to the shop bought ones, which comparatively were very quick to make. But if the soup was made before hand then it could be microwaved in less than 3 minutes, therefore putting it on an even keel with shop bought equivalents.
By comparing the results that I have now collated, I will be able to make a summary of the individual soup and who it is best suited for.
The Weight watchers soup is very low in fat, but contains many additives such as sweeteners. It is also the most expensive soup at 19p per 100g. The soup is also not very thick and rather bland. I think that this soup would be good for people who are trying to lower their cholesterol levels (part of a low fat diet)
The Heinz product “Cream of Tomato Soup” is cheaper (16p per 100g). This soup is almost the opposite of the Weight Watchers soup as it has high fat and carbohydrate levels. It doesn’t contain any artificial products although it has a very unnatural orange colour. This soup has very high sugar levels, which is probably one of the reasons that it appeals to younger children so much. This is a very family orientated soup with the emphasis on younger people. It doesn’t have any strong obnoxious tastes, which may seem unusual to children, but instead tastes very similar to watered down tomato ketchup.
Campbell’s Tomato soup was the cheapest soup (15p for 100g). The ingredients label was very vague with expressions such as flavour enhancers leaving the consumer only to guess what went into their soups.
It contains a high level of fat (2.3g per 100g) as well as being very sweet. The latter is probably due to the flavour enhancers and other additives. I believe that this soup has probably been targeted at adults. It doesn’t have advertising campaigns aimed at children and the taste is more refined than the Heinz soup. It is also cheaper meaning that single people can afford to buy it and the name and the design on the tin have a very upmarket feel to them.
The two home-made soups can be evaluated together due to their similarity. Both were as cheap as the Heinz soup, but it was much harder to make. However it does leave you with the satisfaction that you yourself have made it and that you know what has gone into it. This means that it will not contain any ingredients, which you, the consumer may be allergic to. They both had darker colouring than the other soups due to the lack of food colourings etc. and were low in fat, but high in protein (1.3g per 100g) and carbohydrate (6.9g per 100g). The high protein levels could have been affected by the amount of bacon I added to give the soup a stronger taste. I do not believe that for everyday, that the soups would be worth making. They create a lot of hassle and don’t always come out as planned. However, if one has culinary experience then making your own soups could be an advantage to you as you decide the ingredients and how strong or weak you want it and it will accommodate for different budget types. Therefore I believe that this is the most versatile soup. I preferred to make it with canned tomatoes as to me there was no strong difference in taste and it made the preparation much easier.
My practical was not executed to its maximum potential as I started 10 minutes late. This threw my timeplan into disarray, meaning that I didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing at a certain time. My knowledge of cookery also failed me, as I did not know how to fat steam and therefore had to miss this process out.
If I were to repeat this practical, I would read up on the technical terms so that I knew what to do before going in to the practical. Due to the shortage of cutlery e.g. bowls, I think that I would have to bring in my own cutlery. This would speed up the overall process, as I wouldn’t have to waste allocated time searching for it.
