ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 2, 1997 TAG: 9704040083
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CANDY SAGON THE WASHINGTON POST
Canned chicken broth is in almost every pantry, but does all that broth taste the same? We tasted nine common supermarket brands, and the results were surprising.
Among the most common, Campbell's - the only condensed one (directions call for adding an equal amount of water to the broth) - had the best flavor.
But the tasters liked two brands from small health-food companies even more. Shelton's All-Natural Chicken Broth and Health Valley Fat-Free Chicken Broth tasted like homemade.
No wonder: The ingredients listed on their labels read like homemade - chicken broth, water, sea salt, onion, celery, white pepper. No dextrose or hydrolyzed wheat gluten or monosodium glutamate, as is found in nearly every national brand.
Almost all the broths, with the exception of Health Valley, were quite high in salt, ranging from 580 to more than 1,000 mg of sodium (about 25 percent to nearly 45 percent of a person's daily required amount). Health Valley alone had a reasonable 170 mg (7 percent of the daily value).
On the other hand, none of the tasters liked any of the low-salt or no-salt broths. In some cases, they were simply bland; others had a vile off-flavor.
If sodium is a concern, better suggestions would be to make your own, to dilute regular broth or to use just water with a generous helping of herbs and pepper to boost flavor.
Here in alphabetical order are the results of our taste test:
Campbell's: The only condensed broth, but diluted with water, it has a rich flavor that surprised tasters. ``The others taste so thin compared with this,'' said one.
College Inn: A very mild chicken flavor with an almost sweet after-taste, probably because of the added dextrose. Interestingly, it has even more salt than Swanson.
Health Valley Fat-Free Chicken Broth: The favorite. ``Delicious''; ``Like I made it myself''; ``Almost worth getting a cold for'' were some of the reactions. A rich, homemade flavor, not too salty.
Progresso: Progresso soups have a high-quality image, but the chicken broth was highly disappointing. ``Watery,'' ``an off-flavor'' and ``too much sweetness'' were among the comments. A surprising dud.
Shelton's All-Natural Chicken Broth: Very chicken-y and homemade-tasting, and not overly salty. ``Like my grandma might have made,'' one taster said. A good choice.
Shelton's Fat-Free Low-Sodium Chicken Broth: Very bland. Unless you must avoid salt completely, a better choice would be the Health Valley (at 170 mg of sodium compared with Shelton's 60 mg). Or make your own.
Swanson (aseptic): Less salty than the canned version, chicken flavor very mild and more sweetness. Resealable container, however, almost makes it worth it.
Swanson (canned): Very salty. One taster described it as ``salt first, then chicken.'' Not surprising, since salt is the second ingredient listed on the label.
Swanson Lower-Salt Chicken Broth and College Inn Lower-Sodium Chicken Broth: Forget it. Use water. Both these brands had a soapy, unpleasant flavor.
The recipe on page 8 brings together typical Middle Eastern sweet and savory flavor components in a quick-fix one-dish meal. As chicken and prunes simmer in cinnamon and cumin, the prunes become plumped and juicy, creating a sweet counterbalance to the tender chicken. Serve over couscous and sprinkle with toasted almond slivers, if desired.
Recipe for: EASY MOROCCAN CHICKEN
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Need to get dinner on the table in a hurry? Thisby CNBMoroccan chicken dish takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. color. Type first letter of feature OR type help for list of commands FIND S-DB DB OPT SS WRD QUIT QUIT Save options? YES NO GROUP YOU'VE SELECTED: QUIT YES login: c