Swanson Chicken Broth - The Absolute Best Store Bought Chicken Broth
Swanson Chicken Broth is the best store bought chicken broth that I've tried. Now store bought chicken broth doesn't compare to homemade but Swanson's Chicken broth is pretty darned good.
I'm talking about the boxed broths in the grocery that last forever!
The best thing boxed chicken broth has going for it is convenience. In fact that's the only thing it has going for it!
With a stockpile of it in your pantry you can make any chicken recipe that calls for chicken stock in a flash.
The worst thing about boxed broth, even Swanson Chicken Broth, is that it's not really broth at all. I'm not sure exactly what it is but it reminds me of bouillon cubes.
What little research I've done says that it does share a few basic ingredients of homemade chicken broth but it's mostly a manufacturing process that is not anything like making chicken broth in your kitchen.
In fact most of the flavor comes from flavoring companies. These companies use chemical processes to create compounds that can simulate almost any flavor.
I do know that an entire industry exists just to relieve the home cook from mundane kitchen duties.
When you consider how much store bought broth costs compared to homemade chicken stock you realize how much you pay for that convenience. That not only applies to broth but most convenience foods.
Like I said Swanson is my favorite brand of all I've tried. I'm not the only one either.
I'm a big fan of "Americas Test Kitchen" and they agree with me (or me with them, whatever!) that Swanson is the best available boxed chicken broth.
In fact they go a little further and recommend, based of their taste test, Swanson Certified Organic Free Range Chicken Broth.
Their tasters made the comments that it's "very chickeny, straightforward, and honest flavors," a hearty aroma, and restrained "hints of roastiness."
Seems like the flavoring companies did a good job!
I'm not a fanatic about organic chicken broth and I don't think America's Test Kitchen is either. What they did was conduct a taste test and the organic free range chicken broth was the winner.
One thing they didn't say, however, is whether or not they actually use it in the test kitchen. They just said it was the best.
Well I do use it in my kitchen.
The biggest drawback to me is the fact that there's no "mouth feel". It has the consistency of water.
Homemade stock is full of collagen and you can tell when you taste it that you actually have something good in your mouth.
I have a solution for that problem.
I do use Swanson's a lot just as it is but I also use it to make what I call my "Cheaters Chicken Stock Recipe". The cheaters version is better but still not the same quality as good homemade chicken stock.
What the cheaters version does have is the "mouth feel".
Cheaters chicken stock takes a lot less time than the full version homemade stock but the same technique is used.
Bony chicken parts are added to the broth along with aromatic vegetables and then it is simmered for an hour or so.
Good stuff! But like I said not the same quality as actual homemade which is simmered for hours.
Try the cheaters chicken stock recipe and see if you don't agree that it's better than just plain store bought boxed chicken broth. Even Swanson Chicken Broth!
I also invite you to try some of these chicken soup recipes. Whether you use Swanson's, cheaters or homemade chicken broth these are good soups.
Easy Chicken Soup Recipe
How can an Easy Chicken Soup Recipe be so good? Don't let the long list of ingredients fool you. This Tex/Mex chicken tortilla soup is really easy chicken soup and it's soooo good!
