January 2002

MSG in Soup!
The Power of a Little Soup Now and Then Changes Things

I have been paying very close attention to the Campbell's/Progress Soup war since the beginning. Progresso is trying to sell itself as the soup for jerks, while Campbell's is taking the high road by selling itself as the soup for people who are not jerks. I support Campbell's in their attempt to fight against the onslaught of Progresso's smarminess.

In support of Campbell's soup, I make the public aware of my hatred for Progress products. In a grocery store, I always remark, out loud "I don't but Progresso, that soup is for jerks." I say that even when they are on sale. Sure, some people are offended, and even scared, but that is the least I can do in support of my friends.

But recently I found out that neither brand is perfect, by any means. They are both fakers!

During a recent trip to the store, I picked up a can of Campbell's Creamy Garlic Potato soup. It contains MSG. I began to check both Campbell's and Progresso cans. I saw MSG in almost half of their soups.

While I was not entirely surprised with my findings, I began to wonder not why they used MSG in some soups, but why not in all?

MSG is a magical flavor enhancer that works on most anything. I think the best current use of MSG is in Cheetos. MSG is the secret to their super cheesy taste. While MSG can cause medical problems for people, I cannot blame them for trying. After all, who said science or cooking had to be pretty?

But why would minestrone soup get MSG and not the garden vegetable? After all, minestrone is basically vegetable soup with noodles, right? What is the flavor in one that needs no enhancement?

I figured that even the most perfect soup sometimes needs a little help from science, right? Anyway, they have chemical preservatives in the soup as well as the MSG, so high standards are not always correctly imposed on major soup makers.

But that thought did not make me feel any better.

I was nearly at the verge of finding the answer to this problem. I could feel ancient wisdom simmering in the belly of my mind. But then, I lost it.

Last Monday night, Bigfoot, my beautiful wife, made some black bean soup. That black bean soup was the bomb. I cannot say with certainty that she could have done more to make that soup taste better. While eating her soup, I was in heaven.

So I thought to myself, "Screw the MSG debate!" I needed to eat more of my wife's black bean soup. This soup is homemade with natural ingredients. Potato's are called for in the recipe as a thickening agent, but MSG is not needed for any reason. This soup is how nature intended it to be.

Tonight, while I am writing this, Bigfoot is in the kitchen making me another batch of that soup. She is slaving away in the kitchen, making her wonderful soup. That soup is gonna be good to me!

I know this sounds like I am sucking up to her big time, but after lunching on her soup, I can do nothing but worship her. In fact, after I eat her soup, I am going to take her to see a French film. How many people who know me well thought I would ever say that?