Product Review: 365 Organic’ Miso Soup
Posted by Chris Perrin on Growers & Grocers
Full disclosure: I love miso soup. I don’t care that it is made from fermented soy beans, dashi, and kelp. None of those ingredients should taste good, but they do. In fact, they taste absolutely amazing. This is why I was so excited the other day when I was getting ready to check out from Whole Foods and I noticed a large display of 365 Organic Everyday Value®’s miso soup in a carton.
I use 365 Organic’s vegetable broth all the time. I love the flavor because it is not too mild, but it is not overpowering either. Given that the soup is vegan, I assumed they would use the same delicious veggie broth, which made me really excited to try it. It should have been a perfect storm: a fantastic brand of broth combined with one of my favorite soups. What could go wrong?
Apparently, plenty did. Hands down, 365 Organic Miso Soup is the worst miso soup I have ever had in my life. In fact, it is one of the worst soups period that I have ever had in my entire life.
I should have known there was a problem from the beginning when I poured it into my bowl. Normally, miso soup is a dark brown which lightens as the miso is stirred. The 365 Organic miso soup was dirty green, like someone had boiled massive amounts of spinach for way too long in it. It also did not smell of fermented soybeans like miso should.
Still, looks can be deceiving. Sometimes the ugliest food tastes best and vice versa, so I stuck my bowl into the microwave and heated the soup until warm. (Had I had access to a stove, I would have boiled it that way.) Sadly, it tasted just like it looked… kind of dirty, muddled, and like overcooked greens. There was no depth of flavor, there was no slightly alcoholic taste from the fermentation, there was not even enough salt to make the soup drinkable.
I wanted to like the soup. The thing that bugs me is that unlike a restaurant which may have a bad night, the factory where 365 Organics’ soup is made is probably not going to retool their line anytime soon. I may buy one more box, just because I do want quick and easy miso soup that does not come with ramen noodles, but I think I am back to square one.
Next time, I’ll leave the boxed soup at home and make my own.
