Dry cheese powders also are easy to store, need no refrigeration and have an extended shelf life. These powders may also include a blend of starches and/or gums suitable for use in refrigerated soups, negating the need to add them separately.
If stabilizers are needed, modified starches, similar to those used for canned soups but with the addition of refrigerated storage-stability characteristics, are preferred. Gums are also sometimes added to provide additional body and to help keep purées and other cream-based soups from breaking down either in processing or in retherming.
Pasta requires special consideration, since these products can quickly break down in processing and reheating. While refrigerated soups are processed less aggressively than canned soups, for example, one still needs to add a pasta that will hold up. “The first thing is to design a pasta that will have a good body and thicker walls,” says Bill Stabert, executive vice president, Philadelphia Macaroni Company, Philadelphia. “We start with picking a shape that is designed to hold up in longer cook times and processing. We also might add egg whites to add protein content, which aids in binding starch molecules together. For a refrigerated soup, the addition of 2% egg white is the starting place.” Some companies use soy protein, wheat protein or protein isolates to add the same stability, but he suggests egg whites seem to work the best. Thicker-walled shapes, like a thick, twisted noodle, for example, will also hold up better through processing and reheating.
High salt level has been one of the most-talked-about aspects of soup, especially canned soup. Most canned soup companies have reduced the sodium contents, but refrigerated soups often need less sodium to begin with to create an acceptable product, because they have a less onerous cook step and often use more sophisticated flavoring strategies. A well-flavored, well-balanced soup calls for less salt.
Sea salt is often the salt of choice for high-end refrigerated soups because of its naturally lower sodium content and natural flavor. “While ‘salt is salt’ according to the FDA, sea salt has an advantage over mined salt in that it has more trace minerals and mirrors the salt content in the human body,” says Alan Fisher, president, Ocean’s Flavor, Asheville, NC. “Sea salt is lower in sodium, and its taste does not dissipate over time under refrigeration.”
Another low-sodium alternative is to use potassium-containing salt substitutes that can have up to 50% less sodium than regular salt. Sea salt is 14 times more costly than mined salt; salt substitutes almost 60 times higher.
“The first thing is to have enough balance in a soup that you add just enough salt so that it tastes right without adding too much,” Frick says.
Nancy Backas is a Chicago-based freelance writer and chef. She has been writing about food and the foodservice industry for more than 20 years and can be reached at
nback@prodigy.net
.