~ Curious Charlie ~

Pitango Organic Soups and Meals - Chicken & Vegetable Soup @ Monday, August 25, 2014

Charlie was provided with a giftcard to purchase the soup and something to serve it with.

Pitango is a New Zealand brand of organic ready-to-eat foods (soups & meals) found in the chilled section at the supermarket, that doesn't use additives or preservatives.

Is it really organic? Yes as most of the range is "...majority or our Soups and Meals are certified organic by Assure Quality NZ and Australian Certified Organic."

On their site they have a range of soups, curries, risottos, sauces and a few 200g kid's size (or snacks for an adult) pastas and other meal foods. The soup range is huge with 15 different soups with 5 vegetarian options, 5 dairy free and 5 gluten free.

In-stores (we checked out x2 Coles x3 Woolsworth in the suburbs) there was a much smaller range and we only saw soups. But at one Woolsworth there was a much larger range. Anyway the point of this paragraph is to say check out the website, pick what you want and then call Woolsworth/Coles to make sure they have the one you're after and put it on hold. Instead of driving around to find it - which is what we did...

This is a review for the chicken one. In the past we have tried the 'leek and potato' soup, which was very yummy and creamy, and 'spring lamb soup with red wine and rosemary' the texture I did not like, in particular the lamb but it's a personal preference, the flavours were nice though.

I don't really cook, my area in the kitchen is baking cupcakes and foods as gifts (mainly things you can find in your Christmas hamper) not pasta bakes you send to your sister who's ill. So I love buying things that are quick and easy but without all the salt you find in your freezer meals.

Chicken soup is a classic American comfort food and often has noodles it in, a little research tells me it's a classic soup eaten all over the world in places that can get cold, and it makes us wonder if different cultures have it when they have a cold too, as le beau has memories of having his grandmother's make it for him when he wasn't feeling his best. Fortunately at the time of consuming this soup we were all well.

I'd photoshop that door out, but it's in the pool too...

Lets start with the packaging. It's pretty strong and in my bag did not tear which is great, but what I really like is that it's party transparent so you can see what it'll look like, rather than have just a picture of the contents with a serving suggestion (picture vs real product on 'The Checkout' anyone?).

Packages are 600g and serve two, the soup designed as a entree in our option, or for one as a meal - yes I did eat a package for dinner one night.

All the basic + nutritional information can be found on the package and online, as I did major in health and nutrition we shall look at this. But lets start at the top, I like how there's an easy serving suggestion, and instructions on how to reheat it. All the ingredients are things that we would put in a homemade soup with nothing you can only get in a lab.

Normally we avoid things from New Zealand, as it is used as a gateway for China (never eat anything from there as their food standards and ethics is very iffy) but as it's all certified organic it's fine.

When it comes packaged/pre-made food the biggest concern is the amount of salt, as they're usually high in sodium aka salt. It is recommended a good pick if there is less than 300mg sodium per 100g. At 212mg its a tick in this box.

Energy - Less than 200kJ per 100g, or less than 400kJ per 100g if chunky or contains carbohydrate (like potato or pasta). 102kj as it's texture is leaning towards more water than cream, tick.

Total Fats - less than 3g per 100g or 97% fat-free. It's both which ticks all three boxes on the nutrition side of things.

We decided to serve it garnished with chili and parsley, and with a side of cuts of rustic baguette, with one slice with melted cheese on top. As the vegetables in the soup were already cooked the carrot sticks weren't added.

A close up of the texture, with small pieces of vegetables and finely shredded chicken. It was very yummy and did indeed taste homemade. But could I pass it off as my own? Both le beau and jas said no, as I don't have the patience to shred the chicken like this. And jas couldn't pass it off as his as it wasn't his style - he would have made things more chunky and ~~manly~~ less labour intensive. But he did agree it was quite good, though said it was a bit salty for his taste. I thought it was fine though and enjoyed it, and would recommend it.

On prices it's $7 for one size 600g which serves too. Would I buy it at that price? No. But we have seen it on sale for $5.50 each or 2 for $10, in which case I would buy it, along with the potato and leek. From their website you can purchase Pitango ready-to-serve meals & sauces at... Coles, Woolworths, Thomas Dux and IGA.

Have you tried Pitango or any other pre-made chilled meals?