Not sure I'm the right one to be answering your post, but will take a stab at it.I think the condensed soups are used more as a faster way as a sauce base & seldom used as plain soup.In this country,most all of the women work.So a young mother has a full plate,getting home near dark & having housework, meals,home work & kids activities waiting on them, anything that makes it a bit easier is 1st choice.They really do work 2 full time jobs.
Unless you live in the city,there's not a lot of ethnic food choices in the grocery.Our main shop has a small asian selection, a bit more italian & that's about it.
" Does it depend on where in the US you live? Does it also depend on the ethnic or national makeup of an area, as to what fresh/storecupboard ingredients are more readily available? We have Italian and Polish families living locally, which means we get many more authentic ingredients stocked in our shops."
I would say all of the above.We only have a little fresh veggies grown on out lot.We do have a huge choice of frozen foods.
When our DDs were small, we had a garden & our own meat.Now,we don't do that as 2 ppl can only eat so much.With DH retired & myself being on a wt loss diet,we do eat a lot of fruits & veggies.I cook mainly from scratch. Made soup today,2 big pots based on beef broth from meat I simmered in slo cooker over nt.
I have fresh zucchini,squash,cabbage,onion, celery,carrots,turnips,green beans & canned white beans & tomato juice Also frozen corn & mixed veggies.Plus seasonings.We'll have it for supper,along with DH's grilled cheese...cheddar...sandwiches & my sandwich will be turkey breast with lettuce.I boiled 8 eggs today & eat one for brfast most days......along with oatmeal I cook or cornmeal mush.
There will be 8-10 containers of soup to freeze.It's a staple for me & don't like to run out.Used to bake all our cookies,rolls & sweet breads,along with pies & bread. Maybe that's why I need to lose wt LOL
Tomor will be roast chicken with roasted veggies....no potatoes,deviled eggs &home made apple sauce.Then I'll simmer last of chicken,along with bones & later in the wk,will make chicken noodle soup.I've always done a lot of cooking, but I didn't have a job & that makes all the difference.
As to shredded meat, a lot of ppl like it on buns with barbecue sauce added.I also make mac & cheese....but many little ones prefer the boxed type.To each his own.
Originally Posted by
bigbrownowl
My husband, children and I are intrigued by some of the posts in this topic thread. We are interested in several aspects of the American recipes:
1. You seem to use a lot of Condensed soup as a base for the gravy/stock element of your crockpot cooking. For us this seems very strange, as we would use homemade stock, or stockcube/bouillon, or even a good burgundy/bordeaux/chardonnay as the stock. I would normally thicken with either flour/butter, cornflour or arrowroot, and add sour cream or creme fraiche (1-2 tablespoons). You can then season to taste - none of us are salt lovers, but we adore pepper: salt or msg can be added as required. For something that would need a sauce, such as a cheese or parsley sauce, I would normally make a sauce from scratch with butter, flour, milk and some seasoning.
2. You seem to use a lot of canned, packet and bottled products, such as beans and salsa, but not as many fresh ingredients as I am used to using. I routinely add fresh vegetables to my cook pot, but in recipes I have seen on the internet and in US cookbooks, this is not so much the case - do you eat them separately, or are fresh ingredients more difficult to source? I just use what I grow in the garden, but for city dwellers this might be more difficult. Does it depend on where in the US you live? Does it also depend on the ethnic or national makeup of an area, as to what fresh/storecupboard ingredients are more readily available? We have Italian and Polish families living locally, which means we get many more authentic ingredients stocked in our shops.
3. A lot of recipes on here suggest that the meat is cooked so that it shreds and can be eaten in a bun. This seems strange to us, as we would eat "meat in a bun" as street food, or fast food. I usually cook a joint of meat in the slow cooker, so that it can be carved: my husband thought it might be because many Americans eat with a fork, and not a knife and fork as we do here in the UK.
I would be interested in any thoughts on this: obviously the two nations are not just divided by a common language!