Down to Earth Organic Soup - French Lentil product reviews

Having just completed an 8 week fitness and health challenge, I was on the lookout for convenience foods, so to speak, that were also good quality, good for me, and tasty, so seeing the Down to Earth French Lentil soup come up for review, I was excited to receive it in my review box to try. Lentil soup was not something I had ever really considered before so I really had no expectations except in that I knew the quality to expect from the Down to Earth products.

Having a look at the can (a delightfully easy to open pull tab - thankyou!!) and the ingredients I was delighted to see so many things that tick the boxes for me, including being organic and not containing lots of nasties and genetically modified this and that ingredients. The can gave me an indication of what the soup might look like - a thinner minestrone type soup with vegies and herbs to compliment them. For those interested it has all the nutritional details on the can too, and I was delighted to see it has a good amount of protein, meaning I can sub my protein shake for it for a quick lunch or dinner!

When I opened and emptied the can into my microwave bowl, I was intrigued with the colours in the soup - from all the vegies in the ingredients list. I tentatively had a wee taste of it cold, and although I am usually a hot/warm soup girl, could see how people could have it cold - however - not the option for me. I did catch a few wafts of pepper and spices, so was looking forward to the warmed up version. When it was ready, I decided to serve it alongside a few cruskit crackers, something that would not detract from the flavour. My tastebuds were definitely not let down by this soup - it has so many flavours in it that work so beautifully together, with my favourite being the chunks of vegies in there.

My overall verdict is that this was a really nice and surprising soup to try, and has a real homemade feel and taste! It is probably a little thinner than soups I would usually have, but, I can see this being an advantage if you were to use it as a base for a vegetarian curry or the like. It is absolutely jam packed full of flavour and is a great healthy alternative and a fast meal if needed. I will definitely be keeping a can of this in the cupboard and trying some of the other varieties.

I do not like lentils, can't stand the stuff, this is from a childhood where lentils were one of the main protein ingredients in my meals with my mother, and whilst she can make a mean salad, she never was able to make lentils taste like anything even remotely interesting. As a result, lentils are something that I have never cooked with and have avoided when possible when it comes to any meal, but the beauty of getting something to review is that I can try it and not have lost any money in doing so. I gave the can a good shake, struggled a little to open it, managed not to spill any on myself and zapped it in the microwave for a couple of minutes.

I opened up my microwave bowl and was pleasantly surprised by the aroma that wafted up at me. My eight year old had sussed out that mummy was trying something new and ran down, requesting some to try. They thought that it was delicious and promptly requested a spoon of their own so they could share it with me, I was happy to share. My ten year old also wanted to share, but didn't eat as much as their sibling and I. Between the three of us, we managed to finish the soup off. It doesn't have me wanting to run out and devour lentils or experiment with them, but I will happily buy this in the future.

For some reason I thought this was French Onion Soup - completly misread the name of the dish and thought yum a spicy onion soup. So imagine my surprise when I opened the can to be met with an array of carrots, lentils and onions - no bland creamy colour instead orange, reds and browns and an amazing spicy aroma.

I scanned the can for instructions and just said to heat and season with salt and pepper. I popped it in the microwave for 2 minutes, stopping it with a couple of minutes to spare. Opening the door was an exotic scent and decided to butter some bread incase it was to extreme for me. Sitting down I stirred the contents so that it mixed well and took my first bite. Definitely not onion soup but instead was me with spices and some heat and it was delicious!

I am pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it and a bonus came home from work with a tingle of a scratchy throat which I am pleased to say has completely disappeared and instead I have a nice warmth on my insides. Where as I would never in a million years of tried this on my own I am really glad I made the mistake and got to experience it as it is something I will be purchasing again and something I am sure my husband would enjoy.

It worked perfectly with the slices of buttered bread and next time I think will add a topping of cream just to mix in. I had some left over steak then I cut up into smaller cubes and added for the last quarter of the bowl which completely topped me off and now will not require anything else until dinner time. Definitely a worth while surprise.

Like Down to Earthâ ™s other products, I am happy this soup is not made with any chemicals, fertilizers, toxic things, synthetic hormones, or fertilizers. It is also certified organic. Thus, so for a canned soup, it is one of the better options out there. The 300 milliliter sized can is perfect paired with my salad for lunch and it has a pull tab for even more convenience. This flavour also has 7.6 grams of protein so it will help keep me satiated until afternoon tea!

When I first opened the can and poured out the soup, I was quite surprised to see how colourful it was. It is a beautiful array or yellow, green, red, orange and brown and does not look like the normal drab lentil soup. It smells and tastes like it has a lot of healthy herbs and spices in it. I taste pepper, salt, carrot, onion, and lentil so it seems balanced. The pepper taste for me was quite pronounced though so be aware if you are sensitive to that spice. After reading the description on their website it says the oregano adds the peppery, licorice flavour and that makes sense. Lentil soups tend to be a bit mushy sometimes but this one has a bit of a bite to it probably due to the carrots and celery pieces.

Because of the amount of protein (due to the lentils), how the product is made and its ingredients, and of course because of how it tastes, I recommend this product. The spice combination is a little much for me to eat this soup daily, but I did enjoy it and it is better than a lot of canned lentil soups I have tried. Though most of my soups are homemade (especially the lentil ones), I likely will buy this soup for my pantry as a backup for when I just do not have the time or motivation to make my own.

Now, this soup caught me completely off-guard. I suppose it goes to show how little attention I really paid to the image on the label. I just saw the word "lentil" and thought I could expect something like dahl; something creamy with a slightly chunky texture. This is, however, a very thin soup. While it has some bits and pieces floating about in it, it has the viscosity of a thin Italian minestrone.

I'm always intrigued by the idea of thin soups in a can because it seems quite a rare occurrence. Usually, canned soup ends up being thicker and chunkier, with thin soups being reduced down to a powdered variety. Because the soup has a low viscosity, you do need to take care when opening the can as it is very easy to spill. Like walking around with a coffee cup filled to the brim, it's very easy to make a mess (the can can be a little stiff to open too, so do be careful not to cut yourself.

These organic soup varieties are quite interesting. They create a more distinctive mix of flavours that I wouldn't normally expect. This French lentil soup, for example, has so much more than just lentils. Tomato, celery, red and green capsicums, celery, and some extra sweetness added with some jaggery (a cane sugar that can have a similar flavour to molasses). The mix of ingredients not only give the soup a wider breadth of flavour, but it also adds an assortment of textures to the meal. There is a nice height to the flavour, and it releases a tang at the base of the tongue and back of the mouth.

Personally, I prefer thicker chunkier soups. So while I quite enjoyed the flavour, the thin nature of the soup (and the small portion size) does mean this is not something that would be a whole meal for me. It lacks the volume and heaviness that would satisfy my hunger. It would, however, work well as a stock, or in combination with another chunkier soup to build on the flavour profiles of my meal, while gaining a texture that I would prefer. It's not going to be one of my favourites or my go-to choice. But once in a while, I may feel like a change, and this product is more than capable of sitting safely in the pantry until I reach that point.

I have never been able to get lentils to taste interesting, so it is important that there is finally a soup on the market that tastes delicious, has lots of chewy bits, is mildly spicy, and is quick to prepare. And as an added bonus it is presented with a beautifully designed label which pays homage to its reputation as a vegetarian food fit for emperors. Two family members, both vegetarian, were meeting me for a meal at a nearby camping ground, so I thought this would be a good item to try with them.

I wanted the three of us to be able to taste this product, so I bought some cooked rice and soybean products from a local vegan shop and put these in the middle of the table. That way we could all try the combination with the soup. To add to the natural ingredients and sustainability themes of the soup, I left the vegan extras in their carryout container rather than transferring them to a plate as the container was a completely compostable material made from sugarcane fibre.

I liked the spicy additives in the soup. Each of us picked something different although all comments were favourable. I thought there was a reasonably strong flavour of cumin, and I also picked out the fennel. One said the strongest taste for him was pepper and tomato; the other said he noticed the ginger first. The consensus was that this was an attractive product which would be very useful when camping (their favourite pastime) as it would not need refrigeration, and one of them said it would be equally tasty whether eaten hot or cold. However, they thought the tin could have been bigger.

When the comment was made about being able to eat it hot or cold, I was still eating my portion, so I deliberately left a little in my plate so I could try it cold. He was right - it was just as nice, and on a hot day that would make sense. I could imagine it served cold with a drizzle of coconut cream on top - heaven! I also think it would lend itself well to being a soup base, this time as a hot meal. I would like to try it with some leftover cooked vegetables stirred through; this would make it go further, and the flavours would accommodate a little more bulking out. There are lots of possibilities; I am sure to think of more.