Few mushrooms to forage for in this packet

These are MSG ( 621) or monosodium glutamate which is a salt of glutamic acid.

It is accepted by the NZ Food Standards Authority that some people who consume this may experience symptoms such a burning sensations, numbness, chest pain, headache, nausea and asthma, but it says that it is okay to have in food as long as it is labelled.

Healthy eaters avoid this additive where possible. The other flavour enhancer is disodium 5 ribonucleotide ( 635), a chemical compound. So in this mushroom- flavoured soup there is only 1 per cent of mushrooms. That means in each 22g sachet of powder there is 0.22 of a gram of mushroom, which is so small you have to wonder why Maggi bothers. I am going to assume these are artificial flavours as there is no mention of natural flavours on the pack. Not sure what oil is used in here, however this is a low- fat product with just 3g of fat per 200ml serve when made up with water. This is xanthan gum, which is made out of fermented glucose and sucrose. It is now becoming a common ingredient in processed foods as a thickener. These are caramel III ( 150c) which is a dark brown colour made by heating sugars with ammonia, and annatto ( 160b) which is a peach colour made from a tropical seed. You can see a few tiny flecks of green when this soup is made up. In a perfect world I would have you all making batches of mushroom soup at home and freezing them in small 200ml serve lots to take to work or school in a Thermos.

Mushroom soup is really very easy to make. But we’re all busy so instead, at the very least, pay the same price for a can of Campbell’s condensed mushroom soup and make that up.

You’ll get more for your money and a better taste as the can will produce 850mls of soup compared to 400mls with these packets.

The best news is that mushrooms are listed second after water on the ingredients list, there is no MSG or artificial preservatives and it’s 97 per cent fat free.

The only difference is that instead of adding boiling water to powder you are taking an extra few minutes to open a can, tip it in a saucepan with some water and heating it. I think that’s worth the effort to ensure a soup which actually has a decent amount of mushroom in it, don’t you?