Whether expensive or cheap, canned goulash soups vary greatly in quality and taste. ZDF tested six products from supermarkets and discounters.
Kassel – ready meals are controversial. While they consider some to be unhealthy and not very tasty, they save the lunch of others. Canned dishes are quick to prepare and are therefore particularly practical for those who don't have time to cook. However, there are significant differences in quality and taste, as a
ZDF
study of goulash soups from different manufacturers shows.
The products tested by ZDF also differ in price
The consumer magazine Wiso regularly tests foods and products in the “expensive or cheap” category, gathering expert opinions and surveying consumers. In a Camembert test, one product outperformed all others. For the goulash soup test, products from the Ökoland, Sonnen Bassermann and Erasco brands as well as own brands from Aldi, Edeka and Lidl were examined. There is a clear difference in the prices: the own brands from Aldi, Edeka and Lidl are the cheapest at 45 cents, while the soup from Ökoland costs 99 cents. But what about the taste?
These canned goulash soups were tested:
Organic goulash soup from Ökoland for 0.99 euros
Sonnen Bassermann goulash soup for 0.75 euros
Hungarian goulash soup from Erasco for 0.48 euros
Goulash soup from Aldi's own brand Genusszeit for 0.45 euros
Goulash soup Hungarian style from Edeka's own brand Gut & Günstig for 0.45 euros
Goulash soup from Lidl's own brand Kania for 0.45 euros
According to the cooking experts at the recipe portal
koch-mit.de,
a good goulash soup should contain diced meat, peppers, onions and broth. However, time and patience are particularly important, as the soup has to simmer for a long time to develop its typical, strong aroma. The experts assess whether this aroma can also be found in ready meals.
ZDF reveals: There are flavor enhancers in many goulash soups
Caroline Brunnbauer, nutrition expert from the Rhineland-Palatinate Consumer Center, points out that the ingredient lists of the products examined contain noticeably little meat and vegetables, but contain many flavor enhancers - which are intended to create the spicy taste. A laboratory test shows that the cheap products have the highest meat content, especially the goulash soup from Lidl, followed by Aldi and Edeka. Erasco's product contains the least amount of meat. Despite the high meat content at Lidl, the result of the blind tasting is different.
For the taste test, students at the University of Mainz were asked for their opinion. The clear favorite was the cheap goulash soup from Aldi. “The meat tasted best here. It was very tender,” said one student after the taste test. In a test of meat sausage, a cheap discount product also scored points. Ökoland's expensive product was also convincing - "the soup simply had the best ratio of meat to liquid," said one taster. Lidl, on the other hand, received a poor rating and ended up in last place.
Here is an overview of the results of the taste test:
1st place |
Aldi and Ökoland |
|---|---|
2nd place |
Sonnen Bassermann and Erasco |
3rd place |
Edeka |
4th Place |
Lidl |
The consumer magazine's conclusion is: Canned goulash soup is very durable and quick to prepare, but contains little meat and often flavor enhancers. Nevertheless, according to
ZDF
, goulash is
one of the most popular ready-made soups. A total of 90,000 tons of soup are produced in Germany every year.
(tt)