Don't wait until you catch the first cold of the season to slurp Birds Eye's new line of “Hearty Spoonful” soups. Available in the supermarket freezer case, the company says these are the first retail frozen soups to be sold nationally, even though many restaurants have been using frozen soups for years.

And with good reason. Frozen chicken, meat and vegetables generally have better flavor and texture than canned ingredients. This explains why the Hearty Spoonful “Chicken, Rice & Vegetables” is crowded with pieces of crispy carrots, cauliflower, celery and sweet corn. The chicken chunks are tender but not mushy, and there are visible bits of parsley floating in the golden broth. It all tastes real, even fresh.

Other varieties of Hearty Spoonfuls soups, which are $2.39 for 11.5 ounces of soup, are Homestyle Chicken Noodle, Cheesy Cream of Broccoli and Italian Minestrone. The soups come in microwaveable bowls that thaw and heat in seven minutes or less.

Homemade soups are better and less expensive, we know, but these frozen soups may be the next best choice.

— Chuck Martin

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