Deconstructing Osem Consomme

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Deconstructing Osem Consomme

by Cecily Marbach Oberstein · March 23rd, 2009

Cooking, Grocery, Health, Kosher, New Products

My (lovely) mother is a proper woman. It was a rare meal when we were allowed to place a food container directly on the table. For the most part we would decant the mustard or horseradish into a small bowl and take from that. In many areas I have followed in my mom’s footsteps, I too do not like putting cereal boxes and drink cartons on the table but that is because it bothers my aesthetic senses (i.e. they get in the way when they clutter a small kitchen table) and I want to shield my children against obnoxious marketing and advertising. Yet, unlike my mom I have had to cut corners and fallen a couple of rungs on the proper-ness ladder. By child number two, I stopped making my own tomato sauce and with child number three the days of homemade pie crusts were over.

A few months ago, the Times had an article that my mom cut out and sent to me about money saving measures one could take in the kitchen. I didn’t find it all that earth shattering but one thing it said was that sticking a few soup veggies in a pot is always better then store bought consomme. I love to cook but I also need time saving measures. Osem’s soup mix es, which can be found in most kosher food sections, are tasty and can offer that je ne sais quoi to rice dishes, cholents, and of course soups. In the past year Osem came out with a new chicken consomme that boasts all natural ingredients. Perhaps this new version can help us save time in the kitchen and will offer a healthier alternative to the original. Let’s see:

Osem Chicken Style Consomme Soup & Seasoning Mix 14 oz (Original)

The ingredients of this product as listed on the side of the container are: Salt, flavor enhancer (monosodium glutamate), tapioca starch, sugar, palm oil, spices, dehydrated vegetables (onion, celery), flavorings, antioxidants (butylated hydroxyanisole, butylated hydroxytoluene.

Osem Chicken Style Consomme Soup & Seasoning Mix no MSG 14 oz (New)

Ingredients: Salt, Corn Starch, Maltodexin, Yeast Extract, Palm Oil, Spices (celery, parsley, garlic, black pepper, mace, rosemary), dehydrate onions, Natural Flavoring.

Comparing Nutrition Facts: (1 tsp.)

Calories: 15 New; 10 Old

Sodium: 770mg New; 860mg Old

Total Carbohydrate: 3g New; 2g Old

Protein: 0g New; 1g Old

I guess from here it’s safe to say that the pros mostly lie in the fact that as the label points out there is No added MSG, No preservatives, and No food coloring. Nutrient-wise, this product contains very little. A serving of this consomme is 1 teaspoon of dry powder which will make 1 cup of consomme if prepared according to the directions. This will contain 15 calories, of which there is no fat, 3 grams of carbohydrates, and 0 gram of protein. There is, however, a ton of sodium which makes up about 30 percent of one’s daily recommended allowance.

So in short, yes plain veggies in a pot are better but come on mom, sometimes dinner time just juts its head out of nowhere and Osem soup mix is a quick yummy fix.

Please note: the container that I purchased of the new “all natural” mix does NOT have a kosher for passover symbol on it however the “old” version does. I am unsure whether more recently they have come out with a kosher for passover new version.

Please also note: this title is somewhat of a joke.

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12 Responses to “Deconstructing Osem Consomme”

Avi Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 7:41 am
The ingredient list you gave for the new version includes Corn Starch. Corn is considered kitniyot and would not receive a kosher for passover certification from an ashkenzik agency. In Israel you may be able to find a version that is certified “l’ochlei kitniyot” (for the eaters of kitniyot), but in the US don’t expect to see a kosher for passover version.
Hannah Lee Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 9:05 am
During the year, there are two easy and healthy ways to make broth. One is to blanch your greens– spinach, boy choy, etc– and add some soy sauce or salt and toasted sesame oil. Another is the use of miso, which is fermented soy paste. For Pesach, you could keep a pot on the stove and save the water from cooking vegetables for other dishes, such as potatoes and carrots. The water used for cooking or defrosting gefilte fish also makes a tasty base for soup.
Adam Jackson Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Derrida would be proud to see that deconstructionism has entered the kitchen!

Joking apart, this is a really interesting issue. My mother often uses Osem parev chicken stock for convenience – but I find a good alternative is cooking with plain water in recipes where she might use parev stock mix, and instead adding much stronger spices and herbs than she tends to to make up for the blander liquid.

One thing you might consider is saving offcuts of vegetables in a bag in the fridge during the week until you have enough, and then making a big pot of stock once a week that you then freeze in smaller quantities.

We use parseley stems, old carrots, fennel stems, the woody parts of fresh asparagus stems that you snap off before cooking, collard green stems, and so on. Any green vegetables are good and can really go into stock: cookbooks often seem to suggest not using strongly flavoured vegetables like asparagus or cabbage but I’ve always ignored that and it’s none the worse. If you throw all these into a pot with a halved onion, cover with water and boil for 45mins-1hr, you can then leave it aside to cool before freezing.

If you do this once a week, you’ll always have a box of frozen vegetable stock to defrost. (Another good thing to throw into a tupperware in the freezer for future use is the last inch of wine in a bottle, that you can then use for cooking.)

But anyway, I too entirely appreciate the need for quick meals without fuss — and I will also gladly admit to putting jars instead of serving dishes out if we’re tired or there are no guests. And as Nigel Slater says, “Don’t think you have to cook every day. Don’t think you have to cook at all. Good eating is as much about shopping [ie. buying quick, ready to serve things sometimes] as cooking.”

That said, I know that your mother sets an elegant table and shabbat and holiday meals at her place are a treat!
devra Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Most osem consummes have MSG in them. I’m not sure about the new one but that’s something to really watch out for if you’re guarding your children.
Maya Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 11:05 am
I posted about the Israeli obsession with Osem soup powder a few weeks ago on my blog (howtobeisraeli.blogspot.com). I have to admit that I’ve avoided actually looking at the ingredients list! I’m trying to cut back on my soup powder use, but honestly, it gives soup such a good flavor with absolutely no work…
Samantha Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 11:22 am
The new version may be “msg-free” but I’m fairly certain that yeast extract is the same basic “flavor enhancing” compound.

Yeast extract is also rather difficult to make kosher for passover, even if you do eat kitniyot!
Delilah Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 11:55 am
I am a big fan of making a big batch of veggie stock on a weekend, and then freeze or can the excesses for future use.
Brenda Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
All that salt isnt good for anyone. It’s a convenience food, but at what price?
Naomi Says:
March 25th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
The Osem pareve chicken soup mix has been a staple in my pantry for as long as I’m married – almost 30 years. Because my father had high blood pressure, nothing was cooked with salt when I was growing up. When I started cooking for myself, I still did not tend to use salt, but a spoonful or two of the soup powder in a pot of soup that will yield 8 or more servings doesn’t seem to be a big enough problem to make a tzimmes over, and it does add a nice flavor.
I did recently see a low-sodium version (maybe not Osem) but the chicken flavor has the nerve to actually be fleischig!
shev Says:
March 28th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
I appreciate the hell of making real food in a day that is hours too short, and one’s energy way too low, and the cost of fresh vegetables way too high, so I hesitate to comment. But something was bothering me: didn’t Michael Pollan suggest “Eat Food” as part 1 of his 3-part psak on how to eat to save ourselves and the world? Does msg-free soup mix qualify?
Judy Jackson Says:
March 30th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
The kosher for Pesach Osem parev chicken consomme has a totally different taste. While I use the other one throughout the year, as Adam says, to give a boost to vegetable soups, this one is….how shall I describe it? Inedible. You’d definitely do better using vegetable stock of some kind.
Rhea Yablon Kennedy Says:
April 7th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
I thought of this post the other day when I came across an intriguing alternative: Better Than Bouillon’s kosher for Passover vegetable base. I’ve learned from these comments that Osem has strong cultural significance for many, but I think this newcomer’s worth a try. It’s got various vegetables, olive oil, salt and sugar, potato starch, and onion and garlic powder. Have you guys heard of this?

I support the homemade vegetable stock method, but since I didn’t have time this week, I’m hoping the matzo ball soup made with Better than Bouillon goes over almost as well at the seder.