by Doran Roggio

One of my very favorite foods to eat is red pepper. You could say I am addicted to red peppers. Eating roasted red peppers gives me the same euphoria as a morsel of chocolate gives to others. I put the peppers in salads, stews, soups, spread on bread or just eat roasted red peppers out of the jar, often eating a whole jar in one sitting. So why do I tell you about my love for red peppers.

It all begins with a recent trip to the grocery store. While getting my food items, I thought about my favorite peppers. I picked up a few jars of roasted red peppers for munching, moseyed over to the soup aisle looking for Pacific Roasted Red Pepper Soup, a ‘to die for’ soup that comes in a box. Much to my dismay there was none of my favorite soup on the shelf.

I looked behind jars, straining my glance to each end of the soup aisle. Not a single box of Pacific Roasted Red Pepper Soup. I was about to go home insatiate and noticed another brand of the soup standing proudly that seemed to enticingly say, ‘take me home and try me’. By now I was feeling desperate for the taste of my favorite soup. I stared at the box; I picked it up and read the brand, ‘V8 Roasted Red Pepper Soup’.

I thought to myself, ‘V8 is a well-known brand. I like V8 juice. Shall I give it a try?’ By now my mouth was watering for the Soup. I put the box of V8 Roasted Red Pepper Soup in the cart, paid for my groceries and headed home, all the while salivating and getting anxious for a hearty lunch of the deep red velvety soup.

Groceries put up, pot on stove, soup heated and I am at the table with the first spoonful and ready to dig in for that tasty sip. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical…the V8 brand had a slightly rougher texture and was the color of rusty orange rather than the deep rich red of the Pacific brand.

My first reaction was to immediately spit out the mouthful of soup. Could I have read the box wrong? I ran to the fridge and looked again this time wearing glasses. No, I had not read it wrong. It certainly said Roasted Red Pepper Soup. I was disappointed immeasurably. Not by any stretch of the imagination did this strange textured and odd tasting stuff resemble my favorite soup.

Anyone who knows me personally will testify to the fact that I can eat almost anything. I love food to my detriment. However, the flavor of this odd tasting substance that dared to be called red pepper soup was so offensive to my taste buds that I could not stomach the V8 brand soup and had to trash the whole box. Even the smell was unfamiliar and distasteful. There are no words to describe the taste, smell, color and texture, except it was like comparing bologna to fillet mignon. One fact is certain, in no way did the V8 brand resemble the rich, exquisite taste of Pacific Roasted Red Pepper Soup.

In summary, if you are going to try boxed soup, I would, without reservation, say avoid the V8 brand and go for Pacific Roasted Red Pepper Soup if you want indulgent, palatable and favorable soup.