As you probably already know, I have been seduced by PC’s new line of products called Black Label. The other day I was shopping and totally exhausted. I wanted a quick, easy but tasty dinner.
The Product
Normally I would turn to, yes, I admit it… A can of cream of mushroom soup to turn into a chicken and mushroom pasta dish for Reg. It was one of the first meals I learned how to make right after graduating from school and he loves it.
When I discovered PC Black Label had a Wild Mushroom Finishing Sauce on sale for 50% off, I decided to splurge and pay the $3 and give it a try.
Kitchen Test
I just cooked up some chicken and mushrooms, then added the sauce. Super easy.
The sauce is made with portobello, shiitake and porcini mushrooms and Burgundy wine. What could be bad?
Foodie Results
There was a lot of the flavour in our dinner. You could definitely taste the mushrooms and wine but something was not quite right. For the longest time, I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Reg said it was OK but my version (with the can of mushroom soup) was better. And I have to admit… he was right. In the end I realized, it just tasted kind of fake. It just did not taste real to me.
Then I checked the ingredients. I don’t know if it was the cellulose gum, the carrageenan or the diglycerides but something in there threw me off. Not only that, the sauce was so rich (main ingredient after water was whipping cream) that it gave me a stomach ache that night.
Sadly, this is one Black Label product that I think was quite sub-par. I was expecting much higher quality and less commercial ingredients. It is flavourful but for me, not worth it. I give this product two out of five wooden spoons.
I had high hopes when I read the title of this post. Too bad it didn’t measure up. You’re right that, at 50% off, it’s somewhat justifiable, but I wouldn’t pay $5.99 under any circumstance anyway.
Nice to know that sometimes the old can o’ soup is still the best!
I guess you figure there would have to be some funky preservatives added to keep a creamy sauce fresh in a jar at room temp. on a shelf for months. I agree, good ole Campbell’s soup is the safe bet. My tummy doesn’t do well with heavy creams either, so I usually go with a lighter cream when making yummy sauces.