Customer Reviews

Pacific Natural Foods Organic Free Range Chicken Broth, 8-Ounce Pouches (Pack of 24)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As someone who has gone from cooking for 4 to now cooking for 1-2 I'm having to adjust recipes to make smaller portions. Chicken broth is a grocery item that I use in many recipes but small (8oz) portions are not available at any of the local grocery stores in my hometown. I ordered this because of the convenience of being able to open only what I need but I will continue to purchase not only because of size but taste. The taste is awesome compared to Swanson's, Campbells, Sweet Sue, etc. This broth has no clumps of fat floating as with previously mentioned brands and it's not high in sodium. It is organic, healthy, gluten free and tastes GREAT!

excellent, tasty product. Nutricious and nicely packaged. You can make a great soup in a jiffy with this product and at a cheaper cost than buying soup... and better for you too. Great when combined with freeze dried vegetables.

This is great stuff. I love using broth in lots of recipes. But I hate getting the big carton because more often than not - some of it goes to waste because I can't use it all in time. So I love having the smaller cartons - you can use enough for just one bowl of soup or for flavoring veggies or rice - or you can use more if needed. The best part is - none goes to waste and it tastes fabulous. This is something I will always want on hand.

I bought this a BJ's at about 1/4 the price. I still feel that I paid too much because this tastes like saltwater. I don't tastte any chicken. Despite being labeled low sodium, it has 25% of the daily sodium per cup. College Inn Organic Chicken Broth, 99% Fat Free, 32 fl oz or Swanson Natural Goodness Chicken Broth, 16-Ounce Aseptic Box (Pack of 12) both taste much better. More Than Gourmet Glace De Poulet Gold Roasted Chicken Stock, 16-Ounce Packages is the best concentrate by far. Don't buy this -- it's awful.

Unlike most people who use this size in recipes, I actually carry it along as snack food. I would rather have a salty drink than sweet, and this has just the right amount of spice (and doesn't need refrigeration until it's opened)

I sometimes find a batch to be a bit bitter (not spoiled, just maybe overboiled), but it's not a deal-breaker. Since the major competitor (Imagine Foods organic) gives my MSG-sensitive husband a headache, I'm not going to be switching any time soon.

I bought this on a whim at the store, intending to use it in risotto. I didn't think it smelled very chicken-y so I tasted it. It tasted nothing like chicken...it tasted like nothing I wanted to eat. Fortunately I had some "Better Than Bouillon" on hand and used that with water.

I checked the Cooks Illustrated review of chicken broths - it was the lowest rated broth of 9 tested. One of the remarks: "like an entire vegetable drawer gone bad".

I would agree with that. Stay away from this broth.

I have these on subscription so I never run out. The flavor is fantastic, and the packaging makes them convenient to use often. They don't contain hormones or antibiotics which makes them much better than canned broth from the grocery store. They don't have to be refrigerated until they're opened, but they're packaged in 8 oz. containers so I rarely use less than a whole one. They're an outstanding base for soups, dumplings, gravies and sauces.

overall synapsis:

The Pacific Natural Foods Organic Free Range Chix Broth is a very healthy alternative to most of the broth sold on the market(s) and it has a neutral flavor to let one either spice it up and keep it down.

It tastes decent, not especially flavorful when compare to some other brands.

It has lower sodium and than a lot of broths out there but the sea salt gives it a more "salty" taste.

It doesn't use a lot of articificial ingredients other stock/broths put in theirs. Overall, a decent stock for general use.

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(detailed review for those wanting more indepth review)

*note* most stores sell broths (and not stock). So in my review, I often will use "broth" when comparing the stock to other broths(the ones in the supermarkets). Hope this helps :-)

1) Taste:

it is neutral, but we like to add our own ingredients to our own soups anyways. A lot of times other stock/broth have a bit too much onion, garlic, or other spices.

This one is pretty plain in flavor thus it gives the cook/chef a lot more creativity. Because it IS organic and free range, the stock is heartier and heavier than regular watered down, steroid laden chix broths, meaning: it has a bit more "cloudiness" to it than the regular clear chix broth out there.

It does leave a taste behind, not exactly an after taste but a nice finish, per se.

We have used this stock for something as simple as homemade egg drop soup(using little bit of sliced ginger(taken out after cooking), salt to taste, and once the soup heated up, adding some dissolved corn starch, letting it boil again, turned off, then dropping a well beaten egg by drizzling it over the top of the soup to create a flowery effect, the Chinese call it "Egg Flower Soup" vs "Egg Drop Soup") to something as hearty as Minestrone.

It's not very good all by itself as we have served this to our sick children and they can't seem to swallow it plain(myself as well when I was sick) when we just wanted some clear broth.

Without added salt or flavoring, the broth itself is very bland.

It doesn't have a "canned" taste to it and that's a nice plus

2) Size

it is rare to find stocks/broths in this serving size. Most broths come much larger. When I am by myself, I can just open one up without wasting the extras. And Amazon do sell the bigger sizes on the site but when you compare oz to oz, this size is actually slightly cheaper (about .007 cents) than the regular sizes making it the PERFECT serving size! (do bear in mind that prices at Amazon changes all the time.)

3) Packaging

we like the "tetra-pak" packing of this product. It doesn't have a metallic taste to it. It is nicely packed in 4 packs so it stores easily on the shelf without taking up a lot of space. Round cans really waste spaces while these tetra/square packes utilize every inch of the cabinet space.

the only downside to the packaging is that it is NOT recyclable(for us, in our area).

4) Does it "groove?" (make gravy)

Why this matters...

a lot of folks like to make gravies with their broth. And we have been asked by our friends quite a bit why we prefer to use stocks vs. broths when it comes to making gravy.

For those that are interested:

there is a bit of difference between stock and broth. Stock are bones/marrow cooked thus more gelatinous, broth are meat prepped so it doesn't have gelatin to it. This makes a difference when one wants to make something thick like gravy.

a good gravy requires a bit of help from the stock itself, to gelatinize, and while one can make gravy with broth, stocks are superior when it comes to making things such as gravies.

This stock, however, doesn't make gravy well for some reason. Not sure why. We've tested it a few times, it requires much more flour than the conventional recipes. So bare that in mind if you want to make gravy with the this stock. On the other hand, I'd highly recommend the stock made by "wolfgang Puck" it is a better stock both in flavor and "grooving" ability. LOL

5) Odds and Ends

this broth is a good and healthy alternative to those that like lower sodium options and do not like a lot of flavoring to their soup. What makes it even better is not just that it is organic, but free range.

By definition, organic means that the chickens are not fed hormones and are fed natural grains, but that doesn't mean that they can roam free, they might still be caged up in a limited space. Free range means the chicken can roam more freely(although some farmers have argued that chicken that can have 10 feet of range is consider free range, it is still better than being couped up in a 3" X 3" square with their beaks cut off and being injected by nothing but steroids). A chicken that can roam is definitely a healthier chicken. They produce more muscular meat and healthier bones and we get to benefit from that.

We have switched to as much free range chicken as we could afford while at least all organic and have seen a good healthy change in our bodies along with other diets and exercises.

I would also recommend having Wolfgang Pucks Organic Chicken Broth and chicken stock on hand (they sell it here on Amazon). The Wolfgang Puck brand stock is more flavorful and stands more on its own and creates recipes that are more flavorful.

We use this product whenever we want to serve something more neutral when pairing with other more flavorful foods.

On a sick day, the Wolfgang Puck BROTH is superior by itself. (in plain taste, we prefer broths over stocks, the Wolfgang Puck's broth is excellent by itself!)

But we still like this product a lot, for its healthy and neutral taste thus giving us a lot of room for creativity

*note* some of the folks have complained that it is too salty while others stated that it is low sodium. I personally think everyone's taste buds are different and I have cooked for folks for dinner at the same time that would say my dishes are too salty to not salty at all. I think some of that has to do with the way we grow up, the way our genetics are, and our age and habits.

If a person has cut down on their salt intake for a period of time, their taste buds will be more sensitive to salt.

In this case, sea salt is a very strong salt. Using just a pinch of it can equal to the 30 times the taste of the table spoon salt. But the sodium level is still lower because less salt is used.

I can see why some folks would say it tastes too salty while others say it is not that salty.

To me and my wife, our salt intake tend to be on the higher end so this broth doesn't taste "salty" to us. Hope this helps.

****totally unimportant view****

btw, no matter how healthy or good the broth is for humans, it is always bad for the chicken(s)themselves: organic, free range, or caged...makes one wonder if they'd ever think: "maybe we shouldn't cross the road...because the butcher is on the other side..."

These 8 oz Free Range Chicken Broth by Pacific Natural Foods are the perfect size to have on hand in the pantry. Shelf stable, they can just sit there until needed. Make real tasty rice with 1/2 cup rice cooked in one carton of this broth! Perfect size for two servings, or when you just need a little broth, say to moisten dressing, or to make mashed potatoes. No junk, like maltodextrin and MSG, in this broth either! All natural, all chicken, and all GONE!

This chicken broth has a wonderful flavor and color--much deeper than other chicken broths I've used in the past. Plus the one cup size is perfect for recipes, eliminating the waste often encountered with canned broth.