Swanson Unsalted Stock vs Swanson Unsalted Broth

Swanson's New Unsalted Chicken Broth

A few weeks ago I discovered that Swanson now makes two types of unsalted products: stock AND broth. When I first noticed it, I thought I had mis-read the labels. But upon closer inspection, I realized that there were, indeed, two distinct unsalted products.

Here are the facts:

STOCK

Swanson's Unsalted Stocks

Swanson Unsalted Chicken Stock: 130 mg sodium/cup

Ingredients: Chicken Stock, Dehydrated Chicken, Natural Flavoring, Chicken Fat.

Swanson Unsalted Beef Stock: 150 mg sodium/cup

Ingredients: Water, Beef Stock, Yeast Extract, Natural Flavoring, Honey, Sugar, Onion Juice Concentrate, Tomato Paste, Lactic Acid, Beef Fat, Beef Extract

BROTH

Only 45 mg Sodium/Cup of Unsalted Chicken Broth

Swanson Unsalted Chicken Broth: 45 mg sodium/cup

Ingredients: Chicken Stock, Contains Less Than 2% of: Yeast Extract, Dehydrated 

Chicken, Natural Flavoring, Carrot Juice Concentrate, Celeriac Juice Concentrate, Chicken Broth, Chicken Fat, Onion Extract

Swanson Unsalted Beef Broth: 75 mg sodium/cup

Ingredients: Water, Beef Stock, Contains Less than 2% of: Yeast Extract, Natural Flavoring, Onion Juice Concentrate, Beef Fat, Carrot Juice Concentrate, Celeriac Juice Concentrate, Beef Extract, Onion Extract

According to cooking resources, stock is usually made with bones – a lot more bones than meat, and often no vegetables. As a result, refrigerated stock turns into a thick, dense gelatinous  substance. Broth, on the other hand, is made with more meat and vegetables. There may be some bones involved, but the end result is looser when refrigerated.

This is what Swanson has to say about its unsalted stocks: “100% natural Swanson Unsalted Chicken/Beef Cooking Stock is a full-bodied cooking base with a rich and savory chicken/beef flavor. With no added salt and seasoning, it is the perfect foundation for flavor creation.”

Here's what it says about the new unsalted broths: “NEW Swanson Unsalted Chicken/Beef Broth adds a richness of flavor, while allowing the natural taste of the food to come through. With no salt added, this broth provides the perfect foundation to work from, letting you make your dishes the way you like them.”

The broth ingredients include carrot juice and celeriac juice, neither of which is found in the stocks. But the biggest difference is the sodium content. The unsalted broths are much, much lower in sodium.

Sodium per 1 Cup Serving:

Chicken Stock – 130 mg Chicken Broth – 45 mg

Beef Stock – 150 mg Beef Broth –  75 mg

So if your stores carry the new unsalted broths, they're the best low sodium options. However, the unsalted stocks are still a good choice. They’re much lower in sodium than the so-called lower sodium versions of broths or stocks.

Swanson UNSALTED Cooking Stocks

My husband is getting some painful dental procedures done this week, so I wanted to buy some “soft” foods for him. I picked up some carrots and summer squash at the farmers market this weekend. I plan to grate them and cook in some broth. I also bought two dozen eggs at the farmers market. I can envision a lot of scrambled egg meals this week.

But I still needed to go grocery shopping yesterday to get potatoes for mashing, cottage cheese, and tuna. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get everything at one store. I picked up a package of Healthy Ones Honey Smoked Turkey Breast. With 290 mg sodium per oz. I figured I could finely chop up the thin slices and gussy up scrambled eggs. And, of course, I picked up a couple of frozen packages of Amy’s Light in Sodium Macaroni and Cheese.

For some reason, I wandered over to the soup aisle. I checked out the broths just to make sure the store still stocked Kitchen Basics unsalted Chicken and Beef stocks. While I was checking out the Kitchen Basics, my eyes drifted down to some containers of Swanson cooking stock. Usually, I don’t bother with Swanson products. Even the supposedly low sodium chicken stock packs a walloping 570 mgs sodium per cup. However, this time my eyes caught something that looked like the word, “UNSALTED.” I did a double take because I was sure my eyes were playing tricks on me. But upon careful examination, I realized that Swanson had indeed come out with unsalted Chicken and unsalted Beef stock. Amazing! I checked the nutritional information and was astounded to find that the chicken stock has only 130 mg sodium per cup and the beef has 140 mg per cup. Of course, I bought two containers each of both chicken and beef stock.

This is great news because Swanson has long been the premier supplier of grocery store broth and stock. Their products always taste good and stores are more inclined to stock products from the Campbell’s/Swanson family.

I headed over to Safeway to complete my shopping trip. There I picked up two loaves of Safeway Kitchens Very Low Sodium Multi-Grain Bread. It has only 5 mgs sodium for two slices and is very soft and not grainy at all. Perfect for a hurting mouth. (Yes, I usually do all our baking, but it’s been too hot to turn on the oven and flat breads like tortillas require too much chewing. I figure I can cut the crusts off and the squishy bread will be fine for a sore mouth.) Then I got a container of Lucerne (Safeway’s house brand) No Salt Added Cottage Cheese. It has only 45 mgs sodium per ½ cup. I also picked up a couple cans of Bumblebee Very Low Sodium Tuna. I figured I could smush up some tuna and mayo for a lunch time treat.

With all my shopping done, I headed home. I was excited about the Swanson stock find, so I immediately wanted to share the news. I tried it yesterday when cooking some thinly sliced potatoes in a skillet. It has a very mild chickeny taste, but there are no off flavors and it isn’t cloudy or murky. All in all, I think it’s a good product. It certainly cannot compare with homemade broth that has simmered for hours upon hours. But it’s a viable quick substitute, and, because it’s a Swanson product, should become readily available in most grocery stores.

The Search for Low Sodium Broth

Yes, I know that homemade is best. But sometimes I want just a smidgen of chicken or beef flavor to perk up a dish. I've been searching for good tasting low sodium broth bases, and I think I've finally found a workable source.

Here's the info I've collected so far:

(For more info on low sodium broths, check out these posts:
THE LOW SODIUM PANTRY: SUPERMARKET BROTHS
New Product - Swanson UNSALTED Cooking Stocks.)

Herb-Ox Sodium Free Beef/Chicken Bouillon
Add 1 packet of dry bouillon powder to 1 cup water. No refrigeration needed. Using partial packets is not convenient. The sodium-free part is great, but the flavors are something else. The beef tastes OK, but the chicken is not so great. It tastes like the stuff used in Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup mix.

Trader Joe's Savory Broth Chicken Reduced Sodium Liquid Concentrate
Add 1 pouch of thick liquid concentrate to 1 cup water. No refrigeration needed. Using partial pouches is not convenient. The flavors are quite good. In fact, I have to restrain myself from sneaking dollops of the concentrate. However, the salt content is higher than I'm comfortable with using -- 360 mg. sodium per pouch. Not good for a couple of cups of gravy or sauce, but I keep them around for when I'm making a huge pot of something.

Better Than Bouillon Reduced Sodium Beef/Chicken Base
Add 1 tsp. base to 1 cup water. Refrigerate after opening. This is a thick, paste-like product. Using smaller amounts than one full serving is easy. OK, the taste is good. But the sodium content is unbelievable -- 520 mg. sodium per serving. And it's supposed to be low sodium! I simply cannot justify using this so-called low sodium product.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Minor's Low Sodium Chicken Base
Add 3/4 tsp. to 1 cup water. Refrigerate after receiving. This is another thick, paste-like product. Using smaller amounts than one full serving is easy. The taste is good and the sodium content is quite acceptable -- 130 mg. sodium per serving. I find myself using 1/4-1/2 tsp of this product in all kinds of things without worrying about overdoing the sodium. I'm very happy to have found this product.