Fray Bentos have really gone down hill in the last few years, When i was a kid they were good, full of meat and lovely pastry now they are just crap and expensive.
I thought the same as they were good and I enjoyed them back in the 90s but now I wouldn’t touch one with a barge pole…who’s Gota barge pole the infamous words of Peter Kay 😂
In the mid to late 70's the Fray Bentos pies were reasonable pies and cheaper than now and granted often hard to open with a tin opener even though the pastry top often browned and went crispy I never had one where the base of the pie went crispy I always remember them as damp and soggy pastry on the bottom of them don't think I would want to try them nowadays 😀
I tried a steak and kidney one a few months back. On the top of the tin it says, "back to our classic recipe" and " better meat more of it." Since they put those messages on top of the tins, I think they have impooved a bit, but maybe not as good as they used to be in the 80s and 90s.
@@PotatoPirate123 Baxter's obtained the Frey Bentos brand many years ago and subsequently destroyed it. Baxter's soups aren't that good anymore, nothing like the late Mrs. Baxter's recipes at all.
Fray Bentos is in Uruguay. Set up by the British to feed the British and Commonwealth troops in WW1. Employed 30,000 and processed 5,000 head of cattle every day producing Corned Beef. Conditions were terrible in the trenches but this soup would have pushed Tommy Atkins over edge.
I used to do a Stand up Historian lecture to show all sorts of groups of people how interesting history is..The Fray Bentos story, and thec HP sauce story really grabbed the crowd. Played for laughs as well as facts it made for an entertaining 40 minutes. So glad you are a fan of feeding armies. As a matter of interest, the poor French army under Napoleon....now I feel another laugh coming on!
@@kellenfurter It's so easy to make a classic cream of tomato soup that I do my own now. Heat up a tin of tomatoes. As it's warming up add half a teaspoon of onion powder, half a teaspoon of celery salt, half a teaspoon of ground white pepper and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Blitz it with a stick blender. Add a splash of cream (milk will do at a push, can even use powdered milk if you want to use all shelf stable ingredients). Adjust seasoning to taste at the end. Maybe add a pinch of sugar but if you got good toms you won't need to. This doesn't take much longer than just warming up a tin of soup and costs barely more than a tin of toms. It's better than any of the branded cream of tomato soups.
The name Fray Bentos on any foodstuff would be enough to scare me off. Fray Bentos pie and chips was my fave meal for many years as a kid. Not even sure when they went shite. I remember still loving them in the 90's though.
When it comes to: "Creamy Soups", for me, Mr Sainsbury's own brand of "Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup" fills my boots every time...at 62 pence a tin! It's Soup and Buttered Toast Heaven before Bedtime! Our poor Gaz has forsaken his usual Knife and Fork, for a Spoon, for supping/sucking stuff now!...LOL..😀...😀...! Take care, all....😊...😊...!
Even some of Baxter's products have declined in quality. I have, literally, thrown away some of the currently produced, Baxter's soups that I used to love as a younger man. The moral is - don't just buy a product, based on the name.
Yer grans soup though sir. You just canny whack it ehhhh? I’d take up necromancy and raise her fae the deed, if it meant another plate of that ham hock lentil soup. Try lentil soup with vinegar in it as you serve it 😉 throw the bread in. You’ll thank me xx
Unfortunately Baxter's is a shell now of what it once was, they've been going down the typically greedy path of cheapening their products whilst increasing prices for many years now. It's also Baxter's that have been cheapening Fray Bentos for the past 13 years.
Aldi soups are fine. Incidentally the mention of Fray Bentos reminded me of my late mam who bought her first Fray Bentos pie in the 60s. She blew the oven door off. She hadn't realised she had to take the lid off before putting it in the oven. 😂😂 Hope you're feeling better Gareth. Sending you ❤️ from Newcastle upon Tyne.
My wife almost did the same. When we got married she'd never had a Fray Bentos pie before so we got some in because I loved em. We also had a fancy new oven with a glass door so I couldn't resist a peek to see if it was rising. That's when I spotted the dome shaped lid still firmly attached. I took it out of the oven and put it outside carefully and ran. That was frightening.
We started raising chickens 2 years ago. With 10 hens and 1 rooster, the eggs are fertilized, so we hatch a new flock every 6 months or so. The roosters must be 'harvested' since they are mean and can hurt the hens. The first time I tasted meat and gravy from one of those roosters, I literally cried. I had NEVER tasted anything so good. Our birds free range in the day on 9 acres, and are locked up at night. Our few neighbors greatly appreciate free eggs. Store bought canned soup is NOT allowed in this house. Thank you for testing this stuff. -- North Central Florida, US -- 6.21.24
Thanks for doing a Fray Bentos taste test for us, even when you're poorly, brave guy. I'm amazed Fray Bentos are still going, though they don't spend much on meat in their products, I suppose that helps. I've had the Bramwell's before, I like it too.
When I was a teenager, I was eating a Fray Bentos pie, and almost vomited when I ate some of the soggy, bottom part. It just tasted of grease, and made me gag. This was probably in 1970, as the song "Mama Told Me Not to Come" by Three Dog Night was playing on the radio. The funny thing is, for decades afterwards, whenever I heard that song (which I actually like), I felt sick!
Got to say Gareth, I am not a Aldi shopper but I absolutely love their Chicken soup and the Mushroom soup, I can keep on going! So well worth the money 💴
The Aldi Chicken soup is lovely. Lots of chicken bits in it, I went off Fray Bentos when I bought one of those steak and kidney puddings. It had hardly any meat in it.
I am of that age group that still compares prices with old money and new close to 8 bob for a tin of coloured water that looks as if the chicken walked through it on stilts, but it's nice to see you back in action, even if it's just reviewing soups for now.
@@rayhathaway7831 I thought he said 40p a tin, but thanks for the update, remembering what you could purchase back in the day for 17 shillings compared to today is shocking.
I had a fray bentos pie weeks ago and there was no bottom I like the chicken soup too I hah to laugh when you drank your water out of a half pint beer mug lol great vid G 👍🇬🇧
Thanks for taking my comment seriously and checking it out. This is what you do best! When I saw it I immediately thought of your channel, and a no nonsense review. Hopefully Fray Bentos sees this and up their game. On another note, glad to see you looking well and a BIG congratulations on reaching your 100K subscribers 🎉
Well, soup without vegetables is a new one for me. I am not expecting the finest of the fine for that price, but water, flour and oil is not soup - I don’t know what I can call it and still be polite. I might use the Aldi one as a quick sauce, but I don’t fancy the Fray Bentos one at all. Congratulations on the 100,000 subscribers. A nice cup of tea to celebrate is in order! 🫖
Gareth - have literally just refreshed to see you hit 100k subscribers! Amazing work - my family and I love your channel and I wish you nothing but the best for your recovery 😊 you can do it mate - we'll be there for you
I think its the cleaners mop bucket water, after the Pie line knocks off for the night, 🥧 🥧 🥧 🥧 🏭 🌙 🌉 🪣🧹👵, She comes in, mops all the floors diligently, and what she empies from her mop bucket at the end of the shift, is watered down and sold as 'Fray Bentos' soup... 🍲 🧹🪣💧 🥫🐔 Hell, even the chicken is ashamed 😐 Never tried it, had a pie, done with Fray Bentos now, forewarned IS for armed...
Frey Bentos pies are horrible! You can't get lid off 'em! Tin opener just goes round and round and the pastry (if you eat it) , is too oily and tasteless!) Waste of money Aldi is much better. Glad to see you up and about Gareth.
If I can remember correctly without looking back on the playlists the Aldi chicken soup gave Heinz a run for its money? That fray bentos looked like dishwater and I'll take your word that it tasted like it. Aldi's minestrone is actually the nicest tinned soup I've ever had. Packed with veg and pasta. Fray Bentos is still back in the 70's when we knew no better 😂😂 Great review 👍👍
For canned soup I used to have Baxters. I still do for some flavours (e.g. French onion). Years back I picked up a Crosse & Blackwell's soup when it was on offer and this won me over. I ensure I always have their chicken soup and their winter veg soup in my larder. I pop into Aldi periodically and agree their Bramwell's soup is decent. They have a nice beef & veg, lamb & veg, and oxtail (which I'd not had for years). All this ensures I have a decent variety of canned soups in stock. Always handy for a quick tea time. From time to time I'll make a batch of my own soup. Leek, potato and onion is one. Root veg is another. Done in my late mum's Prestige pressure cooker (it was a wedding present from her workmates) so it's older than me. Cripes - getting on for 70 years old! Portioned into resealable fruit pots they can be frozen. Decent flavour - but not as good as mum's! Canned soup was a rare buy back then - although the condensed cans made good ingredients. Unless my taste buds have gone (don't think so), canned soups have improved appreciably over the years. That said, the Fray Bentos one you opened immediately elicited the comment, "that looks far too watery!" Yeah. Stick to Aldi!
Fray Bentos are nothing like they used to be. It WAS a brand that you could rely on for flavour, texture and value for money. All change - maximise profits - never mind the customer. That soup looked like gruel. Even the dreaded packet soups have more viscosity! FRAUD Bentos is more appropriate.
Hi Gareth, I have had the Bramwells chicken soup and I don't mind it , but thanks for the tip on Fray Bentos, I'll give it a wide birth. I have notice the same with there Tin Pies not as good more watery gravy than meat and over £2 a pie it was only 3 or 4 years ago you could buy the tin pies for 99p. Catch you soon Take care
Try the soups in the plastic pots in the supermarkets. Most of the ones I've tried are nice. And the Covent Garden ones in cartons. Those are usually £2 and are nice, I think you'd like the chicken one.
In cream of chicken soup I always like a twist of black pepper and maybe a tiny bit of English mustard. I bet I have a pretty good of idea of what bits of a chicken go into a can of soup
since the Fray Bentos brand was bought by Baxters, quality of most of their stuff has dropped drastically, Baxters are notorious for runny/thin/watery and bland soups , the steak n kidney puddings were ok when i last had one, have always loved them, but are now ridiculously expensive ..
Picked up some Ainsley Harriot packet soups in Lidl yesterday, there's American Chowder, Szechuan Hot & Sour, A Caribbean one and something else. Just to try something a bit different. Tried the Chowder one and it's pretty decent but needed more salt.
@@Pooky-Cat The finest of tastes aswell, it tastes nothing like lucozade anymore I lived off it as I was ill in hospital as a 10 year old child for 6 months and I always had a bottle!
@@ED-209UHD I suffered with lots of 'stomach issues' as a young person and the original Lucozade was the only thing I could ingest without repeat 'incidents'.
Hiya Gareth, Fray Bentos is Just slop in a tin, see with soup I put additional ingredients in, if its chicken soup I put strips of chicken slices in, if its Tomato soup I put boiled onions and cherry tomatoes in, it makes it all worth while, congratulations on your 100,000 subscribers, this is Choppy in Whitehaven, Cumbria, England
Oliver Twist had better gruel than the fray bentos abomination, prob the worst pretend food processor in the world, it makes the Aldi rubbish look good. 32oz rump steak next then Gaz ;)
When I was younger you need a spoon to get the chicken out the can lol with these looks like they are straight out of the tap ….these stores are ripping us off big time ….😖😖😖
