Stockonomics — The Economics of Soup Stock

Often when discussing the benefits of soup base vs. pre-made stocks and broths, I emphasize that one pound of Cook’s Delight soup base can make 5 1/2 gallons of soup stock or broth.  Although that seems like a lot, it doesn’t really make a visual impact on someone.  On Friday night (at about 9:00 pm), I got this great idea to go to the store and buy 5 1/2 gallons of boxed broth and 5 1/2 gallons of canned broth.  I’d bring them home and make pyramids out of them to show the differences between Cook’s Delight soup base and pre-made stocks.

Boy, was I surprised when I got to the store, armed with my calculator, at how much 5 1/2 gallons of pre-made stock truly was — in both quantity and cost!  I thought I had a pretty good visual in my mind before I got there….wrong.  I couldn’t even justify buying both the boxed stock and the canned stock to bring home and make my pyramids to photograph and share.  Too  much money!

So, I rummaged through my purse and found my camera.  I loaded the boxed stock in the bottom of my cart face up.  Surprisingly, 5 1/2 gallons would not fit the bottom of the cart face up.  I added a few boxes to make a 2nd row.   I stood up, on my tip-toes, and took an ariel photograph of the boxed stocks.

Next, I loaded the necessary canned stock in the cart to equal 5 1/2 gallons.  Again, a partial 2nd row was needed to fit it all the canned stock.  Back on my tip-toes, I took another photograph.

Finally, I put the Cook’s Delight soup base in the cart for making 5 1/2 gallons of stock or broth.  1 – 1 pound container.  Plenty of room in the cart.  Final time on the tip-toes for a photograph.

In case you are wondering, I did get some strange looks.  At one point, a stock person came walking by me slowly.  I’m sure they were watching my efforts on the store surveillance cameras.  I made certain that I put everything back better than I found it.  I also bought some tortilla shells and yogurt, so I didn’t leave empty handed!

If you want to find out how much boxed and canned stock it takes to make 5 1/2 gallons, and how much that costs, watch my 30-second video!