Maryland Crab

Continuing my job as the unofficial taster of all Hale and Hearty soups, today I went with their Maryland Crab. I hadn't been inspired for the past few days with their soups, but every day I looked at this entry and thought that I should try it. The soup is described as "After crab cakes, the next best dish to come from Maryland, a rich satisfying soup loaded with sweet crab meat and fresh vegetables."

Maryland Crab Soup

The first thing that I got hit with when I opened my soup container was the unmistakable smell of sweet crab meat. That was a great first impression. Along with the shredded crab meat, classic mirepoix vegetables, peas, potatoes, green beans, and fresh corn. The soup base itself is more tomato based and reminiscent of a Manhattan Clam Chowder. There's more pepper to this broth, though, and I find that the extra spice pairs well with the sweetness of the crab. The corn was a very pleasant surprise as it still had that firm, crispness that would denote uncooked, fresh corn. There are other leafier green spices added as well, but my palate is sadly unable to determine what they were.

This was a very balanced soup. At first I thought it was a touch on the salty side, but the more I dug into it with the potato and vegetables, the more that was cut. Overall, this was a very enjoyable soup.