Harmony House Plain Vegetable Chili Mix – Gluten Free, Low Sodium, For Cooking, Camping, Emergency Supply & More (12.5 oz. Jar)

I purchased this item over a month ago and have used it several different ways, mostly as a soup or as a mixed vegetable side dish. I am writing this mindful of the negative and positive reviews this product has elicited. First and foremost, this is my first purchase of the Harmony House products First the Cons:1. The product is titled "Dehydrated Vegetable Soup". Though when I opened the product, it did indeed possess a very pleasant aromatic aroma.. it was not a dehydrated soup. It is dehydrated vegetables that can be easily used with your favorite soup recipe.. In all fairness, Harmony House should make this clear on their label.2.. The vegetables are in a raw or near raw state as far as I could tell. That is OK with me, but I can see where some might believe that you just add water to re-hydrate and boom, you are ready to go. I actually did this and vegetables crunched like they were raw... Again, not a problem for me, but for some, I can see where they may have been surprised. This is something Harmony House can easily correct with their labeling and product descriptions on Amazon.3. The product did not come with a re-hydration chart. An oversight perhaps? One can be obtained from the Harmony House website.Now for the Pros:1. Harmony House added plenty of aromatic vegetables to the Soup Mix.2. Packaging is excellent3. Once re-hydrated and cooked to my satisfaction (simmered for 15 minutes), the vegetables had a good flavor and texture.4. I used these vegetables as sides dishes and in soups that met or exceeded my expectations.5. Very little or no waste when using these dehydrated vegetables. Measure out what you want and you're done.7. The product seems to maintain its freshness for quite a while. After opening, I have mine stored in the original container with no issues.8. Campers and backpackers can easily create their own food kits so they won't deprive themselves of their daily vegetables.9. Excellent product for people with busy schedules.All in all I am quite satisfied with Vegetable Soup Mix and will purchase again and try some of their other products as well. I am hoping that Harmony House or their re-sellers will do a better job of describing their products on Amazon's web pages.

Harmony House Vegetable Soup mix is made of dehydrated fresh vegetables and has no additives. How can you use this?I put 2 tablespoons per person in a small bowl and add hot water. Then I start cooking noodle, pasta, or potatos as ordinary, and in a few minutes I add the Harmony House re-hydrated veg to the pot of noodles, pasta, or potatos. It tastes great, looks great, and is an easy way add high value nutrition to the meal. I use it for lunch and dinner every day.

After reading a bunch of negative reviews of this soup mix, I felt like I should issue a warning. THIS SOUP MIX CONTAINS DRIED PARSLEY. If you don't like parsley, you won't like this soup. I suspect that many of the negative reviews are from people who bought the soup mix without knowing what parsley tastes like, or people who were somehow surprised to learn that a soup mix containing parsley tastes like parsley. If you don't know what parsley tastes like either, buy a small container from the spice aisle at the grocery store and taste it before you commit to buying a big jar of parsley-flavored soup. If you already know you don't like parsley, there are lots of other dried vegetable soup mixes that don't have it.On to the actual review...Yes, this stuff is expensive. But it might not be quite as expensive as you think, considering that the vegetables double in volume when rehydrated—so figure that a one-quart container will get you two quarts of cooked vegetables and a one-gallon jug will get you two gallons. Besides, they’re non-perishable vegetables. They don’t go bad if you forget about them for five minutes as fresh vegetables frequently do, they don’t take up precious freezer space, and they take up less pantry space than an equivalent volume of canned vegetables and taste better too. On top of that, they’re convenient. Vegetable soup without chopping any vegetables? I’m in. (Raise your hand if you really love chopping onions. Yeah…not seeing any hands.) And by the way…check the Harmony House website. Just saying.A couple of tips for using these:1. Always turn the container upside down and shake it a couple of times before measuring out your vegetables. Otherwise, the parsley tends to settle to the bottom and your last few scoops out of the container will be about half parsley.2. Rehydrate the vegetables in cold water for several hours before cooking them. You don’t HAVE to do this, but the vegetables will cook more quickly and be more tender if you do. (But be aware that these vegetables are always faintly crunchy, even after being rehydrated and cooked. Don’t expect them to take on the texture of canned vegetables, because they never do.) To rehydrate, just put two parts water to one part vegetables in a covered container and let it sit in the refrigerator all day or at room temperature for a few hours. If possible, stir them a couple of times while they rehydrate. (No, they won’t spoil if you leave them at room temperature for a few hours, any more than a fresh raw carrot or tomato would.)If you’re trying to keep a stock of non-perishable foods on hand, here are a couple of recipes that can be made entirely with non-perishable pantry ingredients.VEGGIE-NOODLE SOUP--1/2 cup vegetable soup mix, rehydrated in 1 cup water (i.e., about 1 cup rehydrated vegetables)--2 14-oz cans reduced-sodium chicken broth (for thinner soup) OR 1 can chicken broth plus about ½ cup water (for thicker soup)--Seasonings to taste (I use basil, oregano, and minced garlic, sprinkled in until the soup smells good)--1 cup dry elbow macaroni or other pasta--Optional: 1-2 tbsp spinach powderCombine the vegetables, broth, and seasonings in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add the macaroni and simmer another 8-10 minutes until vegetables and macaroni are tender. If using spinach powder, add immediately before serving. Makes about two bowls of soup.LENTIL-VEGETABLE STEW--1 cup dry lentils--2 14-oz cans reduced-sodium chicken broth--1 14-oz can tomato sauce--1 ½ cups vegetable soup mix, rehydrated in 3 cups water (i.e., about 3 cups vegetables)--Seasonings to taste (I use basil, oregano, and minced garlic, sprinkled in until the soup smells good)Combine the lentils, broth, and tomato sauce in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Add the seasonings and vegetables and simmer for another 15-20 minutes until lentils and vegetables are tender. Makes 4-5 bowls of soup.Lots of variations are possible with either of these recipes. For example, you can use vegetable broth for a completely vegetarian meal; add additional vegetables such as spinach (not in powder form, that is) or corn; dress them up with chopped cooked meat (good way to use up a little bit of leftover chicken or ham); or add rice, noodles, or barley to the lentil-vegetable stew.Anyway, if you can stomach the price of this soup mix, buy some. Your stomach will be glad you did.

We add this with dried jalapenos to our backpacking meals to bump up the vegetable content.

I made a quick soup with the vegetable soup mix and added a slick of cubed Spam. I did soak the soup mix over night and it was ready in the morning. Cooked fast and tasted great. The size of the vegetable pieces seemed to assure of an even re hydration.

It is decent for a dry veggie. There is something in there (my guess is red peppers) that has a strong flavor. It over powers the dishes spice. I plan on picking through and removing it. I wish it was just the simple base mixed veggies.