Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup equivalent?

Hello,
I have been able to find most American products somewhere (or at least decent equivalents). But the one thing I cannot find is a good condensed cream of mushroom soup.

I've found the brand Bachelor's to be the only condensed version around (they have it at Tesco, Sainsburys, etc.) but it is very salty and tastes odd to me.

Heinz does a decent canned cream of mushroom soup, but it's not condensed, and so cannot be used in casseroles, etc. to the same extent.

Has anyone found Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom online or in any American specialty shops? Or a good equivalent?

I am in the mood for some green bean casserole....

Hello,
I have been able to find most American products somewhere (or at least decent equivalents). But the one thing I cannot find is a good condensed cream of mushroom soup.

I've found the brand Bachelor's to be the only condensed version around (they have it at Tesco, Sainsburys, etc.) but it is very salty and tastes odd to me.

Heinz does a decent canned cream of mushroom soup, but it's not condensed, and so cannot be used in casseroles, etc. to the same extent.

Has anyone found Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom online or in any American specialty shops? Or a good equivalent?

I am in the mood for some green bean casserole....

Campbell's soup withdrew from the UK market, and sold its assets, including Batchelors, to Premier Foods. The Campbell's name was licensed to Premier Foods until 2008, following which Campbell's Soup was rebranded as Batchelors.

So Batchelors Cream of Mushroom should BE Campbell's cream of Mushroom, there's some ratings on here which say that Batchelors=Campbells mushroom soup - http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/food/campbell-s-mushroom-soup/

Are you sure your tastes haven't changed? Quite a few people here have found when they returned to America that things were too sweet or too salty or not as they remembered
Wouldn't want you to spend the £££s on soup which is the same as you can buy in the supermarket  

I also think the Batchelor's soup tastes different from the Campbell's soup available in the US. However, I just use it anyway, if I need to. I've never really seen any other brands. Usually now I just make my own cream sauces and things instead of relying on the soup.

I also think the Batchelor's soup tastes different from the Campbell's soup available in the US. However, I just use it anyway, if I need to. I've never really seen any other brands. Usually now I just make my own cream sauces and things instead of relying on the soup.

Oh that's good to know , although annoying for the OP as she will have to source proper Campbell's soup.

Might be a HFCS thing? Or some other thing that's banned in the EU but not in the US (viceversa) or some random ingredient that's more expensive to use in the UK?

I've never made a green bean casserole so don't know what the soup's purpose is in the recipe, is it just as a base for the cream sauce? A mushroom cream sauce is pretty easy/tasty to do Or you could whisk butter into the batchelor's soup to reduce the saltiness perhaps.

I also think the Batchelor's soup tastes different from the Campbell's soup available in the US.

Yep!  And even before UK Campbells was re-branded to Batchelors, it tasted different than the US Campbells.  I almost never use condensed Cream of Mushroom soup on it's own; I always season it up so if I really need it, I normally just use the weird-tasting Batchelors one and the seasoning fixes it.  I could never never eat a bowl of it like I would in the US though, it just doesn't taste right to me.

I've never had the cream of mushroom (I make a sauce for my green bean casserole), but to me Batchelor's cream of tomato tastes the same as Campbell's.

to me Batchelor's cream of tomato tastes the same as Campbell's.

It does to me too.

See, I don't think it's salty. To me, the Batchelor's soup tastes bland and very earthy. I think it has a more concentrated mushroom flavour or something. It definitely doesn't taste like Campbell's to me, which I assume has more salt and sugar and other bad things in it. If I use the Batchelor's, I blend it with milk and add more seasoning to it to counteract the weird earthy flavour of it. But, after using it a few times, I decided it was much tastier to make my own creamy mushroom sauce than to use the soup. It's easy to do and worth a try if you don't like the soup available here. I'll be doing my own sauce for green bean casserole from now on, like Chary. 

I've used non-condensed cream of mushroom soup in the place of condensed for recipes. I just cut down on the other liquid (milk if making green bean casserole). It always works fine for me. As for taste, I've never noticed a difference, but it's been awhile since I've had Campbell's.

Interesting history...it should theoretically taste the same, I guess. But as someone else mentioned, it might be sourcing of ingredients, etc. It isn't necessarily bad tasting, just definitely different. My husband thinks so, too. I don't think my tastes have changed, either. I brought back a couple of cans of Campbell's when I was in the US for Christmas and it still tastes as I remember it. I may have to try Bachelor's again and see if I can get used to it.
I'd be interested in anyone's recipes for homemade bases. Green bean casserole is just canned green beans mixed with condensed soup and then topped with cheddar cheese and baked. So the cream of mushroom soup being such a key ingredient, you can really taste it. I make some other casseroles that use the soup as a base, too, that have more ingredients, so I will have to try it again maybe.
The Heinz non-condensed soup tastes quite good to me, so maybe I will just have to start making larger casseroles to counteract the extra-runny factor.

Just use less soup! 

You could sautee some fresh mushroom until soft and then just add some double cream and milk and seasonings until you get the right consistency and flavour. You may have to experiment with it to get it the way you want it. You could also use creme fraiche to thicken it up but it is a bit tangy, so, like I said, you may have to experiment with it a bit.

Campbell's is selling condensed soup in the UK now!

http://www.campbellsoup.co.uk/our-food/condensed

Indeed.  I used some a few weeks ago, tastes like Campbell's soup.  Not too many flavours though.

They do a cream of celery as well.  we use it instead of cream of mushroom when we make green bean casserole. Dh really likes green bean casserole but doesn't like mushrooms though. so we bought a can of cream of celery an experimented with it an to me it doesn't taste that much different than the cream of mushroom. but Dh will eat more of the casserole now before he would only take a small scoop an that was his lot. I was left with finishing the casserole now he has a big scoop & sometimes seconds as well.