Trader Joe's Free Range Chicken Broth

This chicken broth is fowl.

<rimshot>

All right, I apologize for that. Please forgive me.

But this stuff is foul. Really unpleasant.

Now, to be fair, I wasn't in the best of moods when I tried it. I was on a 36-hour clear-liquid diet before a medical procedure. Basically water, clear juices, and Jello. But "broth" was definitely on the list the doctor's office sent, so I brought home a couple of selections from TJ's in the hope that they would provide a little protein--as well as some variety in what was otherwise destined to be a day of nothing but fruit flavors.

What I had imagined was that this would taste like chicken noodle soup--just without the solids bits. It was nothing of the sort. It's hard to describe what it tasted like, since I've never tasted anything quite like it. But it was unpleasant to both smell and taste. After a few spoonfuls, I added a bunch of salt, which improved it, but only marginally.

Is it fair to judge this by how it tastes alone instead of how it does when made into a real soup? Yes, absolutely. The back of the box clearly says, "READY TO USE: Just heat and serve! Delicious as a piping hot beverage, or for a quick light meal add...." So they are unambiguously promoting it for use by itself.

I'm kind of baffled by how it can be "fat free," as the package boasts, when chicken is the second ingredient (after water, obviously). Has TJ's genetically engineered the world's first fat-free chickens? You might think that the fat component would be one of the most important things. But apparently not in Trader Joe's opinion. From the taste, appearance, and mouth feel, I totally believe that it's fat-free. In fact, that might be precisely what's lacking between my expectations and the reality of it.

Will I buy it again? 

I hope to never again need a clear-liquid diet. But even if I do, this won't be on the menu. Pass the Kool-Aid, please.