Yes, I know nothing beats home-made chicken stock, but boiling up chicken carcasses is something I'm moved to do only for really special occasions. I do use packaged liquid stock a lot though, mainly for risotto and pureed vegetable soups, which means that I'm looking for body and flavour but without too intrusive a taste.
I don't care what Nigella says, on principle I don't use powdered stock because I associate it with that strong chemical 'fake chicken flavour' you get in packet chicken noodle soup and chicken flavoured potato chips, neither of which I've voluntarily eaten since I was 10 years old. Out of habit I've been using Campbell's liquid stock since it first came onto the market, and hadn't even tried the other liquid stocks (I automatically associate Continental with stock cubes so I wasn't really tempted).
Given that this blog is all about challenging my preconceptions of what the best products are, I did include 2 powdered stocks in this test - Vegeta and Massel. I also tested all the liquid stocks I could find in the supermarkets - Campbell's Stock, Campbell's Consomme, Continental and Massel. All but the Consomme were the salt-reduced variety; while I love salt, I much prefer salt-reduced for cooking so I can season as I want to with proper salt.
For the test, I tasted all the stocks warmed up (the powders made up according to the instructions on the cans), and then cooked up in a plain risotto.
This test really confirmed my opinion of powdered stocks, which has always been: just don't go there. They both just taste of fake chicken, not surprising when the ingredients lists are just a mix of starches and flavours - including something the Vegeta people call 'flavour (chicken)' - enough said!!
The liquid Massel stock is a vegetarian product made up of flavours and herbs. The other liquids all involved a chicken somewhere (presumably a long way) down the line, with various flavours thrown in. All the liquid stocks contain yeast extract, which accounts for the concentrated generic 'savoury' flavour in all of them - like Vegemite or Maggi liquid seasoning - which isn't necessarily a bad thing if you're mainly looking for a flavour boost that at least bears some resemblance to actual food.
Campbells' Chicken Stock (salt reduced) 
A mild, pleasantly savoury flavour and aroma, without any fake chicken taste. It's the only one that actually smells like chicken! When sipped plain, there's a very slightly bitter undertaste that pretty much disappears when cooked up in risotto. It gives risotto a nice, slightly creamy-brown colour, with a good savoury flavour that doesn't dominate.
Massel Gourmet Plus Chicken Style Liquid Stock (salt reduced) 
Surprisingly, this was the only product that tasted any good when sipped straight - but given that I'll probably never do that again, that's not such a useful attribute. While it has a very strong aroma, it has a pleasant moderate level of savoury flavour. There is a hint of fake chicken but not too heavy. It tastes vaguely sweetish even though there's no sugar on the ingredients list. However, when it's cooked up in risotto the chemical flavour comes through fairly strongly and there's definitely an after-taste that lingers long after you've eaten it. It also seems much saltier than Campbell's even though the nutrition panel states it contains marginally less sodium.
Continental Simply Stock Chicken (salt reduced) 
This has a very light yellow colour and a very faint, sweetish smell (from sugar) that is very reminiscent of stock powder. The flavour is so mild it's watery and it doesn't really taste much of anything, not even fake chicken. On the plus side, it's not at all salty. I thought the mild flavour might give it an advantage in risotto because it wouldn't be too intrusive, but when cooked up it really doesn't contribute anything much in the way of taste or aroma. It does give a nice pale creamy colour to the dish, though.
Campbell's Real Chicken Consomme 
This actually smells quite neutral, but has a very strong savoury flavour and seems incredibly salty, which is probably fair given that it has about twice as much salt as the reduced-salt varieties. It has a distinctly brown colour that comes through in risotto. When cooked up the aroma is again pleasantly mild, but the flavour is strongly generic savoury and just way too salty for me.
Vegeta Chicken Stock Powder X
Both the stock powders have a distinct fake chicken smell and taste, but the Vegeta powder is very salty and chemically, and that comes through very strongly when made into risotto. I could taste it for hours, and I don't mean that in a good way. It's also bright, bright yellow, making the food look like it came out of a packet.
Massel Chicken Style Stock Powder X
This product is strange - when made up according to the instructions on the pack it was very watery, so I doubled the amount of powder but it was still too weak. It gave virtually no flavour at all to the risotto - which is maybe just as well, given that the dominant flavour would have been fake chicken anyway.
OVERALL RATINGS
Campbell's Salt Reduced Stock. It has the least chemical taste and a good depth of flavour, without being too dominant.
Massel Liquid Stock. Could work well for clear soups, as long as saltiness isn't an issue.
Continental, Campbell's Consomme. Continental would work if you only want a very mild flavour and colour boost. The Consomme would work if you don't mind the salt and the dialled-up 'savoury' flavour.
X The powdered stocks get a zero rating. Fake chicken. Nothing else. Enough said.
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