A simple dish that defeats Tom Paris in Caretaker, when Voyager's replicator answers his request with a list of fourteen varieties and a string of further questions.
Tomato soup features in a short comic scene in Caretaker, the pilot episode of Voyager, set in 2371.
Newly released from a penal settlement to help Captain Janeway find a Maquis ship, Tom Paris has just been cold-shouldered in the mess hall by officers who know his record. He asks the replicator for tomato soup. The computer replies that there are fourteen varieties on file and begins to list them, then wants to know whether he would like it hot or chilled. Paris asks for it plain and hot, and afterwards complains to Harry Kim that he could not get a decent bowl.
The joke became a small point of continuity. Tomato soup is treated as Paris's comfort food in later episodes, while replicator use on Voyager is soon rationed.