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Soup's always on at Blount Fine Foods

Pallets of butter were wheeled into place, then giant tubs laden with 220 pounds each of light cream.

The ingredients were mixed with clams, lobster, potatoes and spices to make mammoth kettles of clam chowder and lobster bisque at the Blount Fine Foods plant in Fall River's Industrial Park. There, every season is soup season, and every day simmers with activity.

"It's just like making it at home," said David W. Flauvin, Blount director of production.

Blount makes about 50 soup varieties, like beef stew, butternut squash and apple, pumpkin bisque, and beef chili, along with a few new twists that cater to vegetarian and organic taste buds.

In the research and development department of Blount - a shining, stainless steel, state-of-the-art kitchen - there are no suited businesspeople working at desks. Here, stoves and refrigerators, pots and pans, chefs in white smocks and loads of soup bowls make the kitchen the heart of the company.

It's their job to test new ideas, sometimes their own and often the result of marketing and sales requests. Much of what the company does is provide soup to the restaurant industry, sometimes under the Blount label and often under private labels using restaurant recipes. In the end, a 300-gallon order made in the plant must be as good as that first gallon made on the test kitchen stove.

"It's not simply doubling a recipe," said Jeff Wirtz, Blount corporate executive chef. "We have to make it in a format we can produce. We make it as it is on paper. Then we have to produce it on the floor."

Produce it they do, to the tune of 170,000 pounds of soup per day.

"We can potentially make 1.3 million pounds a week," Flauvin said.

Wirtz said ingredients must be tweaked at times so recipes can hold up to freezing, transport, a stable shelf life and several hours in the restaurant steam tray. Lump crab meat for example, doesn't hold up well. "We use claw meat to hold up better," Wirtz said. Then, the restaurant can add lump crab meat when the soup is served.

"We simulate that process here, and if it doesn't hold up, we have to go back to the drawing board," Wirtz said.

Oftentimes, recipes must be tested several times before they end up in restaurants and on supermarket shelves.

"Very, very, very rarely do you get something on the first shot," Wirtz said.

"I love a challenge," said William Bigelow, director of Blount research and development. "We work to research trends and ideas."

Besides developing flavors, Blount varies them depending on where the soup is being served. Its clam chowder for New England customers is made with more clams. In other parts of the country, the clam flavor is milder and the soup is creamier.

Jacob Kim, research and development chef, deals with the creative end of things in the kitchen, often spending his time making sample soups. Both he and Wirtz have worked in the restaurant business for years and both studied at Johnson & Wales University.

Blount Fine Foods, formerly Blount Seafood, just had its busiest and best year in company history despite a gaunt economy that's been hurting food service businesses. Flauvin said soup is a "comfort food" and people are craving comfort right now.

Blount opened in 1946 in Warren, R.I., though the company had its real start in the 1880s when Eddie B. Blount opened an oyster house.

His grandson, F. Nelson Blount, incorporated the company, becoming a major supplier of chopped clam meat to soup manufacturers, including Campbell Soup Co.

In October 2000, F. Nelson "Todd" Blount became the company's new president. Blount runs the Fall River plant, a smaller one in Warren and a plant store on Anawan Street in Fall River.

Through the years, it has expanded its focus and penetration into the food service marketplace to include soup, seafood, breaded items and, most recently, dips.

Blount produces soup for many casual dining establishments locally and throughout the country.

Its soups can be found at some retailers, like BJ's Wholesale, under the Blount label and the Cooks & Butler brand. It also produces the Legal Seafoods soups sold for retail sale.

To learn more about Blount Fine Foods, visit www.blountseafood.com or call 774-888-1300.

New England Clam Chowder

Serves 4

1 slice bacon, diced

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 medium onion, diced

3 Tbsp. flour

6 unpeeled small red-skin potatoes, diced

2 cups clam juice (or water)

2 cups hot milk or half & half

2 cups Blount Frozen Sea Clam Meat

Salt and black pepper to taste

Put bacon in sauce pan and cook on low heat until just crisp. Remove bacon from pan. Add butter and melt. Add onions and cook until onions turn soft. Add flour and stir, cook an additional 3 minutes stirring often. Add potatoes and clam juice and blend well. Simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Blend in hot milk and clam meat. When mixture returns to simmer, remove form heat. Season with salt and black pepper.

Low-fat Mexican Corn and Clam Chowder

Serves 4

1 medium onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 quart clam juice (or water)

1 ½ cups bottled salsa, medium-hot

1 cup corn, frozen niblets

6 small red-skin potatoes, diced

2 cups Blount Frozen Sea Clam Meat

Combine all ingredients except clam meat in medium sauce pan. Simmer mixture for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add clam meat, simmer an additional 15 seconds and remove form heat. Serve garnished with chopped scallion; and pass lime wedges to squeeze into chowder as desired.

- Recipes from Blount Fine Foods.

GREENS, TOMATO AND WHITE BEAN SOUP

Start to finish: 30 minutes (15 minutes active)

Servings: 4

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped (1 cup)

3 cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon)

Two 14 1/2-ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice

1/2 cup whole-grain orzo or other small shape pasta

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup water

15-ounce can white kidney beans, rinsed

4 cups chopped dandelion greens or escarole (about 1 bunch)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot over medium-high, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onions are soft and translucent, about 4 minutes.

Add the broth, tomatoes, orzo, red pepper flakes, black pepper and water. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook until the pasta is tender, about 6 minutes.

Add the beans and greens, then cook, stirring often, until the greens are tender, about another 5 minutes. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

LOW-FAT NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

Start to finish: 45 minutes

Servings: 6

2 slices bacon, finely chopped

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1/4 cup white wine

2 bay leaves

Four 6 1/2-ounce cans chopped clams, drained and juices reserved

3/4 cup instant potato flakes

1 tablespoon cornstarch

8-ounce bottle clam juice

3/4 cup fat-free half-and-half

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Salt and ground black pepper

In a large Dutch oven over medium-low, cook the bacon until browned, about 10 minutes. Add the onion and cook until softened, about another 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the potatoes, wine, bay leaves and reserved juice from the canned clams. Increase heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the potato flakes, cornstarch and bottled clam juice. Microwave until mixture is thickened and smooth, about 1 minute.

Stir the potato flake mixture into the pot and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes.

Add the half-and-half, parsley and chopped clams and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Do not let the chowder boil or it will curdle. Discard the bay leaves and season with salt and pepper.

CREAMY TOMATO AND RICE SOUP

Start to finish: 35 minutes

Servings: 6

1 cup long-grain white rice

1½cups water

28-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped

6 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

15-ounce can tomato sauce

1 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 cup fat-free half-and-half

Heat the oven to broil.

In a small saucepan, combine the rice and water. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce to simmer and cook for 20 minutes. When the rice is done, remove it from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, drain the can of diced tomatoes by pouring them into a mesh strainer set over a medium bowl. Use a silicone spatula to press the tomatoes to extract as much juice as possible. Set the juice aside.

Transfer the diced tomatoes to a rimmed baking sheet. Add the onion, garlic, basil and olive oil. Strip the leaves from the rosemary sprigs and add them to the tomatoes and onions. Toss everything to coat well. Season with salt and pepper.

Broil the tomato mixture on the center rack for 4 minutes, then gently stir. Broil for another 4 minutes, or until the onions and tomatoes begin to brown.

Transfer the mixture to a blender, then add the reserved tomato juice. Puree until smooth.

When the rice is ready, add the tomato mixture from the blender and set over medium heat. Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth and balsamic vinegar. Heat until warmed through, then stir in the half-and-half.

- Recipes from The Associated Press.

LIGHT ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Serves 6

1 pound ground dark-meat turkey (93 percent lean)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup plain dried bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice

2 heads escarole (2 pounds total), cored, trimmed and coarsely chopped

In a bowl, combine turkey, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Using 1 tablespoon for each, roll mixture into balls.

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes to 4 minutes. Add broth and tomatoes (with juice); bring to a simmer. Add meatballs; cook, without stirring, until meatballs float to surface, about 5 minutes.

Add as much escarole to pot as will fit. Cook, gradually adding remaining escarole, until wilted and meatballs are cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Thin soup with water if desired; season with salt and pepper. Serve soup sprinkled with more Parmesan cheese.

- Recipe from Martha Stewart.