General Questions

  1. Are you a new company?

  2. Why do your soups taste so much better than other soups?

  3. Are your soups all natural?

  4. Do you have any organic soups?

  5. Do your soups contain trans fats or hydrogenated oils?

  6. Are any of your soups allergen free?

  7. How does the sodium content compare to other soups?

  8. How often do you offer new soups?

Gluten Free, Frozen Soups

  1. Where are the gluten free soups manufactured and how do you ensure that they are gluten free?

  2. Do you have gluten free soups that are dairy-free?

  3. My local deli is serving Kettle Cuisine soups hot and the local store is selling them in refrigerated containers.  Are those soups gluten free?

  4. Are these gluten free soups really high in natural proteins?

  5. What is the best way to heat the gluten free, frozen soups?

  6. Is it true that the gluten-free diet of the founder’s daughter was the inspiration for these soups?

  7. Can I purchase directly from you?

Foodservice, Refrigerated Soups

  1. What is the pack size?

  2. Can I purchase directly from you?

  3. Can I freeze the refrigerated soups?  What if I already froze them?

  4. How long are they good for once I open the pouch?

  5. How should I heat your soups?

  6. Can I use it the next day after heating it today?


General Questions

1. Are you a new company?

Kettle Cuisine opened its doors in October of 1986, and we have been making quality, all natural soups from scratch for restaurants, food service accounts, supermarkets and specialty retail outlets ever since.

2. Why do your soups taste so much better than other soups?

We believe that great soups are created using the best natural ingredients and traditional cooking methods.  We only use the best quality, natural vegetables, meats, oils, spices, dairy and other ingredients. We work closely with and monitor our suppliers to ensure that we always get the best ingredients available. Traditional cooking methods means we cook our soups from scratch using multiple steps without taking short cuts such as soup bases, MSG or chemically produced flavor enhancers. We simmer our own flavorful stocks from scratch for hours and sauté vegetables and braise meats so that each ingredient is cooked to taste and texture perfection. Each soup is prepared in small batches, adding herbs and spices at just the right moment for optimal flavor. Some might think that we go a little overboard in our methods, but at Kettle Cuisine we believe it’s the only way to make soup.

3. Are your soups all natural?

Absolutely.  We use only the finest all natural ingredients.  The chickens, beef and pork we use are raised without antibiotics or added hormones* on a vegetarian diet.  We peel and cut fresh produce and make fresh stocks in our kitchen.  And we purchase our cream from local New England dairies that pledge to not use artificial growth hormones.

*All USDA chicken is considered to be “hormone-free”.

4. Do you have any organic soups?

Select varieties such as Organic Carrot Ginger, Organic Lentil and Organic Tomato & Garden Vegetable are available for foodservice.  Check our product listing to see the most up-to-date list.

5. Do your soups contain trans fats or hydrogenated oils?

All Kettle Cuisine soups are free of artificial transfats and hydrogenated oils.  However, beef and dairy products have small amounts of naturally occurring transfats, so there is naturally occurring transfat in Angus Steak Beef Chili and New England Clam Chowder, for example.  Research suggests that the body digests naturally occurring transfats differently than artificial ones; some experts contend that it even has potential benefit to aid in both muscle building and fat loss efforts.

6. Are any of your soups allergen free?

The Food and Drug Administration’s top 8 allergens are: 

  • Milk

  • Eggs

  • Peanuts

  • Tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, walnuts, coconuts)

  • Fish (such as bass, cod, flounder)

  • Shellfish (such as crab, lobster, shrimp)

  • Soy

  • Wheat

These allergens account for 90% of all documented food allergies.

While many of our soups are made without these ingredients (we are a peanut-free facility), we only take special precautions with our gluten free, frozen line, which is also tested after the fact to ensure that there is no gluten cross contamination.

7. How does the sodium content compare to other soups?

We are particular about all of our ingredients, especially salt.  We only use sea salt from a Utah-based company; just a tiny amount of this special pink salt greatly enhances the flavors in our soups.

Although we do not add a lot of salt to our soups, sodium is naturally occurring in many of the ingredients.  Sodium is a mineral found naturally in every food; for example, eight ounces of 1% low fat milk naturally contains 127 milligrams of sodium.  The recommended sodium limit for most people without particular health concerns is 2,400 milligrams daily, on average.

8. How often do you offer new soups?

Our Executive Chef Volker Frick constantly develops new flavors and concepts.  Kettle Cuisine prides itself on quality and innovation, including new flavors, certified organic varieties, converting to all natural ingredients, and most recently, our frozen, gluten free soups.  Check out the What’s New section on our website or send us an idea!

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Gluten Free, Frozen Soups

9. Where are the gluten free soups manufactured and how do you ensure that they are gluten free?

Our gluten free soups are manufactured in our dedicated soup making facility in Chelsea, Massachusetts.  It is a USDA-inspected facility that is also certified to make organic soups.  Our company makes over 60 different varieties of soups and has instituted strict manufacturing procedures to ensure that no gluten cross contamination occurs when we make gluten free soups.  In addition, we test every batch down to 5 parts per million, which is tighter than the proposed Federal standard (the proposed Federal standard for “gluten free” is no more than 20 parts per million).

10. Do you have gluten free soups that are dairy free?

Our Chicken Soup with Rice Noodles and Angus Steak Chili with Beans are dairy free and we hope to add more dairy free varieties soon.

11. My local deli is serving Kettle Cuisine soups hot and the local store is selling them in refrigerated containers.  Are those soups gluten free?

Maybe.  You need to ask the operator if the labeling on the product includes a Gluten Free claim.  If not, the soup has not been produced under specific protocols or tested for gluten.  The individual frozen retail bowls which are sold in grocery stores all carry the Gluten Free claim; they are produced under specific protocols and tested for gluten.

12. Are these gluten free soups really high in natural proteins?

Many of Kettle Cuisine’s gluten free soups are more of a meal than a meal starter.  For each 10 oz. portion, following is the protein content in our gluten free soups:

Chicken Soup with Rice Noodles – 15g
Chili with White Beans – 21g
Angus Steak Chili with Beans – 19g
New England Clam Chowder – 15g
Grilled Chicken and Corn Chowder – 13g 

13. What is the best way to heat the gluten free, frozen soups?

To heat from frozen:

  1. Remove bowl from box.  Pull back one corner of film to vent.

  2. Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes.  Since ovens vary, cooking time may require adjusting.

  3. Carefully peel back film & stir thoroughly.  If soup isn’t fully heated, replace film and heat soup on high for up to one minute.  Use caution as bowl may be hot.

  4. Let stand for one minute before serving.  Enjoy!

To heat from refrigerated:

If you prefer, thaw soup in refrigerator and use it within 3 days of it being thawed.  Just heat it up in the microwave or on the stovetop as you would normally heat soup.  Microwaves vary in strength, but a good rule of thumb is to place it in the microwave with the seal in place for a minute.  Use caution as bowl may be hot. Stir the soup, keep a cover over the liquid, and heat it for another minute.  Enjoy!

14. Is it true that the gluten-free diet of the founder’s daughter was the inspiration for these soups?

Yes, Jerry Shafir’s daughter Kate was diagnosed with Celiac disease as a baby.  When Jerry finally decided the time was right to launch gluten free soups, she helped us to focus initially on varieties with higher protein and fiber.  Although Kate and her parents admit that eating gluten free is a lot easier today than it was 19 years ago, Kate now loves eating our Chicken Soup with Rice Noodles and Chicken Chili with Beans whenever she wants.

15. Can I purchase directly from you?

Unfortunately not, but you can purchase Kettle Cuisine’s gluten-free, frozen soups direct from www.glutenfreemall.com, or check out the Where To Buy section on our website.

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Foodservice, Refrigerated Soups

16. What is the pack size?

The soup is full strength, refrigerated and packaged in two 8 lbs casings per box.

17. Can I purchase directly from you?

Our soups can only be purchased by foodservice operators through one of our distributors.

18. Can I freeze the refrigerated soups?  What if I already froze them?

We do not recommend freezing these soups as the recipes are formulated for fresh handling.  By all means the soups should be frozen as opposed to being discarded.  If the soup has been frozen, we recommend thawing under refrigeration and then heating per instructions.  Depending upon the variety, you should expect some compromise in the brightness of the flavor, vegetable texture and/or appearance.

19. How long are they good for once I open the pouch?

We recommend heating quickly to 165° F and holding at this temperature. Product should be kept covered when not serving to prevent moisture loss, and over the course of several hours, if there has been evaporation and the product has thickened up, water should be added SPARINGLY to bring back proper consistency.

Holding Time:

At 165°F, with the exception of moisture loss, which can be addressed as needed, the product will hold up for several hours with the following notes:

  1. Pasta and rice will continue to slowly absorb water and thicken over time.

  2. Vegetables will hold up well and soften minimally unless holding temperature gets up to 180°F or above.

  3. The cream soups will hold at 165°F but may break if temperature gets over 180°F for an extended period of time.

20. How should I heat your soups?

Kettle Cuisine soups can be heated right in the pouches in a water bath, kept preferably between180°-190° F (not boiling to avoid breaking the creams), or out of the pouches in a double boiler. If a water bath is not used, soups must be constantly stirred to avoid scalding.

The time required for heating of our products from 35° to 165°F ranges from 25 to 45 minutes, depending on the product viscosity and the quality of the heating source. Broth soups heat quickly; chowders, chilis and stews take more time. Products should be heated as quickly as possible, not slowly (e.g. in a soup warmer that is only made for holding and takes a couple of hours to get up to serving temperature).

21. Can I use it the next day after heating it today?

Leftover soup can be used the next day, provided that it is cooled rapidly after being removed from heat. To do this, the soup container is placed in an ice water bath while the soup is stirred frequently. The soup should then be stored in a cooler with good airflow in a container which allows heat to escape. When re-heating, quick heating is especially important (see heating instructions above). Note however that for cream soups, the water in a double boiler setup should be just below boil (not actively boiling) to avoid breaking the creams.

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Please contact us if you have any questions about Kettle Cuisine soups. to send us an email or call us at 1-800-969-SOUP.

       
 

Kettle Cuisine, 270 Second Street, Chelsea, MA 02150
Food Service 1-800-969-SOUP
Consumer Line 1-877-302-SOUP
Fax 617-884-1041
Email

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