Freezing soup

Discussion in Food & Drink started by Peninha • Oct 29, 2014.

  1. Peninha

    PeninhaWell-Known Member

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    When my younger kid was a baby I used to freeze soup, but I think this is not the best habit. These days I don't do it anymore, all the soup we cook we eat in the next days, but I wonder, is it healthy to freeze soup? Do you do it?
     
  2. clairebeautiful

    clairebeautifulActive Member

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    I do it all the time.

    In fact, my white chicken chili recipe is actually easier to make in bulk and tastes better after it has sat in the freezer for a while.

    What are you worried about as far as health goes? I think as long as you freeze it in portions you can eat within 2-3 days you are fine.

    Now that it is cooling off in my part of the country, I'm starting to consider other soups to make in bulk and freeze. Soup makes such a wonderful, quick, and easy dinner when it can be popped out of the freezer and warmed on the oven in less than an hour.

    Sure, some ingredients don't freeze well (like tomatoes). I try to keep some things out and add them fresh if I have any in a particular recipe.
     
  3. Theo

    TheoWell-Known Member

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    I think freezing soup is a good idea, especially if you make a big batch and then portion it off. It does depend on the soup as cream soups with dairy don't freeze well, but I prefer to keep it in the fridge and use it up over the week or to use it as sauce for pasta.

    I try no to make too much as fresh is always best, but if you have time constraints, then freezing is a good idea.
     
  4. TPhoenix

    TPhoenixActive Member

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    Freezing soup is fine I guess, but why freeze it if you can just refrigerate it? I never freeze soup unless there is a rare problem with the fridge and I want to make sure to preserve it. But after soup is cooked, most of its contents don't last more than two days without being eaten.
     
  5. lizzief79

    lizzief79Active Member

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    Usually, we eat soup as soon as I make it. However, if I make a really big batch to use up vegetables, then I will often freeze some to save for another day. It is perfectly healthy to do this and is a great way of making use of leftovers and not throwing food away. This can help you save money. Plus, if you have some soup prepared in the freezer, it can save you time if you need to get a meal ready quickly.
     
  6. ohiotom76

    ohiotom76Well-Known Member

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    I don't know what the exact shelf life is for soup stored in the freezer but I would imagine it would be much longer than just a few days - more like at least a few weeks. I see professional cooks doing this all the time when they make large batches of stocks. They suggest freezing the stocks in ice cube trays, resealable plastic bags, and other containers - for future use, and they never mention anything about using it up immediately.

    From what I am reading, it's recommended to use the soup within 2-3 days if it's in the fridge, but it's safe for up to 2-3 months in the freezer, which sounds about right.

    The only caveat I can think of was that I heard it was not safe to keep heating, freezing, reheating, then refreezing cooked rice. I think it has something to do with bacteria forming, but I am not sure if this applies to instances where rice is in soups.
     
  7. xTinx

    xTinxWell-Known Member

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    There's nothing wrong with freezing soup. Just don't leave it too long in the freezer or you'll risk ruining its original taste. What's great about freezing soup is that you pretty much retain its components and after you heat it, it's going to taste the way it was when it was first served. I do think reheated food, especially soup, tastes better.
     
  8. Melissast

    MelissastActive Member

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    I never actually thought about freezing soup before, but now I think it might be a great idea. It might be good to make soup ahead of time, and then reheat it on a very busy cold day. It's getting to be soup weather, and this is also the busiest time of the year.
     
  9. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

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    I do this but I don't really worry too much about he health benefits. I just like doing it because it is practical and easy. I usually cook a lot of soup servings and then separate one for immediate consumption and separate the rest for later and then I freeze it immediately after it cools down. I don't think many nutrients are lost during this process since it's being frozen anyway. The texture is a bit different on reheating them though but not really by that much.
     
  10. DesignerMum

    DesignerMumActive Member

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    We enjoy soups. They are easy to prepare. The seasonings and flavors may come from many recipe book sources, because we usually cook them on our own. And we weren't really buying the canned soups product as an alternative to homemade soups. So once the soup is cooked, we would make the effort of finishing them, leaving no leftovers. We try and often succeed in doing that. However, if there is some leftover, we'd put it in the freezer and re-heat for the following meal time.
     
  11. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    Over here we don't freeze soups but viands, and it does affect the taste a bit because you have thaw out all that ice, and we don't have a microwave. They do it, but if on my own I won't.
     
  12. Squigly

    SquiglyActive Member

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    I freeze soups all the time, but usually consume them within a month of freezing. Also, I reboil the soup after thawing to make sure that any bacteria is killed. There probably isn't any health risk associated with freezing soups and drinking it after proper reheating, however, keep to too long and there might be some unpalatable taste in the soup coming from your refridgerant.
     
  13. Aurora

    AuroraMember

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    I do not like to freeze soup. I usually finish it all on the day I make the soup. Therefore, my soup is simple and easy to make. My shop is mostly veggies like tomatoes soup, potatoes soups, mushrooms soup, corn soup, etc. If I am in shortage of fresh ingredients, I usually use the canned soups with the leftovers. I do not like finding place to store my soup and reheat it as my soup is so easy to prepare. If I need something strong and rich in different ingredients, I will buy from shops.
     
  14. chiofthenorns

    chiofthenornsActive Member

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    Not really. When my mom makes soup, we make sure to eat it immediately. If there is left over, we just put it in the refrigerator to eat the next day. If there is still left over, we throw it away. Soup doesn't taste good for me when frozen and reheated.
     
  15. JessiFox

    JessiFoxActive Member

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    I don't know what exactly you're worried about with freezing it, as in how long it really lasts? I would suspect it would be fine in the freezer for a few weeks. Sure, there are some ingredients that don't lend themselves as well to freezing as others, but there's nothing wrong with freezing soups. I like to make larger batches sometimes and we'll end up freezing the leftovers. It's a great way to save time/save money.
     
  16. Peninha

    PeninhaWell-Known Member

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    It's not exactly a concern, in fact I don't even do it anymore, but I feel that when it freezes something happen to it. For example, my mother does it and when I heat it as you know it doesn't exactly look the same, even if it tastes ok.
     
  17. jckobl

    jckoblNew Member

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    Freezing soup is a good idea. I remember seeing something somewhere online (a life-hack of some sort) that said you should freeze them in small portions, or maybe cubes, I can't remember. Anyway, it's supposed to make melting and reheating it easier/quicker/more efficient.
     
  18. Onionman

    OnionmanActive Member

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    Freezing soup is fine, but the duration that you should keep it in your freezer should really depend on what kind of soup it is. In other words, certainly be more wary of storing meat-based soups for too long a duration. Vegetable-based soups should in theory be ok in the freezer for longer. I guess in an ideal world you'll just finish it off anyway ;)
     
  19. akiii123

    akiii123Active Member

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    I do not think I have ever frozen soup as I prepare very less of it. But I think it is really not such a healthy habit as frozen soup loses some of its nutrients, just by the freezing it. I do not think it can be really good to do it. I think freezing soup is a very rare thing and not many people do it.
     
  20. Peninha

    PeninhaWell-Known Member

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    Yeah, looking back at it doesn't seem the better thing to do, but if we do prepare a big amount and we don't eat it all it gets ruined, so the solution has to be to less or freeze it. Either cases, I am no longer doing it, a bit pot of soup rarely lasts more than 2 or 3 days.