On a cold winter day, there are few things more comforting than knowing you have homemade soup waiting for you at home. Assembling and slicing the ingredients, then standing over the pot as the onions soften in butter or the spices sizzle and blossom in oil, can be meditative.
You can step away and go about your business once the liquid (stock or water) has been added and the cooking has begun, but the lovely fragrances of the meal you’ve been making will begin to drift throughout the home.
It’s certainly worth the effort to make your own soup, whether you’re making it from scratch or using store-bought stock (of course, we’d vote for homemade stock any day), and simply getting into the kitchen and preparing it could make you feel wonderful. For a rainy day, portions for one, two, or many can be stored in the fridge or freezer. The trick is to know how to store it for reheating in the most effective and safe manner possible.
When it comes to soup, how long does it last in the fridge?
When leaving food out, the first thing to remember is to keep track of the time. If the temperature is 90 degrees or more, the rule of thumb is no more than two hours.
Bacteria can grow and reproduce if you keep anything out too long, especially with meats and poultry. When you get to that two-hour mark, you’ve entered the bacterial-growth danger zone.
However, putting a large pot of scorching hot, steaming soup in the refrigerator is not a smart idea since the temperature inside the refrigerator could rise.
When you’re ready to store a large pot of soup, ladle it into smaller containers so it cools fast. It’s fine to store warm soup in the refrigerator. If you don’t have any smaller containers, fill a large basin with ice and water and set the soup pot within. The ice bath will swiftly cool it down.
Except for cream-based soups, which might separate, most soups are suitable choices for long-term storage in the freezer. When storing soups with noodles in the broth, keep in mind that the noodles may absorb some of the stock. The noodles may become mushy if the soup is frozen.
Use freezer-safe sealable bags or containers to freeze soups. Make sure to leave around 1/2-inch headroom for expansion when using containers. When using bags, write the date and label on the bag before filling it with soup. Before sealing, press or squeeze out all of the air.
I prefer to use bags since they can be stored flat in the freezer, saving space.
Putting the freezer bag in a tiny empty readymade food box is another way I’ve frozen soup. Boxes that are approximately the same size as a quart-size freezer bag work well. Place the bag upright in the box, pour the soup inside, and close the bag. Put it in the freezer for a while. Remove the bag from the box and freeze when it’s frozen enough to keep its shape.
Soups stored in the refrigerator should be consumed within 3-4 days for best quality, and soups frozen should be consumed within 6 months.
What is the best way to store soup safely?
In the refrigerator
Any sort of soup will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days on average, but keep it at a constant temperature of 2°C to extend the shelf life. Store your soup or stew in single-serving amounts for easy reheating. Keep the container sealed.
placed in the freezer
If you want to extend the shelf life of your soup, freezing it is an excellent choice. Soups and stews will keep their freshness in the freezer for 4-6 months if stored properly. The soup will last indefinitely if the freezer temperature remains constant at 0°F.
Can you keep homemade vegetable soup in the fridge for a long time?
Only the thermoduric sporeformers (particularly Bacillus and Clostridium) would survive if it had reached boiling point, and they would take a long time to proliferate. Around 7-9 days, you’ll notice the first changes: a slight gray or creamy layer on top that wasn’t there previously. Typically, it’s a yeast, followed by a mold, sometimes with a bit more color. Anything similar to this should be discarded.
If there’s nothing on the surface and everything smells good, simply bring it back to a boil and serve. We all store extra, but it makes more sense to reduce waste (and concern) if we consume it all right away or freeze it the same day in sealed bags if storage will be longer than a week.
Conclusion
How long can you keep cooked vegetable soup in the refrigerator or freezer? The precise answer to that issue is very dependent on storage conditions; vegetable soup should be refrigerated within two hours of cooking.
Refrigerate cooked vegetable soup promptly in sealed airtight containers to extend its shelf life and ensure its safety and quality.
Cooked vegetable soup will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days if properly kept.
Cooked vegetable soup can be frozen to extend its shelf life. Freeze in sealed airtight containers or heavy-duty freezer bags.