How to thaw frozen soup?
In this brief guide, we are going to answer the question “how to thaw frozen soup” with an in-depth analysis of the proper way to thaw frozen soup. Moreover, we are going to discuss whether or not you should refrigerate/refreeze the reheated soup.
So without much ado, let’s dive in and figure out more about it.
How to thaw frozen soup?
When it comes to thawing the frozen soup, there are a couple of ways to do so and you can choose any of them depending on your choice.
- The recommended way to thaw the frozen soup is to leave it in the refrigerator overnight and let it thaw there. The frozen soup won’t face any sudden temperature fluctuations and thus it won’t face textural degradation or nutrition loss when it is allowed to get defrosted in the refrigerator. The soup thawed this way can be kept in the fridge for 1-2 days before cooking and eating it.
- You can thaw the frozen soup in a bowl of cold water but you should reheat it immediately after thawing.
- If you are thawing the frozen soup in the oven or microwave it is recommended to reheat it immediately.
- Last but not least, if you have frozen soup in the required portions, you can use it directly in the cooking process, thus you can add it directly to the dish you are cooking but do not forget to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
The reason behind reheating the frozen soup immediately after thawing it in a cold water bowl or microwave is that when you warm frozen soup using these methods, the temperature at the surface of the frozen soup gets higher than that of 40 degrees Fahrenheit before the core temperature can become 40 degrees Fahrenheit and it can thaw completely and that’s when the bacteria can start to grow on the surface rapidly.
Therefore it is advised to cook such thawed frozen soup immediately until its internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Because it is only by cooking the frozen soup properly that we can get rid of the bacteria completely.
Is it better to defrost soup in hot or cold water?
Soup can be safely thawed in cold water rather than heated. Not only the hot water will thaw the soup but it will also start to cook the soup surface, causing sections of the soup to reach temperatures beyond 40 degrees. That’s the point at which the microbes start to grow rapidly. Thus, it’s best to use cold water straight from the tap to thaw your frozen soup.
It is worth mentioning that you should make sure the soup is thawed in a leak-proof container or bag. What you gotta do is soak the bag in cold water for 30 minutes, changing the water every 30 minutes to keep it cool and once the soup has fully thawed, you should cook it right away.
Is it necessary to defrost a soup before cooking it?
Technically, the soup does not necessarily need to be thawed before cooking and you can just go ahead and cook your frozen soup. When using frozen soup, the cooking time will need to be increased. Thus, cooking a frozen soup takes around 50 percent longer than cooking a completely thawed soup.
It is worth mentioning that it is always a good idea to let the soup thaw first before cooking it in order to ensure optimal cooking throughout the whole soup without any risk of surface charring.
Is it possible to keep the reheated frozen soup refrigerated?
The previously cooked refrigerated/frozen soup should never be refrigerated again once it has been reheated. The reason behind this recommendation is that when the frozen soup is reheated, its temperature rises over 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and we know that 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit is the danger zone as the bacteria grow rapidly within this temperature range.
As a result, microorganisms will contaminate your soup. So all in all, the reheated soup should never be refrigerated; instead, it is preferable to devour it entirely or properly dispose of the reheated leftovers.
Dos and don’ts of thawing soup
- You should never thaw the frozen soup by leaving it on the counter as this will increase its microbial exposure.
- The best way to thaw soup is by leaving it in the refrigerator overnight.
- It is always recommended to thaw the frozen soup by leaving it on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator to keep it from dripping into other food items. Thus, following this practice, you can substantially decrease the chances of food contamination.
- You should thaw the frozen soup by placing it in a colander and afterward putting the colander in a wide bowl that is large enough to withhold all the dripping water from the thawed soup.
You can read how to make soup here.
Other FAQs about Soup that you may be interested in.
Can warm soup go in the fridge?
Can you eat soup with diarrhea?
Can you eat soup with an upset stomach?
Can hot soup go in the fridge?
Conclusion
In this brief guide, we answered the question “how to thaw frozen soup” with an in-depth analysis of the proper way to thaw frozen soup. Moreover, we discussed whether or not you should refrigerate/refreeze the reheated soup.
Citations
https://food52.com/blog/17895-our-every-question-on-freezing-thawing-soup-answered
https://www.wikihow.com/Defrost-Soup
