Freezing soup: 4 methods and what mistakes you should avoid

Freezing soup is a great way to provide. You can cook a larger set of these and then freeze them in portions. Here we show you four methods and what you should pay attention to.

When cooking needs to be done quickly, pre-cooked and frozen soup is what you need. So you always have nutritious, healthy and home-cooked food on hand. At the same time you avoid wasting cans, baggage packages or packaging material from the delivery service.

We show you the four best ways to freeze soup and what you should consider when you do this.

Freezing soup: how it works

Here are some things to keep in mind when freezing soup:

• Always let the soup cool completely before freezing.
• Freeze small parts that you can use immediately after thawing.
• Label the freezer so you can remember what soup is in it afterwards.
• Also write the date on which you made the soup. This will help you keep track of your freezer.

These soups are especially easy to freeze:

• clear broth
• cleaned vegetable soups
• Pizza soup
• lentil soup

Larger vegetables such as pumpkin, squash or cauliflower are very suitable for preparing larger amounts of soup. Whenever possible, buy seasonal vegetables for the soup organic quality external regional cultivation. Seasonal vegetables are one of the pillars of one a balanced diet and you support that too climatebecause you avoid long transport routes.

To melt self-frozen soup:

• It is best to take the frozen soup out of the freezer the day before.
• Let the soup slowly melt in the refrigerator. This is especially important if you freeze the soup in the jar. Large temperature differences can cause the glass to crack. Therefore, never put the ice-cold glass in hot water!
• Slowly heat the soup in the pan. Stir well from time to time so that nothing burns on the bottom of the pot.

Consumption duration of self-frozen soup:

Consume your frozen soup within three months. Clear soup lasts a little longer, but you should eat it at the latest after six months.

Freeze soup in screw-on jars

In a vacuum screwed jars you can freeze soups and use them as well.

How to freeze soup in a jar:

• Allow the soup to cool before pouring it into the glass to avoid breaking the glass.
• Stainless steel funnel and dome help you pour the soup.
• Don’t fill the jar all the way so that the soup expands as it freezes – we recommend 80 percent of the jar.
• The narrower the glass, the wider the edge should be.
• Use only jars that you keep standing in your freezer. This will prevent the soup from spilling.
• Place the lid loosely on the jar to allow air to escape while it freezes. This will prevent the glass from shattering when it freezes.
• Close the jar with the lid at the earliest after 24 hours.

Danger! Never put the frozen jar in hot water to quickly melt the soup. The glass could shatter due to the large temperature difference. Instead, let the soup completely melt to pour it out of the jar. The glasses are not suitable for cooking the soup in them.

Freeze soup in glass molds

Glass fresh storage boxes and pans with tight plastic lids are also suitable for freezing soup.

To freeze soup in a glass dish with a plastic lid:

• Allow the soup to cool before pouring it into the glass to avoid breaking the glass.
• Fill the pan to about two fingers below the edge to allow the soup to expand.
• Allow the soup to cool completely before closing the plastic lid. This prevents the cover from being deformed by the heat.
• Place the glass mold directly into the freezer to prevent the soup from spilling as it expands as it freezes.

This variant is more suitable for freezing soup for a short time, as most people have only a few such glass forms.

Freeze soup in freezers

Many people like to freeze vegetables and soup in plastic freezer bags. However, this is not recommended for environmental reasons, as the bags end up in the trash after only one use.

Therefore, use reusable freezers if you prefer to use plastic instead of glass to freeze the soup.

To freeze soup in a plastic freezer:

• Let the soup cool completely before pouring it into the can. Danger! If you fill hot soup, the plastic may deform.
• Fill the freezer container to about two fingers below the edge to allow the soup to expand.
• Close the container tightly with the lid.
• Place the freezer directly into the freezer to prevent the soup from spilling out during the freezing.

Danger! Use only plastic containers that are labeled as frozen containers. Not every plastic can withstand such low temperatures. With unsuitable plastic cans, the lid will shatter when you open the frozen can.

Tip: Plastic freezers have the advantage that you can use them to quickly defrost the soup in hot water.

Freeze soup in ice cube trays

Many dishes taste better if you add a little vegetable broth instead of water. For these purposes, you can freeze a clear vegetable broth in ice cube trays. Soup ice cubes are especially good for using small portions.

To freeze soup in an ice cube tray:

• Place the ice cube tray on a wooden cutting board. This is especially useful with flexible silicone ice cube trays to avoid spills.
• Let the soup cool completely before pouring it into the ice cube tray.
• Since the ice cube tray remains open, you can fill the ice cube tray just below the edge.
• Place the ice cube tray directly into the freezer along with the cutting board to prevent the soup from spilling out during the freezing.
• After about 24 hours, you can pour the soup ice cubes into a sealable glass or freezer.
• In this way, the soup ice cubes can be removed individually as needed.

Tip: You don’t have to melt the soup ice cubes before using them, you can put them directly into the pot. The small ice cubes melt in a few minutes in the hot pot.

You should avoid these mistakes while freezing soup

Freezing your own soup guarantees success with these tips.

Fill the containers:

• Just fill the chilled soup into the container. If you fill hot soup, the glass could burst or the plastic container could deform.
• No matter which container you choose, it’s important to leave room for expansion.
• The basic principle is: the narrower the vessel, the wider the free space must be.

Freeze clear soup with an insert:

• Freeze the clear vegetable broth separately from the garnish. Soup and solid deposits have different freezing points and expand differently when they freeze. The structure of the solid soup garnish suffers as a result.
• Freeze the finished soup accompaniments such as semolina dumplings, noodles, pancakes or dumplings individually portioned in a glass or plastic jar.

Freeze potatoes in the soup:

Freeze Vegetable Soup:

• The same goes for vegetable soup as for clear soup with accompaniments: the vegetables and the clear soup have different freezing points. If you freeze the soup and vegetables together, the vegetables will become hard.
• If you have made more vegetable soup, it is better to freeze only the clear vegetable broth without the vegetable pieces.

Dairy products in the soup:

• If you want to add dairy products, such as cream, to your soup, freeze it without the dairy product.
• Freezing makes dairy products easy to peel off and they can no longer be well combined with the soup, even when they are hot.
• It is best to add the desired dairy product to the melted, hot soup fresh before serving.

Read more at Utopia.de:

German version available: Frozen Soup: Methods, Tips and Tricks

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Keywords: how to avoid food waste packaging zero waste