Although January brings snow, ice, and cold, cold temperatures, there are plenty of things to celebrate: snowmen, sledding, hot chocolate, and of course, hot-off-the-stove soup. January is National Soup Month, and that means you should be out enjoying every type of soup you can find. But before you grab your next cup of soup in celebration of your favorite hot, liquefied meal, take a moment to make sure you know how to enjoy your soup safely.
Taking a quick glance at this list of safety tips can help you avoid illness and injury and help you preserve your time and your taste buds for enjoying everything from Miso to Chicken Tortilla to Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese.
If you make a large batch of soup to enjoy over several days, remember that refrigerated soups should be eaten within three to four days. If you intend to eat your soup further out, you should properly freeze it.
Don’t allow your soup to sit out on the counter for more than two hours at room temperature. Bacteria grow quickly in soups and other pasty or liquefied hot meals and cause food poisoning.
Never put a whole pot of just cooked soup into your refrigerator to cool. It can take more than 24 hours for a full batch of soup or stew to cool in one container, making it unsafe to eat. Separate your soup into smaller containers that are less than two inches deep for maximum cooling power.
Check the temperature of your soup while cooking and reheating. Never serve a soup that didn’t heat to an even 165-degrees Fahrenheit first.
Make sure that all foods that go into your soup cook thoroughly. If you are untrained in the art of cooking soup or making a stew, you should prepare your meats separately from your stock and consider using a store-bought stock.
Soups and stews are a hearty, delicious way to get over the cold and to feel good throughout all winter months. Celebrate January and National Soup Month in style with a new soup recipe and a new mindset for safety in all your cooking adventures.