By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS
County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County

I believe soup making is a not practiced in many kitchens. I realize there are many factors that figure into not making soup like grandmother used to. There is the time factor involved, or having to purchase the raw ingredients if you don’t have them on hand, like grandmother did, plus, there are lots of prepared soups readily available in the grocery store. Quantity is also a factor, but it’s just as easy to make a large kettle or Dutch oven of soup as it is a small saucepan full. Make a large pot and invite company or share some with your neighbors and friends, or portion it and freeze it.

Soups are one of those forgiving foods that you can be creative with or follow a recipe. Many recipes call for stock of some kind and some soups need stock for taste and body. If your cooking time is limited, there are many food products available which will save you time.

Canned beef or poultry broths and stocks have more flavor than using a bouillon product. With all of these products, though, remember a lot of salt is added. The low sodium canned stocks are always preferable because lack of salt leaves the cook more freedom to adjust the seasoning and to use more stock without worrying about the saltiness. Most beans and legume soups do not require stock as their main ingredient as they are already rich in flavor.

One fast way to cool soup, when the temperature outside is forty degrees or below, is to set the covered pot outside or in your unheated garage. Make sure to have the lid tilted just a bit so the heat can escape quickly. If you have a large quantity of soup to cool put it in shallower pans so it can cool quickly. Never put a large pot of hot soup in the refrigerator with the lid on tight and expect it to cool off. Much of the heat can’t escape and, depending on the ingredients, the soup will sour and not be safe.

Most soups keep tightly covered in the refrigerator, even improving their flavor.The exception is soup made with fish or seafood. Fruit soups and soups made with meat, poultry, milk, cream, or eggs keep for up to three days. Soups made purely of vegetables and legumes keep for four days.

Refrigerate soup when it has cooled completely and make sure it is tightly covered. Try to store soup in a container which it completely fills, as air is the enemy. For this reason, leave any fat on top of the soup to seal the soup beneath. Just remember to remove the fat layer before reheating.

Most soups also freeze well. Smaller pieces of vegetables freeze better than large pieces. Pureed soups hold their quality for up to three months. Other soups are best served within one month of freezing. If your household is busy, you might try freezing main dish soups in individual servings.