Soups and stews are a common meal during this chilly time of the year. Oftentimes, they are made in large batches, which allows for extra portions to be refrigerated or frozen for later use. It is important to keep food safety in mind when handling leftover soups or stews.
Avoid the danger zone. Bacteria grows most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40-140 degrees Fahrenheit, doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes. Do not keep foods at room temperature for longer than 2 hours (1 hour on a particularly hot day.)
Keep hot foods hot. The danger zone can be avoided by keeping “hot foods hot”, like soup. This means making sure that hot foods stay at 140 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter until ready to store. This also applies to keeping cold foods cold (40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder.)
Properly cool leftovers. It is not safe to put a large stock pot of hot soup directly into the refrigerator. This results in the outer areas of the soup cooling down faster, leaving the innermost areas to reach the danger zone. The fastest way to safely cool leftovers is to separate them into smaller portions, no deeper than 2”. Wide surfer areas, rather than deep, cool faster.
Use refrigerated leftovers within 3 to 4 days, or freeze.
Proper containers can improve quality. For best quality, freeze in quality storage, such as freezer bags or freezer containers. Avoid using old sour cream or cool whip containers, for example.
Freeze in smaller portions. Only thaw what you need to use at a time.
Loss of quality. For quality, try to use up frozen leftovers within 3 to 4 months. Properly frozen leftovers can safe indefinitely, but they will lose their quality over time.