Register

Leaving soup out overnight

How to curb your cravings and stay away from the ice cream!
User avatar
Posts: 219
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2012 3:19 pm
Location: Essex

Leaving soup out overnight

Postby Binky » Wed May 28, 2014 4:27 pm

I make soup in a Le Creuset pot with the usual heavy lid.

It's usually vegetables of some sort, however yesterday I made quinoa and veg but using a home-made chicken stock as the base.

I left it out overnight and my husband says it's probably not safe to eat.

What puzzles me is that our ancestors didn't have fridges, and couldn't afford to throw uneaten food away after 24 hours, and don't the French still have a tradition of the 'marmite' stock-pot on the back of the stove?

I think that if you boil the soup for 5-8 minutes before ladling out to eat, you will be alright. I've just eaten two bowlsful for my lunch and it was delicious, no impairment to flavour whatsoever.

What do other people do?

User avatar
Posts: 3832
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 6:28 pm

Re: Leaving soup out overnight

Postby jeral » Wed May 28, 2014 5:09 pm

What I do is not use heavy Le Creuset cookware ;)
I use a saucepan and put it in the fridge once cool if I'm too busy or lazy to decant it before refrigerating it.

It'd be daft to say that anything can be safely left out at room temperature as current wisdom is to refrigerate as soon as cool enough - or take your chances with the risk of food poisoning - i.e. be it on your own head as the saying goes.

I gather that stock if completely clear could be topped up and cooked time and again as can lard for deep frying (there are rules of course), but rice and grains are different. Quinoa is actually a seed but it's not supposed to be kept for longer than two days even in the fridge so it must presumably deteriorate once cooked as all foods do but how quickly at room temperature is the $64,000 question...

User avatar
Posts: 4139
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm
Location: Stoke Newington, London

Re: Leaving soup out overnight

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed May 28, 2014 5:21 pm

I often batch cook in the evening, and while I try to get the stuff (often soup) cool enough to portion and refrigerate or freeze before I go to bed sometimes it gets left out until the morning and I still use it

That's fine in winter but I'd be very cautious in summer

Never forget that in microbiology labs they grow bugs in ......BROTH! Soup is the perfect culture medium, liquid with nutrients dissolved in it

If the Le Creuset saucepan is the best to use, then perhaps you could decant into a cold bowl or Tupperware, cover tightly while hot, then refrigerate before bed time?

I tend to cook soup in a stainless pan or a pressure cooker, either of which can be cooled in a sink of cold water or(tightly covered) outside on teh cold metal landing of fire-escape stairs.

The old stockpot was boiled for at least 30 minutes every day, which sterilised it pretty well

Rice is a special case because of B Cereus

Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 10:38 pm

Re: Leaving soup out overnight

Postby Yoland » Mon Feb 15, 2016 6:11 pm

We do it all the time but mainly because I dont want to wait for it to cool down to put it in the fridge. So as soon as I wake up in the morning I put it in the fridge. Its safe for consumption

User avatar
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2018 2:21 pm
Location: Twickenham

Re: Leaving soup out overnight

Postby aerona » Wed Jan 31, 2018 10:36 am

We often wait for the soup to cool down and then put it in the refrigerator. When it's winter and it's cold enough we put it outside. No one's died yet :)

Return to Healthy Eating

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest