Forum: cooking.stackexchange.com
Tags: <freezing><soup>
Title: Can you freeze soup?
Question: I am planning on making soup with my leftover turkey frame. I was just wondering if it is possible to freeze the soup and have it taste good when it is thawed. I am guessing it should be fine as long there aren't any noodles in the soup. Other than that the only ingredients called for are vegetables (celery, can of diced tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms) and spices.   What do you think?

Answers:
sents: text: Soup freezes great in my experience.
text: To freeze it for long term storage, you'll probably want it to be vacuum sealed.
text: In order to do this I freeze individual sized portions in Tupperware-style containers (make sure to leave enough room for expansion), and as soon as they're solid, vacuum seal those large "cubes".
text: They generally stack pretty nicely in our garage freezer.
text: In general soups should thaw and taste very good, some flavors even seem become stronger or seem to enhance and meld better with the freezing.
text: If you vacuum seal them as above you can throw them (still sealed) into a pot of boiling water for hot soup relatively fast!
text: As an aside, another great option with a leftover turkey frame would be to save it with previous odds and ends (carrot/celery ends, onion pieces, etc) in the freezer, and when you have enough make a simple stock.
text: You can then freeze the stock into cubes (in ice cube trays) for soup-making later, sauteeing veggies, in place of water for more flavorful rice, and a ton of other things.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1236/stephennmcdonald
score: 12
sents: text: I usually freeze soup in ice cubes trays and when the cubes are frozen, I transfer them to a freezing bag.
text: Small soup cubes defrost faster than big soup blocks, so when I come back home late and tired from work
text: , I can have a hot soup in a few minutes, just putting some cubes in a hot pan...
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/2172/dolma33
score: 8
sents: text: I freeze soup all the time.
text: The only issue I've ever had is that the texture of large pieces of vegetables can change slightly after they're frozen -- possibly because the ice crystals break cell walls.
text: I've noticed this particularly with potatoes and carrots.
text: But only large pieces seem to have this problem.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1887/Martha F.
score: 6
sents: text: We freeze soup all the time, either in plastic containers or in freezer bags.
text: We haven't had any problems with noodles in frozen soups.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/839/Rebekah
score: 3
sents: text: That will freeze (and thaw) just fine.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1393/Michael Natkin
score: 2
sents: text: Soup usually freezes beautifully.
text: Some veggies may suffer a slight texture change, if that is a problem, you can just freeze the meat and broth, and add fresh veggies when you thaw and reheat.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/2239/Juju
score: 2

Summary of the answers:
Soup freezes very well, and can be frozen in plastic containers, freezer bags or ice cube trays before being transferred to a freezer bag. For longer storage, it may be better vacuum sealed. While the liquid part freezes and thaws well, the texture of larger pieces of vegetables may be affected as the cell walls break down. To avoid this, you can just freeze the broth and add fresh vegetables later.
Soup freezes really well. Larger vegetables may go slightly mushy so you can always freeze it without the vegetables and add them in later.