Serving Soup Safely (2024)

FAQs

Serving Soup Safely? ›

Refrigerate promptly. Soup can also be chilled in an ice or cold water bath before refrigerating. You can place loosely covered foods in the refrigerator while still warm; cover when food is completely cooled. When serving soup a second time, reheat it until it's steaming hot throughout, at least 165 °F.

Science Says: Serve Soup At 149 Degrees

According to the Journal of Food Science, the optimal temperature for soup lies somewhere between 136 and 162 degrees.

If food has been hygienically prepared, cooled quickly after cooking (or reheating) and stored cold, reheating more than once should not increase the risk of illness. However, prolonged storage and repeated reheating will affect the taste, texture, and sometimes the nutritional quality of foods.

No, a pot of soup at 139 degrees Fahrenheit is not-safe to serve. The minimum safe temperature for serving hot soup is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature, harmful bacteria and pathogens are effectively killed, ensuring food safety. Consuming soup below this temperature can risk foodborne illnesses.

Risk minimizing procedures should include: covers/lids and sneeze guards, holding hot foods at 135°F or higher and cold foods at 41°F or lower, and checking food temperatures at least every 2 hours (to leave time for corrective action) with the proper thermometer inserted into the food.

In general, and according to a few culinary school sites, clear soups should be served near boiling 210°F (99°C), cream or thick soups between 190°F to 200°F (88°C to 93°C), and cold soups: serve at 40°F (4°C) or lower.

For best safety and quality, plan to eat refrigerated soup within 3 to 4 days or freeze it. And avoid letting soup set at room temperature for more than TWO hours. Don't put a large pot of hot soup directly into your refrigerator.

Each time food is cooled, stored and reheated, the likelihood of harmful bacteria multiplying increases. If you do end up with leftovers, it is much safer to either freeze them or reheat them just once.

Food should not be at room temperature for more than two hours. Shallow containers or small amounts of hot food can be placed directly in the refrigerator or rapidly chilled in an ice or cold water bath before refrigerating.

eating etiquette (how to eat...)

When serving soup, place the soup plates or bowls on an underplate. When the soup is finished or the spoon is laid down, the spoon is left in the soup plate, not on the dish underneath. If the soup is served in a cup, the spoon is left on the saucer.

What precautions must you take while serving hot soup or dishes? ›

The most important things to remember about serving prepared foods are: Keep HOT foods HOT – Keep hot cooked foods between 140°F and 165°F until serving time. Harmful bacteria can grow rapidly below 140°F. When food is cooked to temperatures of 165°F to 212°F, most food-poisoning bacteria is killed.

Reheat leftovers thoroughly to at least 165 °F. Reheat sauces, soups, and gravies to a boil. On stove top: Place food in pan and heat thoroughly. The food should reach at least 165 °F on a food thermometer when safely reheated.

Hot Clear Soups: serve near boiling 210°F (99°C) Hot Cream or Thick Soups: serve between 190°F to 200°F (88°C to 93°C) Cold Soups: heated, then cooled and served at 40°F (4°C) or lower.

So, yeah: Toss that soup that sat out overnight. Now, to the question of whether or not boiling it will kill off these bugs -- that might be technically true, but it comes with a big caveat. To be completely safe, you'll have to boil the soup vigorously for 10 minutes.

Tips & Techniques > Proper Soup Serving Temperatures

When serving hot soups, always make sure to serve the soup in warmed bowls so the soup stays hot on its way to the table; likewise, cold soups should be served in chilled bowls.

The appropriate holding temperature for hot food is 135 degrees Fahrenheit or above. Here are some tips to keep hot foods out of the danger zone: Never use hot holding equipment to reheat food.

The food danger zone is that place between 40 and 140 °F where pathogens grow most quickly. It can take a long time to get through the danger zone when cooling a large batch of chili, soup or stew. The soup must cool from 140 to 70 °F in 2 hours and from 70 to 40 °F in no more than 4 hours.

The safe zones are below 40°F (4°C)—temperatures too cold for most bacteria to reproduce— and above 140°F (60°C), temperatures that begin to be lethal to bacteria.