Can I freeze a pureed soup?

[baltoellen]

I made (too much) roasted cauliflower soup with potatoes. The entire thing pureed. Is it ok to freeze, or will the texture end up being off when defrosting and reheating?

Many thanks.

[baltoellen]

Thanks for these additional suggestions. The soup just happens to be dairy free, but I'm not--so if a bit of cream is needed to bring it back to the right consistency, cream it is. I still haven't defrosted and reheated my test batch, but will soon.

[hortscribe]

Two tips: Make sure you pre-chill anything you are going to freeze because putting warm or room temp food directly in the freezer causes larger ice crystals to form and that is what damages texture. Next, don't freeze for long periods of time. Freezing is not meant to be a yearlong option. And don't panic if the product looks seperated when it thaws, It may reheat nicely. Most soups I have frozen do just fine.

[Cherylptw]

We freeze cream soups where I work; they key is to bring it back to the consistency it was before. You could thaw and put in a food processor or blender with a bit of cornstarch then heat slowly over low temp. We normally add a bit of cream to it but if you're dairy free, just the cornstarch in a decent amount of stock should work.

[greygarious]

If the alternative is to throw it out, I certainly would not do that. Try freezing if it won't keep long enough in the fridge - if it gets grainy try adding some cream cheese or peanut butter to reheated soup and re-blend. If the texture really bothers you, you'll know to make smaller batches in the future. Where it's a puree, it might be fine as is.

[mcel215]

I freeze all of my soup, even creamy ones. I think soup is fine being frozen and thawed in the fridge overnight. I wouldn't serve it to company though. JMO.

[flomogal]

I successfully freeze my cream of potato leek soup all the time. I think the key is in the reheating. I first defrost very slowly in the microwave (stirring often) and then zap it on high for about 30 seconds at the end. Do not boil.

[baltoellen]

Ohhh, such good and fascinating replies. Thanks all!

I never would have thought of the simply brilliant idea of freezing a small test portion, or freezing things modularly (besides stock).

[another_adam]

I gotta concur with the above - the cauliflower part would work well, but potatoes tend to turn out grainy for me. I usually make soups "modularly" so that I can freeze the base and have it ready to go for subsequent batches by adding potato, dairy, fresh herbs, etc.

[elfcook]

Not sure of your soup, but I do freeze a pureed white bean soup with good results. Can you try a small portion in the freezer to test, & decide tomorrow if it reheats ok?

[LauraGrace]

I was going to suggest this too, elfcook!

[LauraGrace]

I don't have much luck freezing potato soups -- they tend to turn mealy. What kind of potatoes are you using? And is there dairy in the soup? Potatoes + dairy, IMO, = not good candidates for the freezer.

[baltoellen]

Thanks for your reply.

The good news is that the soup is dairy-free. The potatoes are Yukon Gold. If it's not a good candidate for freezing, I wonder how long a soup of cauliflower, potatoes. onions, garlic, and chicken broth stay good in the fridge.

[LauraGrace]

I keep soup in the coldest part of the fridge, and it typically lasts 3-4 days. I'm pretty easygoing about that sort of thing but have never given myself food poisoning! ;)

I'm sure someone could give you a more scientific answer, but that's all I've got. Good luck!

[gnomatic]

I love pureed soup (no dairy)..often with potatoes...unfortunately, they don't freeze well at all. It separated upon defrosting.

[AndrewK512]

Wow this is really interesting to know. I would've guessed that since it's already pureed it would freeze fine. :/