Leaving chicken soup out overnight....

[trolley]

I just made some chicken soup but it's too hot to put in the refrigerator. Can i leave it out overnight? My kitchen is not too cold nor warm. I live in Socal so I don't have the option of putting it outside.

[shaogo]

Place the whole pot in the ice-water bath in your sink. Stir occasionally. When it's cool enough, put it in the fridge.

The time the soup spends going from boiling to cold should be as brief as possible. You want to get the soup out of the "danger zone" between 40 and 140 degrees fahrenheit. That's the "zone" in which bacteria proliferate most rapidly.

Chicken soup's like a petri dish. I'd keep it from blossoming -- especially if your baby's going to eat it.

[trolley]

well, the irony to all this is that after i carefully iced my soup in small bowls and placed it in the fridge, we had a blackout all day so i ended up tossing the soup :-S

[CuriousCat]

That is too funny! Sorry it happened to you though. :) I think you definitely made the right choice... definitely don't want to take any risks when there are young children involved! Hope your power's back.

[trolley]

yes, so ridiculous isn't it curious cat? the power went out around 7am and wasn't back until 6pm! i just went out and bought soup ingredients again today. what a waste. lesson learned.

[Davwud]

FWIW. This came up on another thread. I've seen my FIL do this countless times with no ill effects.

The secret, so they say, is to make sure the soup is simmering and put the lid on it. If it's a tight fitting lid, it'll sterilize the inside and keep the cooties out.

I've done this the last few times I've had a large pot on the stove and all has been well.

DT

[Kater]

I don't think I am at all cautious w/r/t food but that is really dangerous and I caution you against it. Holding soup a temp between quite hot and refrigerated encourages all sorts of nasty things to grow in it. Please take dmd's advice, get it chilled down and then into the fridger!

[Sam Fujisaka]

Leave it out. Put it striaght into the ref. It doesn't matter. Both ways you'll be OK.

[classylady]

I leave the soup out when it is very hot. But put in the fridge after. The soup has a lot of fat on the surface when cold and must be removed for health purpose.

[ipsedixit]

Right now in SoCal? Sure.

[dmd_kc]

Dump ice into your sink, fill it partway with water. Pour your soup into smaller containers, then into the ice bath till they chill down. You'll be fine. Just whatever you do, don't put a whole just-finished pot of soup in the fridge.

[trolley]

ok, going with dmd kc. feeding it to my little toddler so i'm not going to chance it. just needed to double check. thanks!

[Bryan Pepperseed]

That's what I do. I also keep a couple of those reusable blue freezie things in the freezer in case I run out of ice.

[CuriousCat]

The food-safety police will arrest me, but I've left soups out overnight many times with no ill consequence. Just be sure to bring it to a good boil again before you serve.