Can I freeze soup in a pot?
Can I freeze soup in a pot (I believe it's made of stainless steel)? Are there any health risks? Is there any risk of damage to the pot?
Best Answer
There are no health safety risks with storing food in a stainless steel, or most other cooking pot metals for that mater
The pot should be fine, but there is always a risk with metal in a freezer in that bare skin contact may freeze to it. Also other products in freezer bags may even freeze to it
In general it's easier not to use metal containers in the freezer, unless enamelled or plastic coated
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Quick Answer about "Can I freeze soup in a pot?"
Yes! Soup freezes and reheats so, so well. Even better, you can store it in a variety of containers so you pretty much always have space in your freezer for some soup.Can you put a pot of soup in the freezer?
To freeze soups, use freezer-safe sealable bags or containers. With containers, be sure to leave about 1/2-inch headspace for expansion. When using bags, write the label and date on the bag and add the soup. Press or squeeze out all the air before sealing.What is the best way to freeze soup?
Freeze Liquids in Flat Bags Press out as much air as you can, place the bags on a baking sheet or the floor of your freezer, and freeze. Once frozen, the flat, stiff rectangles of soup, beans, or broth (or any liquid-y foods, really) can be left stacked, like t-shirts, or stored upright, like books on a shelf.What type of container can you freeze soup in?
The best container for freezing soup is a freezer-safe airtight container such as Souper Cubes. Alternatively, some people prefer to store their soup in a cylindrical container, glass jar, or freezer-safe one-quart freezer bags. Souper cubes work best for freezing soup because they are silicone and stackable.Can you freeze home cooked soup?
Turn your big batch of soup into convenient grab-and-go meals by freezing it in individual servings. Quart-size freezer bags (or 4-cup freezer-safe plastic or glass containers) will accommodate a single serving while giving the soup room to expand as it freezes, plus when frozen flat they stack easily.@henrybottjer asked: \
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Answer 2
The possible risks I can think of are (1) the large thermal mass may mean that the soup cools off too slowly, leading to spoilage in the middle, and (2) freezer burn on the top of the soup, because there's no truly effective way to seal out air from a pot. In practice, (1) is unlikely unless you're talking about a 25-gallon pot or something, in which case it wouldn't fit in an ordinary freezer anyway. (2) on the other hand will be a problem, unless you're only freezing the soup for a short period.
The only risk to the pot is that it may not quite fit in the freezer comfortably, so as people take things out and put things in, they may shove the pot about and maybe break a handle or something.
Answer 3
If it's stainless, there should be no health or other problem. But you will lose your pot for the duration of the freezing.
Answer 4
Water expands when it freezes. That has a small risk of damaging the pot (though, it'll likely expand upwards instead—do not fill to the top). E.g., this can cause glass jars to break. Metal is more flexible though (and you have a very wide "mouth" on the pot).
But I'm unsure why you'd ever want to do this.
Freezing in disposable hot-beverage cups (the non-styrofoam type that coffee is served in) is a much better option. First, its a single serving per cup, so you can easily pull one serving out of the freezer. Second, they're microwavable.
To freeze in disposable cup:
- Ladle soup into cup
- Once cooled to reasonable temperature (say, 140°F), place piece of plastic wrap over top, pressed down over soup to remove all air
- Put lid on (which will hold down the plastic wrap).
- Freeze
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