What Actually Happens To Soup If You Boil It - Tasting Table (2024)

What Actually Happens To Soup If You Boil It - Tasting Table (4)

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ByStephanie Friedman/

If you've ever made soup at home to warm up during the chilly winter months, you know that many recipes ask you to simmer the pot, sometimes for an hour or more. Recipes like chicken tortilla soup, beef and vegetable stew, and white chili all require the ingredients to cook at a low heat so the flavors can meld together (via Midwest Living). In particular, brothy soups like matzoh ball benefit from a long simmering time, and chicken stock typically needs to simmer for up to eight hours, according to The New York Times.

So how do you know if you're simmering soup the right way? According to Maytag, a simmer is accomplished when a liquid cooks between 185 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit, just below a boil. You'll be able to tell if you're at the right spot because the bubbles rising to the top will be small, and they'll mostly stay underneath the liquid's surface.

With hours-long simmering times, it's tempting to turn up the dial on your stove and bring your pot to a boil. But before you do so, it's important to understand how that will affect the ingredients in your soup.

Boiling soup leads to mushy veggies and tough meat

What Actually Happens To Soup If You Boil It - Tasting Table (5)

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Since boiling food brings it to a higher temperature, it's easy to think that it's a good way to cook your soup faster -– but boiling soup can backfire. According to Patch, boiling soup can make your vegetables fall apart, and your meat overcooked and tough. Boiling causes rapid movement for the food in the pot, which allows your ingredients to bump into each other and start to break down, Bake Instinct explains. While a simmer creates enough movement to release flavor, it's still slow enough that your ingredients will remain intact.

Boiling can also reduce too much liquid, which isn't what you want when it comes to soup (via Boss the Kitchen). While some recipes may tell you to bring your pot to a boil, they'll likely say to immediately turn the temperature down to a simmer afterward. In addition to tenderizing tougher foods, like meat or dried vegetables, simmering a soup gives the ingredients time to absorb the deliciously seasoned broth, according to The Kitchn. And to help everything season evenly, Patch recommends cutting your meat and vegetables into evenly sized pieces.

So although it may sound appealing to quickly boil your soup, try to resist temptation and leave it at a simmer — it will be worth the wait.

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What Actually Happens To Soup If You Boil It - Tasting Table (2024)

FAQs

What Actually Happens To Soup If You Boil It - Tasting Table? ›

Boiling soup leads to mushy veggies and tough meat

Is boiling soup a physical or chemical change? ›

Freezing water to make ice cubes, melting gold to make jewellery and boiling water for soup are examples of physical change since, only a change in physical state takes place.

Does boiling old soup make it safe? ›

To be completely safe, you'll have to boil the soup vigorously for 10 minutes. Doing this will not only kill off any active bacteria, it will also inactivate -- but not destroy -- botulinum spores.

Does simmering soup longer make it taste better? ›

The longer the stock cooks, the more flavorful your soup will be.

How long can I keep soup on the stove? ›

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.

Why does soup say "do not boil"? ›

Boiling soup leads to mushy veggies and tough meat

According to Patch, boiling soup can make your vegetables fall apart, and your meat overcooked and tough. Boiling causes rapid movement for the food in the pot, which allows your ingredients to bump into each other and start to break down, Bake Instinct explains.

What are the physical changes of boiling? ›

The change from a liquid phase to a gaseous phase occurs when the vapor pressure of the liquid is equal to the atmospheric pressure exerted on the liquid. Boiling is a physical change and molecules are not chemically altered during the process.

Is 5 day old soup ok to eat? ›

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.

Why shouldn't you reheat soup more than once? ›

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.

What bacteria cannot be killed by cooking? ›

Myth: If you let food sit out more than 2 hours, you can make it safe by reheating it really hot. Fact: Some bacteria, such as staphylococcus (staph) and Bacillus cereus, produce toxins not destroyed by high cooking temperatures.

What is the most important ingredient in soup? ›

For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.

Why put a stone in soup? ›

One story about the origin of the term stone soup is that during the US's Great Depression, families unable to put food on the table every day simply placed a porous rock in the stock pot on days when there was food - and subsequently flavour - to absorb.

How long should you boil soup? ›

Bring it all to a boil, then simmer. You will know it's done when it's all tender, anywhere from 25 minutes to 3 hours depending on the ingredients. Meat is a luxurious addition to any soup. When you can, choose stewing cuts, such as chicken legs, pork shoulder, beef chuck, short ribs or shank.

Is it safe to eat soup left out overnight? ›

On most occasions, you shouldn't leave soup out overnight. This is because when the stock in the soup cools below 130°F, dangerous bacteria can multiply. If you do decide that you want to leave soup out overnight, it's recommended that you boil the soup for 10 minutes to kill any active bacteria.

Can I leave hot soup on the stove overnight? ›

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. Cover foods to retain moisture and prevent them from picking up odors from other foods.

How many times can you reboil soup? ›

Soup can be stored for up to three months in the freezer. You should always defrost frozen soup in the fridge or the microwave. You can then reheat it in a saucepan on the stove, or in a bowl in the microwave. Soup should not be reheated more than once, so only heat up as much soup as you will eat each time.

Is a boil a physical or chemical reaction? ›

Boiling of water is a physical and a reversible change. No new chemical compound is formed during boiling of water. By lowering the temperature, water vapor can be condensed back into liquid water.

Is boiling food a chemical reaction? ›

When cooking and baking several chemical reactions occur under heat. From simple denaturation of proteins (eg. when you boil an egg) to more complex reactions (eg. going from raw dough to cooked bread) .

Is chicken noodle soup a chemical or physical change? ›

Several different ingredients are combined, exposed to heat and become something new, not really resembling the ingredients that went into making it. Can you combine ingredients and not create a chemical reaction? Yes. The scientific term is mixture: two or more substances together but not chemically combined.

Is boiling noodles a physical or chemical change? ›

Short Answer

The physical change in the process of cooking noodles is the boiling of water, which is a change in state from liquid to gas without altering its chemical composition (H2O). This change is reversible, and the water can return to its liquid state if cooled.

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