Soups

Besides completed soups, meat, chicken and fish stock can all be frozen to use as a basis for fresh soups. These stocks should be strained, cooled and defatted, and packed into cartons with headspace. They are best thawed in a saucepan over low heat.

Soup which is thickened with ordinary flour tends to curdle on reheating, so cornflour is best as a thickening agent. Rice flour can be used, but makes the soup glutinous. Starchy foods such as rice, pasta, barley and potatoes become slushy when frozen in liquid, and should only be added during the final reheating after freezing. It is also better to omit milk or cream from frozen soups, as results with these ingredients are variable.