The Crucial Step To Follow After Thawing Frozen Soup

During the wintertime, there's nothing better than a bowl of soup with a side of crusty bread to warm you up. Regardless of your flavor preferences and dietary restrictions, there really is a soup out there for everyone, which is perhaps why it's such a beloved dish across the world. Beyond being extremely comforting and versatile, most soup recipes are pretty substantial, too; it's unlikely that you won't have at least a bowl or two leftover to enjoy later. If you've got a bunch of extra soup and would rather freeze it to enjoy further down the line, it's important that you know the absolute best ways of thawing and reheating to ensure that you won't be disappointed during round two. One tip, in particular, involves reseasoning it to keep those flavors as vibrant as they were when you first made it.

When you freeze soup, ice crystals can form in it, which is known as freezer burn. Freezer burn happens to frozen food when it is exposed to air. This is completely normal, but when you thaw and reheat soup, those ice crystals don't just disappear into thin air. Rather, they melt into the soup, which can lead to a dilution of the soup's flavor. There are ways to prevent this from happening: One way is to store your soup in an airtight container before freezing it, like these PlasticPro ones from Amazon. This can help prevent air from entering the container and thus can minimize the risk of freezer burn. Nevertheless, it's not a 100% foolproof method, so you should still be prepared to reseason if necessary.

If you don't mind a watered-down soup, feel free to simply heat your soup and leave it as is. However, if you're hoping for it to retain all those good flavors — whether that be the sweetness of a peanut butter soup or the spice from a carrot ginger soup — it's important to add some extra seasoning, depending on the flavors present in your soup. Before doing so, however, give your fully-reheated soup a taste test to determine what, exactly, it needs.

Salt is the easiest way to add flavor to soup since it helps enhance all of the already-present flavors, but there are plenty of other ingredients you can add that will bring a bit more complexity to the bowl. For many soups, a splash of lemon juice will do wonders, adding just the brightness it needs after spending months in your dark freezer. If your soup hinges on spices but lost some of its kick during the freezing process, add a few dollops of your favorite hot sauce or chili crisp. Fresh herbs are always a good option, too, depending on your soup. For a bowl of minestrone, add some fresh, chopped-up basil or oregano to the top, and for a bowl of chicken noodle, go with parsley for a fresh, peppery bite. With a bit of extra seasoning, nobody will ever know your soup was reheated.