What Is The Correct Temperature For Soup? (3 Choices)
You probably know the feeling when you take a spoonful of too-hot soup and burn your mouth and tongue; it stings! On the other hand, you also probably know the feeling when the soup isn’t warm enough, unpleasant, isn’t it? Well, what is the correct temperature for soup then?
This article will teach you just that, among other things that are good to know about soup, temperatures, and cooking right. But first, what’s the right temperature for soup?
In short, clear soups should be served at 210°F (99°C), creamy and thick soups at 190°F (88°C), and cold soups at 40°F (4°C) or lower. For bacteria reasons, soups should always be cooked at least to 165°F (73.8°C). For pleasant eating, the optimal temperature of warm soup is around 150F (65.5C).
As we can see, there are many temperatures to keep in mind when cooking and eating soup for many reasons. Let’s take cooking, safety, and eating reasons under the microscope and see why these temperatures are the correct ones.
Oh, as a chef by self, I have found tremendous help in terms of convenience, accuracy, and speed from an Infrared Thermometer Gun, so I highly suggest one for you’re cooking sessions as well.
Contents
- What temperature should soup be cooked to
- How hot is too hot for soup
- How long should you cook soup
- Does soup taste better the longer you cook it
- What is the minimum temperature for reheating food
- Why is my soup thick
- Should you cover soup while simmering
- How do you fix bland soup
- Conclusion
- Here You’ll Find My Favorite Kitchen Equipment.
1. Cooking temperatures
There are 3 main kinds of soups, and all of them require different cooking temperatures if you want the best outcome. Let’s see what these 3 categories are.
- Hot clear soups: serve at just under boiling point 210°F (99°C)
- Hot cream or thick soups: optimal serving temperature is between 190°F to 200°F (88°C to 93°C)
- Chilled soups: properly cooked, then served below 40°F (4°C)
These temperatures are determined by two things, first, for hygiene and bacteria-killing reasons. Second, you can see that with the hot soups, the temperatures are quite specific. This is because of quality reasons. Culinary experts themselves recommend these temperatures, and as a chef myself, I couldn’t agree more!
2. Hygiene reasons
Even when the optimal temperature for the clear soups are 210°F (99°C), and 190°F (88°C) for the thick and creamy, all hot soups need to reach the temperature of 165°F (73.8°C).
This is because after reaching 165°F (73.8°C), most harmful bacteria are killed during cooking. While serving the soup, it should be kept at 140°F (60°C) minimum because below that, harmful bacteria will rapidly grow, and we wouldn’t want that.
Now, when it comes to cold soups, the optimal temperature for that is 40°F (4°C) because above that, the bacteria will gain the ability to grow too rapidly to be safe.
As we can learn from these, the temperature danger zone for bacteria growth is between 40°F (4°C) and 140°F (60°C), therefore keep the hot foods hot enough, and chilled foods cold enough, and you will nail it!
3. Eating temperatures
As we all can agree, the correct serving temperature isn’t the best eating temperature because nobody would or could eat nearly boiling soup. We all know the stages of how pleasant it is to eat soup when it’s the best, when it is still warm and ok, and when it just is too cold. Let’s see what the experts say!
- Pleasantly hot: 150°F (65.5°C)
- Still pleasantly warm: 145°F (62.7°C)
- Fine, but definitely not hot anymore: 140°F (60°C)
- Would require re-heating: 135°F (57.2°C)
As for cold soups, serving it below that 40°F (4°C) is both safe and pleasant to eat!
Read also: How Many Times Does Average Person Eat Out?
What temperature should soup be cooked to
As a rule of thumb, all soups should be cooked at least to 165°F (73.8°C) because after that, most harmful bacteria will die, and it is safe to eat. In addition, clear soups should be cooked to 210°F (99°C), and thick or creamy ones to 190°F (88°C) for quality reasons.
How hot is too hot for soup
According to multiple surveys, at 180°F (82.2°C), soup is simply beginning to be too hot to be consumed. However, this greatly varies between people, and some could eat even above 180°F (82.2°C), whereas others couldn’t eat soup at 170°F (76.6°C).
How long should you cook soup
In general, a good time to cook soup is around 30 minutes, depending on which kind of soup you are preparing. For soup that haves physical pieces of veggies and meat, 30 minutes is the optimal time to cook them well without them breaking to mush or getting overcooked.
If you are preparing a puréed soup, you can cook the ingredients for 30minutes, then purée it in a blender. Afterward, you can let the soup simmer for hours or even days. In fact, some soups are called ”never-ending soups” that are always simmering, and the ingredients are replenished when needed.
Read also: Can You Be a Self-Taught Chef?
Does soup taste better the longer you cook it
In short, the longer the soup simmers and cooks, the more flavor it will extract from the ingredients and spices to the dish. However, if you cook soup with vegetable and meat pieces, be careful not to overcook them, making the ingredients fall apart into mush.
What is the minimum temperature for reheating food
When reheating food, it needs to reach the temperature of 165°F (73.8°C) for at least 15 seconds. This is because it needs to reach the temperature where bacteria will die to be hygienic to eat again. Also, don’t reheat previously cooked food more than once.
Why is my soup thick
For example, if the soup has been simmering for a while, the water will slowly evaporate, making the soup thick. Also, heavy cream or corn stretch will add thickness to your soup. Finally, if you puree soups, it can result in a thicker texture than anticipated if you didn’t have enough liquid.
Should you cover soup while simmering
Whether you want the soup to evaporate the liquid, you can keep the cover on or off while simmering. However, if you keep the lid on, you need to supervise it because it will generate pressure and higher temperatures, which can cause intense boiling and overflow.
How do you fix bland soup
You can fix soup in various ways. You can add a broth cube, spices such as salt and pepper, or add seasoned heavy cream to add flavor. Also, you can use ingredients such as onion, garlic, and chili to give it a taste boost. However, it’s good to remember that soup will enhance the flavors over time.
Read also: Do You Really Need a Salad Spinner?
Conclusion
It’s good to remember that when trying to get the temperature of the soup right, you need to keep cooking, tasting, and health in mind. Playing with the temperatures can be quite difficult at first; however, after a while, you will quickly catch up, and making soup will become one of your favorite foods to cook!
Here You’ll Find My Favorite Kitchen Equipment.
Thanks for reading this article! I hope that it brought you real value that you can benefit from in your personal life! Here is my top kitchen equipment that I seriously couldn’t live without, and I think they could ease your life as well as they do mine.
- Knife set: As a chef, I can’t stand dull, poor-quality knives without any design. My absolute favorite kitchen knife set is the Gangshan 3-Piece Knife Set. It comes with a handcrafted 8″ chef’s knife and a 3.5″ paring knife. What I love even more than these flawless knives is the walnut knife block which is incredible and unique.
- Skillet: In addition to knives and my unwillingness to bargain with its quality is the cookware. My favorite skillet is Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Skillet. This particular skillet is 9″ in size, it is heavy, it gets very hot, which is what is required to get a good sear, and it is just beautiful, as are all Le Creuset products. Le Creuset doesn’t need an introduction as a brand, as it is one of the world’s rated brands.
- Food processor: I remember when I hadn’t a food processor at home. It wasn’t easy! But now, when I use my Ninja BN601 Food Processor, I can make anything super fast, which saves me many hours per week. This food processor has 1000 watts of power and four options, including chopping, slicing, dough, and purees. I also like the middle-sized 9cup (2.1l) bowl as it is big enough yet not too big to look unfitting in my kitchen.
- Tweezers: Dalstrong Professional Cooking Tweezers are like tongs but much more elegant, thin, and easy to use. They are great for virtually anything, but flipping, turning, and grabbing with them is easy and makes cooking much more fun! These Dalstrgon tongs are titanium coated and very durable. Also, I like the black color instead of the everyday steel.