Soups

Shelf-stable soups are cooked, then either sealed in cans or jars and heat-processed, or sterilized first and filled into sterile cartons, so they keep at room temperature until opened. They range from clear broths and concentrated ramen bases to creamy shellfish bisques and chilled tomato gazpacho.

How to choose Soups

  • Tomato or not. Tomato soups count as high-acid canned food and keep 12 to 18 months unopened. Most other soups are low-acid and keep 2 to 5 years.
  • Can, jar or carton. Soups and broths in aseptic, shelf-stable cartons are packed sterile and need no refrigeration until the carton is opened.
  • Ready or concentrated. A concentrate holds the same flavor in less water. Dilute it as the label directs before serving, or use it straight to season a sauce.

About Soups

Soups sold for the pantry are cooked like any soup, then heat-processed in a sealed can or jar or packed sterile into a carton. They need no refrigeration until opened. That is why low-acid soups, which include most meat, bean and vegetable soups, last years on a cool shelf.

Ramen shows how many soups are built. Japanese shops pair a stock made from chicken, fish, seafood or pork bones with a seasoning. Shoyu ramen uses soy sauce, shio uses salt and miso uses miso, while tonkotsu is named for its pork bone stock. The pairings change from region to region and shop to shop.

Once opened, move leftovers into a glass or plastic container in the refrigerator. Use most soups within 3 to 4 days and tomato soups within 5 to 7. Reheat soup to a rolling boil, and cool a large pot fast by dividing it into shallow containers.

At a glance

Main types
Broth or stock, bisque, cream soups, gazpacho, ramen bases
Common packing
Cans, glass jars and shelf-stable cartons
Unopened
Low-acid 2 to 5 years; tomato 12 to 18 months
Once opened
Refrigerate; use within 3 to 7 days

Soups questions

What is the difference between broth and stock?

On a USDA-inspected meat or poultry label, none. USDA's labeling policy treats broth and stock as interchangeable names for the liquid from simmering meat, bones or both in water with seasonings. So choose by what the ingredient list and the flavor tell you, not by which of the two words is printed on the front.

Is gazpacho served cold?

Yes. Gazpacho is one of the cold soups of Andalusia in southern Spain. A standard recipe from Spain's trade agency ICEX blends ripe tomatoes, green peppers, garlic and bread with olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt and water, then chills it for about two hours. The water sets the thickness, and chopped tomato, cucumber, pepper, onion and hard-boiled egg go on the side.

What makes a soup a bisque?

A bisque is a thick cream soup made with shellfish, such as lobster, crab or shrimp, or with game; the name is also used for puréed vegetable cream soups. The word comes from French cooking of the 1600s, and the first soup in La Varenne's cookbook, published in English in 1653, is a bisque of young pigeons.

Sources: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service; Foods and Wines from Spain (ICEX); Japan National Tourism Organization.

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