This Plastic Bag Soup Storage Trick Takes The Mess Out Of Leftovers

A bowl of warm, homemade soup is comforting and filling, but any contentment it brings can easily turn to annoyance when you're trying to save the leftovers. If you've ever tried to pour soup from a pot into a storage bag so you can eat it later, chances are you didn't come out of it with clean counters. Fortunately, there's a simple trick for pouring soup without spilling a drop, and it will make you wonder why you haven't tried it before.

Storing soup in food storage bags in the freezer makes perfect sense, as soup can easily be frozen into convenient individual portions. But instead of holding the bag open and ladling the soup directly into it, put the bag in a large glass, and then cuff the top of the bag over the edges of the cup. Voila, the bag will now stay in place as you ladle or pour the soup into the bag. When you take the bag out of the cup, you'll notice there's extra room for more soup, but soup will expand when frozen, so leave the space and squeeze the air out so that the bag can lay nice and flat in the freezer. 

A big pot of soup is ideal for leftovers, so if you're planning to eat your soup up shortly after preparing it, it can safely stay in the fridge for about three to five days — a little shorter for seafood-based soups. If the soup has developed a funky smell, it's time to toss it, no matter how long it's been refrigerated. 

Of course, you can freeze soup for long-term storage, but should you? Absolutely, with a few caveats. Frozen soup can last for up to three months. It's best to freeze it on the same day you make it, but it's also acceptable to freeze within three days. Be sure to let the soup cool before putting it in the freezer — stirring it frequently can help, or you can even put the pot of soup on ice. Keep in mind that some types of soups generally don't freeze well, such as creamy chowders and bisques, which may develop a gritty texture. Equally, pasta or rice can get mushy when frozen in soup, so, you may want to leave those ingredients out and add them later, an extra step that gives your reheated frozen soup new life. 

To reheat frozen soup, put it in the fridge until it's partially defrosted before heating it up. If you're wondering if it's better to reheat soup on the stove or in the microwave, both methods are valid; it's just a matter of how fast you want your soup to be ready.