# Wedding Soup left out overnight at 53 degrees ... is it safe to reheat?



## kalabu (Sep 24, 2012)

I made a huge pot of wedding soup last night (with chicken and meatballs) and it was too hot at bedtime to put in the refrigerator. It was supposed to go down to 39 degrees last night so my husband put the entire pot outside overnight. This morning I checked and the temperature only got down to 41. When I brought the soup in and checked the temperature of the soup in the post, it was 53 degreees.  So is it safe to boil it and eat it?  I am afraid the answer is going to be no and I will lose about 2 gallons of soup but want to be sure before I toss it.  What do you think?


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

No! Full of salmonella, staph, campylobacter.

Throw it out!


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## kalabu (Sep 24, 2012)

Even if I boil it for an hour or more??  Such a waste!  I am so sad


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## laurenlulu (Sep 9, 2012)

Agreed. Definitely don't eat.


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

kalabu,

 you may want to take a look at the 'pot roast left out overnight' thread to see what folks said, but by this time you know  the fate of your beautiful soup......down the drain!  think e.coli, listeria, salmonella.   in the future i would suggest that you not try and cool anything that large down in the pot you cooked it in. you could put something that size in an ice bath to cool it down quicker or you can just transfer your food to smaller containers, which is quicker and safer. i'm not a microbiologist but you need to remember that bacteria may be killed off when you reheat something to 165, but the toxins that the bacteria leave behind cannot.....heat doesn't make them inactive..nothing does.....sorry

joey

just so you know, the 'danger zone' for bacteria to multiply is between 40 and 140 degrees. from hot you need to cool to 70 degrees within 2 hours and cool to 40 degrees within 4 more hours. i would not recommend that you cool anything down at room temperature. if you make soups in that quantity a lot, do yourself a favor and get an ice wand(hollow plastic tube you fill with water and freeze). hope this helps


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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

An inexpensive way to cool soups / stews down really fast is to fill a couple of zip-top bags with the double closures about 3/4 full with water.  Freeze them and then submerge them in the hot food once it is done.  Dividing into smaller shallower containers also helps.   Not that an ice-wand is really expensive they just take up a fair bit of space.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

As Duragjo says read post on  POT ROAST.


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

MichaelGA said:


> An inexpensive way to cool soups / stews down really fast is to fill a couple of zip-top bags with the double closures about 3/4 full with water. Freeze them and then submerge them in the hot food once it is done. Dividing into smaller shallower containers also helps. Not that an ice-wand is really expensive they just take up a fair bit of space.


yes, an even better idea...and no muss no fuss...guess you could always use freezer packs that you put in insulated bags or even the ones you get with fish in a pinch..just curious though, don't ice paddles/wands come in a home use size? they should if they don't......sure seems like a lot of people do this a lot! is there any wonder that gastro intestinal problems are on the rise? jeepers, i'm amazed we're not all dead!

joey

equally as frightening as cooling and reheating food correctly is how people defrost food...i suspect setting it on the kitchen counter is the norm...or even worse, the nuker. eee gads!


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## cacioepepe (Apr 3, 2011)

No comment!


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## dovahkin (Sep 24, 2012)

You shouldn't but you can do whatever you want. Just know you are taking a big risk if you do.


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## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

Put the pot in the kitchen sink full of cold water (if you live far enough north) and stir. You will have to change the water a few times but it takes about 30 minutes to get something down to 60 degrees at which point I refrig it.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

This takes to long divide it into 3 pots and do it. It takes 2/3 less time;


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

MaryB said:


> Put the pot in the kitchen sink full of cold water (if you live far enough north) and stir. You will have to change the water a few times but it takes about 30 minutes to get something down to 60 degrees at which point I refrig it.


I do the same with my chicken stock. I also put a lot of ice in the water, and stir both the water and ice, and the chicken stock inside the pot (not with the same spoon obviously).


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