Miso soup, a traditional Japanese dish, which is fermented and enjoyed by many people for its umami flavor all over the world, including Japanese people. Simple to prepare and full of seaweed flavors, it is recognized as an excellent comfort food recipe.
How long does miso soup last in the fridge? When stored in the refrigerator, its longer shelf life can be extended up to three days. There can be some flavor differences between fresh and stored miso soup, according to the various vegetables used.
The recommendation is to eat the soup on the day of purchase or the day you make it. In our guide, you can learn more about this Japanese cuisine and how long miso soup lasts to maintain the best flavor of this healthy soup. By the end, you’ll know which vegetables are in the broth, can you reheat miso soup, and storing miso soup the right way to avoid food poisoning. (Read What Does A Margarita Taste Like)
What Is Miso Soup?
The ingredients for homemade miso soup are simply miso pastes, a variety of vegetables, fish broth (dashi), and rice malt. Miso paste and dashi are the two main ingredients in this soup. Miso paste is made from fermented soybeans and rice or barley malt that give a slightly sweet taste.
Dashi, an all-encompassing term for stocks, is the key ingredient in miso soup, noodle soup, clear vegetable broth soup, and other dishes.
Here is how to make fresh miso soup:
- 20g Kombu
- 3 cups dried bonito flakes
- 2-3 tbsp miso paste
- Silken Tofu
- Green onions for garnish
- Wakame for garnish
Making miso soup has many easy recipes. here’s one popular one to get you started
Directions:
- After thoroughly cleaning the kombu with a damp towel, it should soak in 4 cups water for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Before adding the kombu dashi, heat the water in a saucepan.
- Before the water boils, remove the kombu from it, and then add the bonito flakes.
- Remove the bonito flakes from the miso soup to make it vegan.
- Reduce the heat on the hot water, and steep the flakes for about 10 minutes.
- The broth should be strained using a fine-mesh sieve after steeping. This broth will serve as the basis for all miso soups. Use it as is or combine it with additional ingredients for an even fuller umami flavor.
- Depending on your desire, cut the tofu into small cubes and place them aside.
- Reheat the prepared dashi while putting the miso paste in a spoon. As you dip the spoon carrying the paste just a little bit into the broth, mix the paste using chopsticks or a spoon.
- Turn in the tofu after adding the heat. Once the tofu is warm enough, turn off the heat.
- Before serving, add some wakame and green onions as a garnish.
Various Miso Paste Types Sorted by Color
The ratio of the ingredients and the fermentation time can cause even the same type of home miso to alter the color.
Darker miso is aged longer (the Maillard reaction), has a richer flavor, and is less sweet than light-colored miso in terms of fermentation time.
The various types of miso paste are listed below according to color:
- White Miso Paste (Shiro Miso) – Quick Fermentation (1 to 3 months). Sweet flavor with a bit of salt.
- Medium-fermentation awairo miso, a yellow miso paste (4 to 8 months).
- Long Fermentation of Red Miso Paste (one year or more). The flavor is both salty and rich.
How To Store Leftover Miso Soup
Because it is simple to prepare and requires little effort to store leftover miso soup, it is very popular. For instance, fresh miso soup broth made in step 4 can be refrigerated for up to three to four days or frozen for six to eight months.
Miso paste is subject to widespread misconceptions. You would assume that the antibacterial properties of the fermented, salty miso paste are transferred to the soup, but this is untrue. Miso paste is resistant to bacterial development because of the way it is made.
However, after you add more ingredients and they come into contact with heat and water, your soup won’t have the same antimicrobial properties. The reason is simple: while miso soup contains fewer fermented ingredients and less salt, certain bacterial growth can outcompete them and thrive at room temperature. (Read Can You Use Beef Broth With Chicken)
The answer to the question, “Can miso soup go bad?” is, sadly, yes, even though it can be slowed down when stored properly.
If you try to store the soup outside of cold conditions, it will turn white as the soybean protein creates lactic acid.
Ensure Your Miso Soup is Stored Properly:
Clear broth made with kombu and bonito flakes can be kept in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for a few months.
- After adding the miso paste and the other ingredients, you must be more cautious before consuming the broth.
- It might be better to freeze the miso soup and add the tofu to the warmed miso soup.
- It can be challenging to anticipate how long each miso soup will stay fresh because there are so many types of miso soup.
- To acquire the best flavor, miso soup should typically not be kept in the fridge for longer than two to three days.
- This applies to miso soups cooked at home, bought, or leftover from restaurants.
- Adding additional ingredients like wakame, tofu, or seaweed before putting the soup in the fridge might help keep it fresher and longer.
We suggest removing the garnish before freezing the soup if you plan to keep it for later use. This will give the soup more flavor when you reheat it with fresh wakame and mouthwatering green onions.
Directions to store refrigerated miso soup:
- Keep the soup in an airtight container at 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the back of the refrigerator.
- Try to consume miso soup within 48 hours to get the best flavor from your miso soup recipe.
- You might keep the soup in the original container if you purchased it from a restaurant.
- For convenience, you could also wrap your soup bowl with cling wrap to make it last a couple of days longer in the fridge.
- Keep strong-smelling items like garlic away to avoid unpleasant flavor in your miso soup.
How long does miso soup last when freezing miso soup?
You can freeze miso soup like other broth-based food. The trick here is to store miso soup as soon as possible after making or receiving it, ideally within two hours. By doing this, you can lessen the development of bacteria and perhaps even extend the shelf life of the miso soup.
You might need to remove some of the garnish before freezing the soup. When storing miso soups made with clams, soft tofu, or other types of meat, be careful because they may be more susceptible to spoilage. Freeze the soup at 0F after placing it in an airtight container. The soup will remain fresh for as long as 3 to 4 months.
The best way to reheat miso soup is to microwave it or let it melt over low heat in a pot. Miso soup should never be defrosted after being frozen solid at room temperature because doing so could spoil it. Additionally, never boil miso because doing so will destroy the good bacteria it contains and improve intestinal health. These bacteria are delivered through the fermentation process.
Regardless of how you store miso soup, ensure reheated miso soup is never boiled as this kills the fermentation process and won’t offer the beneficial bacteria for gut health benefits it is known for. (Learn How Long Can Cooked Sausage Stay In The Fridge)
How To Know Miso Soup Has Gone Bad?
Here are signs your miso soup has gone bad.
Mold:
If there is mold or other bacterial growth, the miso soup is spoilt. Through its spores, mold can spread. Even though it is usually seen in fruits and vegetables, mold can grow on any fresh surface.
Mold can form in overlooked places, so check the lid’s underside for discoloration or decay.
Sour Taste:
The flavor of spoilt food is fermented, bitter, or sour. If your hummus tastes sour, there’s a good sign that it’s expired. Spit it out as soon as possible to prevent food poisoning. Miso soup will inevitably become sourer as it sits. Naturally, this results from fermentation.
Once the soup starts to taste pretty sour, it has been spoiled and is no longer safe to eat.
Strong Smell:
Miso soup has a faintly nutty fragrance when it is fresh. When something starts to smell rotten, it has gone bad. It’s best to be safe and throw away anything with a fishy smell.
How To Make Miso Soup Last Longer
The solid ingredients in miso soup will swiftly spoil no matter how you store them.
However, you can ensure that any leftover miso soup will stay fresh for at least two to three days in the fridge by placing it in an airtight container.
- Separately store the broth from the solids.
- Use clean spoons.
- Keep it in a sealed container.
The shelf life of miso soup will also be increased by storing the solid ingredients and miso broth separately. If you do this, the shelf life of your miso soup broth will be increased by up to two days. As a result, miso soup’s solid ingredients can be consumed after two days, while the broth can stay fresh for up to five.
If you can store the tofu separately from the soup, it will help to ensure that it doesn’t go mushy when you reheat the soup.
How To Freeze Miso Soup
Follow the instructions below to freeze miso soup to give a long miso soup shelf life and maintain the perfect miso soup taste.
- After the soup is finished, remove it from the pot and pour it into 1-pint containers or small freezer bags for single servings.
- Without the lids, arrange the containers in a line on the counter. If the soup is divided into smaller parts, it will cool down more rapidly.
- Wait until the soup has reached room temperature before safely putting the lid on it.
- Put the soup with the Tupperware lid while it’s still hot, and the heat will create a vacuum seal. Opening the soup will be more challenging as a result.
- Put the soup in the freezer and then freeze it for 4-6 hours.
For later usage that is simple to prepare, some people freeze leftover soup in ice cube trays. If you use an ice cube tray, you’ll need a few ice blocks to make a serving.
FAQs
How long can you store miso soup in the fridge
When stored in an airtight container, miso soup will remain fresh for at least 2-3 days in the fridge. (Read What Does Camel Taste Like)
How long does miso soup last in the freezer
You may ask, does miso soup freeze well? If properly stored, miso soup can have a long shelf life and be kept in the freezer for up to six months.
