Soup Question

In the case you talk about, I believe they either add way more broth to the soup than you would for immediate eating, or make the soup, store it, and then add more broth before packaging for sale.

If I make chicken soup or chicken and dumplings at home, I usually reserve some of the homemade broth/stock to add when we reheat leftovers.

I just add more chicken stock when I reheat (usually from a carton). But I reheat by the bowl, covered, in the microwave, so the noodles don’t get mushy from constant reheating. Because I make giant pots of soup.

I think we're afraid to make a broth and not a soup so we make it thick enough the first day then it turns to stew the next day. But it probably so be thinner than we think the first day.

I'd love to know the solution to this, too! We have a much loved chicken wild rice soup recipe and even if I slightly undercook the wild rice for serving (my preference, I like a touch of crunch to my wild rice) it still turns into wild rice casserole by the next day! Which is still tasty, yet not what we're going for.

FWIW, we regularly make chicken and dumplings with the dumpling recipe from Joy of Cooking and there is zero issue with absorbing the extra liquid in the leftovers. The dumplings seem to have a skin around the outside and the middle of the dumpling stay bread-like. One of our favorites!

Well, I like my soups thick anyway so I’m no help. IMO I like a good thick hearty soup that’s practically a stew.

My Aunt used to cook her starch in the broth, remove it, let it cool, possibly dry a little while making the soup. Then coat it with olive oil & add it back in. Which usually keeps it pretty good. I’ve never watched her cook a soup so I’m not sure if she spread the starchy food out or what to keep it from sticking. 🤷‍♀️

But I’ll bet for commercial soups, it has something to do with some preservative or other in the soup or pasta?
For me all if this is out the window now anyway as Gluten free pasta behaves differently and has to be made/kept separate anyway.

ETA: most of my homemade soups thicken when cooled anyway because I prefer to make my own broth and that usually means the broth gels up a bit when cooled from the collagen from the bones, which does help from having it absorbed into the starches as much.

The only time I cook the pasta and rice in the soup is when I make a small amount and know I will finish it that day/night.

Like others, if I am making a big batch, I cook the rice or pasta separately. One so I can have left overs and the soup isn't mishy and two so it is safe for dd.

Thank you! That’s my pre-chemo hair. I’ve lost about 3/4 of my hair now (better than bald!) and hoping it goes back to normal afterwards.

WHen I use my homemade noodles, they stay just fine.

But if I use store bought pasta - poof - that stuff just gets fat! LOL

my consolation during the zombie apocalypse will be that the canned food i find will still have perfectly preserved contents.  thank goodness the zombies don't have the dexterity to use can openers so more for me.  

How do you explain my homemade noodles. They don't get weird in soup, no matter how long they are in there. I usually roll them super thin, but I like the a little thicker sometimes too. They do plump up very slightly when I cook them, but they never get mushy or 'fat'.

My noodle recipe is whole eggs, unbleached flour and a little salt. That is it. No other liquid or anything. I cook them in the broth, no separately. I wonder if it is because I mix/knead them well to develop the gluten?

Nothing is better than homemade! But sometimes there just isn't time. I try to get some made ahead and keep in the freezer, but not always. I buy a brand of "Amish Klusky" noodles at the grocery store that are decent enough. They stay nice too. I haven't examined the bag for ingredients to see if there is any preservatives in it - but I am guessing there is something.