How Long Does Miso Soup Last?

Heading into the winter months, we always look for something that is going to be fresh and nutritious that will warm us through. Have you considered Miso soup? It’s a healthy soup that is packed with flavor, perfect for vegetarians and carnivores. But with homemade soup, there are always leftovers. Can they be stored long-term?

You may have tried miso soup at a Japanese restaurant, but this soup holds many keys to good health. The two main ingredients of miso soup are dashi (fish broth) and miso paste (fermented soybeans). Fermented soybeans are considered a superfood and instantly act as a prebiotic, elevating your immune system.

This article uncovers how long miso soup will last and if it can be stored long-term. We will answer many frequently asked questions and provide you with factual information to increase your culinary knowledge.

Let’s get into it.

Does Miso soup expire?

Yes, Miso soup can have many ingredients which tend to be delicate in nature. It is the ingredients that have a short shelf life.

The miso element of the soup is fermented soybeans, which contain a lot of salt. Enabling the miso paste to be stored for an incredibly long time.

Most miso-paste packages in the west have a sell-by date on the packaging to guide you on the product’s shelf life.

Sell-by dates can be confusing, and it is not the date the product ends its shelf life. Typically unopened miso will last for a year or longer. In most cases, miso will still be at its peak for at least a few months past the sell-by date.

Once you break open the packaging on miso, the clock starts to tick down in the degrading process, and its like will be shortened from a year to about three months if stored correctly.

But there will be no evident changes overnight. Miso paste, at some point, will start to lose its unique flavor profile, and the texture will change slightly until the product expires.

Fish sauce has a remarkable shelf life, so the only ingredients in miso soup that will have a short shelf life are ramen noodles and any other ingredients like mushrooms and onions.

Miso soup typically lasts for 3 days after it’s been prepared despite the two main ingredients having a long shelf life. 

Does miso soup need to be refrigerated?

If you have miso soup leftovers, it should be refrigerated if you want the soup to last more than a couple of hours.

Store the miso soup in an airtight container. Stored this way, you can keep the miso soup for three days.

There is no need to refrigerate miso paste if the packet has not been opened. It can be stored in a cool, dry place for a year or more. Fish sauce has an equally long shelf life. But once mixed with water, the shelf life reduces to days due to bacteria.

Does miso soup need to be covered?

Yes, place cool miso soup in an airtight container when storing it in the fridge. It’s good housekeeping, and the food will not be exposed to more bacteria than is necessary.

If you’ve ever eaten at a traditional Japanese restaurant, you might have noticed that the miso soup occasionally arrives at your table covered with a lid. 

The primary motivation behind it. If the miso soup is not covered before being served, it loses approximately 30% of its aromas. It serves to safeguard the scent.

Can you put warm miso soup in the fridge?

It is not advisable.

If you read online that you can’t put a warm miso soup in the fridge because of condensation coalescing into water droplets that will drip and make your miso soup watery. Or It will lose its aromatic profile. You are being misled.

Your fridge temperature will be 40℉ -18℃ or a little lower. Placing a warm miso soup in the fridge will elevate its temperature while it radiates heat.

Your fridge may not be as efficient as you might have thought at removing heat. Most fridges take hours to come to 40℉ after being switched on after cleaning.

So, what’s the big deal? The big deal is that food sitting at a temperature of 40-140℉ is in the food danger zone. It’s not just your miso soup. It is the contents of the entire fridge.

Above 40℉-18℃ bacterial growth on perishable foods will accelerate exponentially. It should be discarded if the food remains at an elevated temperature above 40℉-18℃ for just two hours.

Seems harsh? According to the USDA, after two hours in the food danger zone, perishable foods contain enough bacteria to cause food poisoning.

Furthermore, the miso soup should be covered in the fridge so there will be no condensation!

How long can warm cooked miso soup sit out?

Two hours. Remember the food danger zone? According to the USDA, perishable goods sitting out for two hours should be discarded, and the bacteria growth on the food has multiplied rapidly, making the food unfit for consumption.

Eating food sitting out for two hours or more could cause food poisoning.

Does unopened miso soup go bad?

You are unlikely to find a liquid-prepared miso soup in the grocery store, and if you do, it will have a short shelf life.

Most miso soup from the grocery store is dried, and dried packets of miso soup will have an almost indefinite shelf life if they are stored correctly in a cool, dry kitchen cabinet or pantry.

If the dried miso soup is contaminated with moisture, it will go bad quickly.

How long does miso soup last in the fridge?

The best way to keep miso soup fresh for up to three days is in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

This will keep it fresh and prevent the aromas from permeating the entire refrigerator.

Does frozen miso soup go bad?

In theory, any food stored at 0°F or below should have an indefinite shelf life in the freezer. In some respects, that is true, but you will find delicate foods tend not to freeze that well and can change in texture and lose flavor.

However, the good news is you can freeze miso soup, not indefinitely, but 12 months in the freezer is pretty impressive for a delicate soup that can lose aroma when stored at room temperature.

There are a couple of ways you go about freezing miso soup.

Method 1

  • Bring the miso soup to room temperature, so it is easy to handle, but keep the two-hour rule in mind.
  • Select a suitable airtight container. This could be a Tupperware-style container with a sealable lid or a freezer bag like Ziploc. But it must be spill-proof.
  • Mark the container with the contents and the freezing date.
  • Pour the misos soup into the container and seal it tightly. If you use freezer bags, expel as much air from the bag as possible before sealing and checking for leaks.
  • Place the container in the freezer.

This is the best way to store and freeze a lot of miso soup that you may have wanted to make in advance for an event.

Method 2

  • Bring the miso soup to room temperature, so it is easy to handle, but keep the two-hour rule in mind.
  • Use a clean ice cube tray and pour the soup into the ice cubes. Keep in mind liquid expands when frozen, so compensate for expansion with a lower fluid level.
  • Place the ice cube tray in the freezer for four hours.
  • Transfer the ice cubes into a freezer bag when the soup is frozen.
  • Mark the bag with the contents and the freezing date.
  • Place the bag in the freezer.

Why use ice cubes of miso soup? It is convenient to take what you need from the freezer. It reduces waste, and 5 ice cubes may be adequate for a miso soup for one person.

How do you know if miso soup is bad?

There are evident signs that the miso soup has expired. Your soup should be aromatic and have sweet overtones with a smooth opaque broth.

When miso soup is turning bad, or it has been sitting out for more than two hours, the broth may turn cloudy and have a texture other than smooth. And the sweet aroma has changed to something reminiscent of sour.

If the edges of the soup bowl have crystalline structures, the soup has expired.

Can reheated miso soup be refrozen?

No. Once the soup has been retrieved from the freezer, it should be consumed in that sitting, and the leftovers discarded.

If you were to freeze the soup again, you would have added additional bacteria. In the cycle of freezing and thawing again, the misos sup would be severely compromised by bacteria and could be dangerous to consume.

Final thoughts

Miso is an unappreciated soup that, if explored, would be consumed daily by many who search for fresh and wonderfully tasty foods. You can make a big batch and freeze it for up to a year.

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