When I prepare a large pot of soup, what is the best procedure for safely cooling the soup?
A good way is to put the kettle of soup into a sink full of ice water and cool the soup. After the soup has partially cooled, you can put the soup into serving-size containers and put it into the refrigerator. Do not put a large container of hot soup directly into the refrigerator it may take too long to cool. (Bacteria can grow in the soup while it is in the danger zone.) If you dont use an ice bath and want to put the soup directly into the refrigerator, use shallow containers. Dont cover the storage containers until the soup is cooled.
