Keeping raw soup warm without cooking`

[Soose]

We have a Vegan potluck in a couple of weeks. I told them I'd bring a veggie/zucchini hummus plate and a corn chowder. Did not tell them I was bringing RAW corn chowder, lol. But this soup is always liked by our non-raw friends and even SAD friends we've had try it, and is so easy to make, so I figure it's a good bet to please the crowd, and the simplicity fits my schedule that day.

I'd really like to get there and make several batches about 3 to 4 hrs ahead and keep it warm somehow while we're all occupied at the event. I don't want to be making it while they are serving themselves. (I don't even really want them to know it's raw until they come asking for the recipe.)

I have a large crockpot. Will that cook it if I transfer it into that after blending, and leave it on "keep warm" for that long? If so, any other ideas?

[katchmoleen]

My experience with my large crockpot and enough chili to feed 8 people was that it took 2 hours to get to 100 degrees on the "warm" setting. So I would say plug in the crockpot two hours before the meal and then test the temperature when it is time to eat. You also need to stir it now and then as it gets hotter on the bottom.

[Soose]

Thank you so much, Katchmoleen! Exactly the help I needed. I had not thought of measuring the temperature once in the crock, so silly of me! I can check it every now and then, stir, and make sure it doesn't overheat.

Such a relief not to worry, I'll be much more comfy taking raw foods and keeping them warm from now on. I can't always be the one who brings just salads, and many of our foods are too pricey for a huge crowd. Honestly, the last time we were faced with this obligation of a potluck with SAD people, I just made a Vegan chili, not raw for them. They liked it and keep asking for a recipe but I did not feel great about it. Plus I found myself thinking of cooking it for my family over the next few weeks. Tempting.

So happy to be able to manage this better! Both at potlucks and for delayed meals at home. (Well, we can just run the blender to warm the soups but when there's a crowd, it would be nice to have an option and make several batches ahead. Plus, you should see the faces of guests when we pour their soup right out of the blender! <G> And some of the picky ones then have turned up noses without tasting.)

[katchmoleen]

Glad to help! I have a large family and also do the potluck thing fairly often, so this is something I have worked with.

[Aleesha Sattva]

thanks katch... i never thought of that!

[revdrcyn]

It is wonderful to be able to warm a Raw soup - however, you do want to keep an eye on the temperature.

I have a large crock pot that only takes 20 minutes on warm to heat up to 100 degrees. At 30 minutes, the temp reaches 117 - still under 118, but I prefer a max of 105. After 40 minutes, my "warm" setting can heat as high as 144 degrees.

So, here's what I do - put my soup in the crock pot and set a timer for 20 minutes - then I check the temp - if it is around 100 degrees, I turn the power off for 10 to 15 minutes, then back on, etc.

Am i compulsive? To me it's worth it cuz there are some amazing Raw soups that are out of this world when warmed (like Matt Amsden's onion soup OMG!)

[lavendarJ]

Wow everyone -- very good points that I hadn't thought of before. This is useful information for when I get the raw group going in my area.

[Soose]

So what we need is a temp probe set with a max of 105 or so, and a min of room temp, that will power down an appliance -- plug into the wall, the crockpot plugs into it. Anyone know any temp-controlled crockpots that have finer controls? I bet the minimums would be way too high for raw foods. I have a crockpot timer but seems it starts at about 2 hrs or even 4 hrs. Or does anyone know of any electric "warming trays" that would work for soups? (I'm not going to take my dehydrator to the potluck.)

Actually, I thought someone was going to suggest a hot water bath, a double boiler type thing or steam table.

I think my crockpot is one of the hotter jobbies, more 20 mins instead of 2 hrs, based on past experience. And of course it depends on starting with cold or warm foods. I'll just have to find out the hard way.

[allergiesrus]

As I read this thread, I'm wondering if you can find a ceramic pot to fit inside of your crock pots...put the chowder in that pot and then within the crockpot. Maybe that would help keep the temp lower...maybe even add a little water inside for more even heating? Just a thought.....

[revdrcyn]

As I read this thread, I'm wondering if you can find a ceramic pot to fit inside of your crock pots...put the chowder in that pot and then within the crockpot. Maybe that would help keep the temp lower...maybe even add a little water inside for more even heating? Just a thought.....

great idea - I am going to try that this evening!

[Soose]

great idea - I am going to try that this evening!

Revdrcyn, did you try this out? My potluck is next Monday. Would love to hear any results from others!

I also thought of making the soup and refrigerating it here at home, taking it in cold then it would take longer to warm in the crockpot.

[revdrcyn]

Revdrcyn, did you try this out? My potluck is next Monday. Would love to hear any results from others!

I also thought of making the soup and refrigerating it here at home, taking it in cold then it would take longer to warm in the crockpot.

I have been running all kinds of experiments the last 2 days with electric fondue, cup warmers, hot plates, etc. I will break out the crock pot and try this then get back to you!

[revdrcyn]

Hi Soose,

Here’s my latest info (see photos for illustration):

Filled Crock Pot 3/4 or so full with Hot Tap Water
Heated on LOW for 30 minutes

Placed 1.5 cups Soup (room temp) in Pyrex Bowl
Placed Pyrex Bowl in Heated Water in Crock Pot

Replaced Lid

20 minutes later, Soup temperature was 108 degrees

Lowered Crock Pot to WARM

20 minutes later, Soup temperature was almost 110 degrees

For me, that’s a little high, but some people allow up to 118 degrees.

You might try lowering the Crock Pot temp sooner, and maybe a greater quantity of soup would not go as high . . .

Let us know how it turns out for your potluck!

[Soose]

Thanks so much for experimenting and sharing your results, Revdrcyn.

I'm learning my own large crockpot heats a lot faster than I thought. I'm going to be starting with cold refrigerated chowder. (Making it tonight.) I need to use the full capacity of the crock for soup, so I am going to skip the steam-table method this time. I guess I'll just start it up on "keep warm" somewhere during the performance and keep an eye on the temp. I will try it out with very cold water today and see how long it takes to come up to 100 or so. That will give me a data point to start with.

[revdrcyn]

My Mom just gave me her electric fondue pot - it is a cheap-o Rival (I buy Cuisinart everything) - but it may be an excellent alternative.

So far I have only conducted my experiments with water, which it heats to 104 degrees in 20 minutes on the WARM setting. The challenge is maintaining the temp, which goes into the teens if left unattended.

My plan is to make raw corn chowder and experiment with it - that way if it gets too hot, I can give it to someone who will actually eat it.

My goal is to have this soup warming figured out in time for my June potluck. The weather will probably be 108 degrees by then!

[Soose]

Well, here are results from Monday's potluck experiment with corn chowder and two crockpots. (Sorry to be several days getting back to this -- it was a hectic time!)

I never experimented with water and temp in the crocks -- just ran out of time.

Made the chowder pretty thick. We pulse in a cup of raw mixed veg at the end for color. People really like that. (I think scallions would be good, too, and good for garnish.)

My crock took 2.5 Blendtec's (full almost to the brim). Then, there I was sitting with half a blender full, so I borrowed a neighbor's second large crock and filled it, too. Each took about 2.5 Blendtec full to the brim loads of chowder.

I made the raw chowder on Sunday night and stored it overnight in the crocks in the fridge. 30 minute trip to the potluck next morning... maybe 45 minutes until they were plugged in. Less than two hours 'til lunch from that point.

I was busy doing other jobs, so when we got there, someone plugged both in on high. But that's alright because starting very cold like that, with the crock cold from the fridge as well, I figured the crocks needed to warm up. Then I was even busier and by the time I checked them to stir an hour later, the soups were still too cool to serve almost all the way through. Just a tad too warm along the outside 1/4" of the soups, not bubbly yet. (Hey, I'm feeding SAD people, so I did not get upset. Just stirred... even worried they wouldn't get warm enough for serving -- I did not want to serve cold soup to this crowd.) I left them on high and stirred, and at serving, they were just right temp in my experience, like they'd come out of the blender. Still raw and fresh tasting.

Feedback was very good on taste. The only thing is, unless you're having a winter time soup and salad type meal, I think people really did not want to waste their tummy space filling up on soup. Most just tasted a little, most really liked it, most did not eat even a whole bowl. So there was a lot left over.

The amount in two crocks was too big for this crowd of 50 with all the other food. I could have only made one crock full, and even that did not get eaten, but wanted to put some on the non-Vegan table as well, which was a large distance away. I wanted to give all a chance to try it.

I don't regret having too much. Two friends (Vegan and non-Vegan) took a lot of one crock home. I just lent my crock to one 3/4 full of soup; the other cleaned her crock of paella and filled it up partially -- supper was done. :)

That left me with almost a full crock myself. And here is the kicker, and why I got sidetracked telling you all this -- I had stayed to clean up, then visits and errands to run on the way home, and by the time I got there, my soup (5 hrs from serving) had started fermenting!

I thought, "did someone add another vinegary dish to it as they were cleaning up?!!" rofl Nope -- it was FRESH food. We all talked about it the next day at a picnic and thankfully the other friends had good raw soup for supper -- but mine went into the compost pile. <G> Live and learn. And one of the lessons learned was that this food was healthy enough to grow bacteria! :)

Well, that's as much as I can add. Thanks all for the help! (Weathered my first event.)

p.s. The salad, an old tried and true recipe I took (Sliced Tomatoes Vinaigrette on Shredded Lettuce from one of the original Cuisinart cookbooks) was as usual a huge hit, both for looks and taste -- I'll post the recipe in another thread.

[revdrcyn]

What an adventure!

Had it been a Raw potluck, I'm sure there would not have been a drop left.

I'm still playing around with my experiments - if I discover anything worthwhile, I'll keep you posted!

[DebB]

Thanks Soose ~ Speakin' of corn chowder, I just made it for my dinner 2 nights ago. The recipe says, "Serves 2-3". Oh really???

You have lucky friends going home with the leftover chowder! *Ü*

[Soose]

DebB, we never bother to measure the corn chowder anymore but I do know from Sunday lunch that I can feed four people a decent sized bowl of corn chowder from one full blendtec; and that bowl of soup is filling enough served with a salad. (I just don't know if I'm making a full recipe or two anymore?)

To all about soup at potlucks...

I'm thinking now that it would have been JUST as easy for me to take along my Blendtec and make the corn chowder there on demand! (Or just before lunch and dump into a warm crock as I made it.) As long as I had a source of warm water. I had to spend just as much time or maybe MORE hassling with the crockpot and serving soup from it. And ya'll know how quick it is to make a batch.

I'd just thought "I'll be way too busy to make soup," as my son had a performance right before lunch. But in truth, even if I didn't pre-measure batches, I could have been a soup-chef that day. This soup is just SO EASY. I could have made it as people were going thru the line.

[I'd just ruined my second blendtec jar last weekend, but especially with two jars, it would be a breeze to keep soup ready for all comers.]

We'll have other potlucks and picnics. :) I am excited to be taking raw food recipes. There's a good contingent of Vegan, and in both Vegan and non-Vegan groups, almost every mom is doing what they can to eat healthy and feed their families healthily. I wouldn't have gone Vegan without their example for several years.

For most of us it's a challenge to find raw recipes our families like. I need so badly to experiment more! I think at another potluck, I'll take a carrot pecan pate (based on Alissa's carrot pecan burgers)? We serve it on a tomato or celery. Or maybe the burgers themselves. I noticed the cooked soy (Boca?) burgers someone brought went over well, even with non-Vegans.

If it's a larger crowd, I am sometimes limited by budget. (Now that I think of it, pecans have been exorbitant lately. Out of season. We're using more walnuts.) Budget is part of why I chose corn chowder this time.

Oh, btw -- this crowd BEGS me to bring back the zucchini hummus. (The chili powder/red bell pepper/sun-dried tomato version.)

[mtrose]

Soose,

"this crowd BEGS me to bring back the zucchini hummus. (The chili powder/red bell pepper/sun-dried tomato version.)"

Where can I find the recipe for this? I have done the banana search and also googled for the recipe, but I can't find anything close.

Can you share the recipe? Thank you so much.

[revdrcyn]

Where can I find the recipe for this?

Living on Live Food page 309

[mtrose]

revdrcyn

I do have the book and looked up that hummus recipe, however, I was hoping to find the one with the chili powder/red bell pepper/sun-dried tomato version that Soose referred to.

I'll just wing it using Alissa's recipe. Thanks!

[Soose]

Mtrose, I first made zucchini hummus last Fall using the Rawvolution recipe... but quickly adapted it to a different flavor as I said. Let me look for my notes...

[/Quote]
Raw Zucchini Hummus from Rawvolution
2 zucchini, peeled
3/4 cup raw tahini
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2.5 teaspoons sea salt
half teaspoon ground cumin

Combine all in a high speed blender; garnish with chili powder. [/end quote]

And my note from the time: "Just made the raw zucchini hummus from the Rawvolution book and it's a winner! We all liked it. Made it with just hulled ground sesame seeds for tahini. I did cut back on garlic and sea salt, which we find he is heavy on, and then added in some sun-dried tomatoes and some raw red bell peppers, since that is the version x likes so much. Garnished with a little chili powder."

Plus, I remember those sun-dried tomatoes we were buying at the time were VERY salty. If it helps, the hummus comes out quite red/orange! If I had to guess, I'd say start with adding a handfull of the tomatoes and a handful of the red pepper?

I'm afraid I don't have exact measurements. Many times nowadays, we'll season to taste in small steps until it's really good, asking if it needs something bitter or salty or acidic. Usually this gives us the very best results for taste.

One last note -- if I'm adding the red stuff, I don't bother to peel the zucchini. We leave it in for the nutrients.

[mtrose]

Soose,

I look forward to trying your hummus recipe variation. I'm fairly new to raw foods so I'm still struggling to find things that I like. This sounds great!

I really appreciate your info. Thank you so much!

[Soose]

Mtrose, I'm new, too, and still struggling the same way to find foods we like. I'm afraid we are stuck in a rut. I really admire the people here who experiment, and I know we need to follow their paths.

Let us know if you like the zucchini hummus -- one thing going for it is that it's not a huge waste if you don't like it. :)