Why did my soup turn sour?

Cafe Society
1

I made a huge pot of soup yesterday. I’m not an accomplished cook, and rather than using a recipe I always just throw in whatever I have. Here’s what I did:

I cut up and cooked a couple of pounds of boneless chicken, skimming off the goop that formed on the top.
Over the course of about a half hour, I added (in order):
Pearled barley
Chunks of celery
Baby carrots
Sliced mushrooms
A very large onion, cut up
Some frozen mixed vegetables

For seasoning, I used salt, pepper, garlic, parsley and dill.

I cooked it until everything seemed done (probably no more than 45 minutes since I put the barley in).

Right after making it, I had two bowls; it was excellent. I let it cool off for a few hours, then had another bowl, before refrigerating overnight. Today, I heated up another bowl, and it tasted very sour. Out of curiosity, I added a little sugar. It helped somewhat, but not much. Then I put it in a strainer and rinsed. The ingredients tasted all right by themselves, so the problem must be in the broth. I suspect it has something to do with the barley, since that’s the ingredient I haven’t used in the past. Why did the taste change overnight, while refrigerated?

2

It just occurred to me that the barley may actually be fermenting. Could that be the problem?

3

bounce

4

I’m not sure about the sourness. Did you not use much salt? If you try it again, maybe use more salt, unless that’s a health concern for you.

I will pass along this tip, though. Making broth with boneless chicken is a really high cost/ low flavor way to go about it. You’ll get much better results roasting some chicken parts, taking off the meat to reserve it for another use, then making the broth with the bones and whatever skin and meat clings to them. Scrape whatever clings to the roasting pan and stick that in the pot, too. You can use cheap parts like leg quarters or even wings and get a very flavorful broth. My favorite is turkey drumsticks.

If you want to shred white meat to put in your final soup–not a bad idea–briefly poach the breasts in broth, then shred them.

5

I know it would have been better not to use boneless chicken, but that’s all I had. My grandmother used to include chicken feet in her soup!

But I’m convinced my problem was fermenting of the barley. Next time I’ll make the barley separately, then add it to each bowl.

6

On the same day you made your soup, I made beef with vegetables and barley, with virtually the same ingredient list.

I soaked the barley for an hour before adding it to the soup, then simmered it for another hour.

It was delicious that day and both day since. No sourness. Alas, it’ll be gone today. :frowning:

7

Ok, then, next time I’ll soak the barley first. Did you refrigerate the soup right away, or let it cool first? I think that, leaving it on the stove to cool, I allowed the barley to ferment. It actually tasted fermented, and there were little bubbles on the surface that shouldn’t have been there.

8

What kind of containers did you make/store the soup in? Could the soup have picked up a flavor from that?

9

I let it cool to … oh, I’d call it “warm”, then put it in the 'fridge.

In my totally un-learned mind, bubbles sound like it could be fermentation, but that seems really quick.