When an overheated milk based soup curdles is it okay to eat?

Answer 1

You can still eat it, even though it doesn't look very appetizing. There are a couple of factors that can contribute to the curdling that you can attempt to control for in the future.

One is the lower the fat in the milk product, the more likely the curdling. You can easily increase the fat level by adding butter to the milk. It won't do wonders for your diet or your figure, but it will improve the taste and mouth feel of a cream based soup.

The second is, only add the milk at the end of the soup making process, and add it after the soup has been removed from the flame (and preferably when the soup has cooled towards room temperature). If that can't be done, temper the milk before adding -- start with room temperature milk, and spoon small amounts of the soup into the milk mixture, stirring, to bring the milk up to the temperature of the soup gradually. When reheating, don't BOIL the soup.

Another is to try to avoid using milk near its expiration date, the older the milk is, the more likely to curdle. (I accidentally discovered this myself, and started heating milk in the microwave to test whether it was still good or not. Its far more predictive than my sense of smell is.)

Acid can also cause curdling, and with a tomato based cream soup, this can also be problematic. I believe I've read that you should add a tablespoon of starch (cornstarch, potato starch, etc.) to the milk, incorporate it in well, and then add to the soup. Of course, the starch will add a thickening element to the soup, and you need to keep that in mind.

Answer 2

NO. throw it away, do NOT eat it!!!!!!!!!