When I’m harvesting tomatoes and other sun-ripened vegetables in summer, I look forward to enjoying them not just fresh that same day but also from the freezer midwinter in soups and other recipes. As I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, having year-round access to the flavor of produce picked at the peak of its growth is the main reason I preserve food by freezing, canning, and more. Out-of-season produce shipped thousands of miles just can’t compete.

Even if you don’t grow your own food, it’s worth seeking out in-season produce and freezing it for out-of-season use. You still capture some of that fresh flavor, and you then have a freezer full of options for soups that can be made at a moment’s notice without a trip to the store. The tomatoes in this soup are among the easiest vegetables to freeze; potatoes, onions, and garlic can be stored even more simply in a dry, dark, cool place.

Learn more about freezer-based soups and get the complete recipe for Tomato, Potato, and Garlic Soup in my column.

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The specific ingredients you put into a freezer-based soup often matter less than the ratios involved. The recipe I share this week evolved from Beer-Infused Potato Chowder when I wanted a somewhat lighter soup that could still stand as the main evening meal. It has the same ratio of main ingredients to liquids but feels and tastes like a completely different soup because those main ingredients and liquids have been altered.

For the liquid part of a soup ratio, you can always use water, but you’ll get the most flavor from a homemade stock. This can be made in advance and kept in the freezer with other soup ingredients. Other liquids, like wine, beer, and milk, can be replaced by stock or water; doing so may alter the flavor, texture, or both, but you’ll still have a delicious soup.

The main ingredient part of the ratio is the headliner of your soup show. A solo act like tomato, mushroom, or squash can carry the evening. The duo of tomato and potato star in the soup recipe I share this week, making it lighter than the potato-and-cheese pairing in the chowder. You can even scale up to a full band, complete with a horn section, by using the same ratio of liquids to main ingredients and make minestrone or seafood chowder.

The other parts of the soup ratio tend to be less varied but play key supporting roles in a great soup. Consider the base, typically onion and garlic sautéed in some oil or butter, a standard start to every soup. The thickener might come from the vegetables themselves, as in these potato soups, or it might need to be created, such as by making a quick roux of flour and butter and then slowly adding the liquid to it. Using these ratios, improvised soups will turn out delicious every time.

Excited about making soup but need some inspiration? Here are just a few other soup recipes on the blog. You can find more in the recipe index.

• 30-Minute Tomato Soup
• Broccoli Cheese Soup
• Italian Broccoli–Pasta Soup
• Roasted and Curried Squash Soup
• Top-to-Root Minestrone

You can learn more about foods that freeze quickly and easily in this blog post. I also recently wrote about choosing deep freezers for Allrecipes. You can find more of my work off the blog, including articles on freezer containers and trays, here.

Want more Twice as Tasty recipes? Get my books! Click here to order a personally signed, packaged, and shipped copy of The Complete Guide to Pickling directly from me. I also share tasty ways to use pickles in The Pickled Picnic; it’s only available here.