Batch Cooking

TastyReuben

TastyReuben

Nosh 'n' Splosh
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A recent post has stuck with me and has me wondering…how many members here batch cook, maybe for the week ahead, or just to stock the freezer for the long term?

I rarely, and would go as far as to say never do I batch cook. I don’t know if it could cook a weeks worth of food at once. I need some downtime in between.

How about you all, is it “natch to batch?”
 
Sometimes I cook or prep three different meals on a Sunday and will also double the quantities on time consuming stuff and freeze half. I don’t like to go further than 3 days ahead for freshness and food safety reasons.

I like cooking a lot of stuff on a Sunday because if I’m in there making mess and spending a long time preparing Sunday lunch I may as well go for it.

I find it comforting when previous me has looked after future me and anticipated on certain days I’ll be too busy to cook but bingo there’s something nice waiting in the fridge.

My son often batch cooks at the weekends for the week ahead. He’s a student, he finds it cost efficient (no wasted ingredients), he eats a more balanced diet if it’s ready and waiting when he’s hungry and it helps him with portion control.
 
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TastyReuben said:
A recent post has stuck with me and has me wondering…how many members here batch cook, maybe for the week ahead, or just to stock the freezer for the long term?

I rarely, and would go as far as to say never do I batch cook. I don’t know if it could cook a weeks worth of food at once. I need some downtime in between.

How about you all, is it “natch to batch?”
Click to expand...

I usualy do it for long-term storage in the freezer. Like for making soup stock or spaghetti sauce, even for making Boston Baked Beans!! I put it in vacuum seal bags then use my chamber vacuum sealer to seal them "tight as a drum" so that nothing can leak out & air won't get in!! :whistling:


Wevac Chamber Vacuum Food Sealer..jpg
 
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I guess we/I do every time I cook really because I usually cook for 2 or 3 nights in one go. If it makes more than 2 or 3 nights of food, the rest gets frozen and used at a later date.

I'll also cook something just to stop it going bad and stuff being thrown away. That will all get frozen for later.

Been quite handy these last few weeks with me being crock. We're almost at the point of a half empty freezer!
 
I've just made 20 pancakes. These go into the freezer in pairs, ready for son's breakfast for the next week or so.
we don't cook much in batches, but pancakes, samosas, pakoras, falafel, ragu, yep - make loads at a time and then freeze.
 
As we're only with two I do this all the time, I usually cook for at least one more meal but often for three days or more. Most recipes have an ideal ratio set at about 4 persons, so there are always leftovers.
I freeze them and use them on days that I know I will be too busy or otherwise occupied to cook. It's a lot healthier and often tastier than a takeaway too. And since the past two years take-aways here are thing of the past because the prices are outrageous.
 
I do batch cooking often, like today.
I made a large batch of Lentil Soup. I share with our neighbors, have some for a meal ourselves, give my Mother a serving and then freeze the rest.
I like having at least two portions of a "heat-n-eat" meal for busy days, not only for dinner, but breakfast as well as lunch.
 
I used to make baked beans, then put them in Mason jars & can them using the boiler pot method. Now I just vacuum seal them & put them in the freezer!! One step saved. :whistling:
 
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If I'm cooking chili, pasta sauce (often bolognese), or soup in my crockpot, I make more than we can eat and often the remainder goes in the freezer in portions. I have a lot of time to cook generally so otherwise I don't cook in batches. It does come in handy when I've got surprise work that keeps me too busy to cook.
 
TastyReuben said:
A recent post has stuck with me and has me wondering…how many members here batch cook, maybe for the week ahead, or just to stock the freezer for the long term?

I rarely, and would go as far as to say never do I batch cook. I don’t know if it could cook a weeks worth of food at once. I need some downtime in between.

How about you all, is it “natch to batch?”
Click to expand...

O cook and freeze immediately stuff I use a lot
Vege samosas
Meat samosas
Croquettes
Pasta sauce

For instant in summary I make 8x 2 liter containers of pasta sauce
Costs about $1 per container as opposite if I made in winter the cost would be huge.

Russ
 
I'm with the 'made big pot of ragu, so freeze it' gang.

The only thing I purposely make a lot of in true batch fashion and freeze is precooked BIR Indian constituents, so those would be things like base gravy, precooked lamb, chicken. Those could be a couple of kilos of each at a time and good for maybe 8-16 meals.
 
The bolognese I make is a batch cook because it uses multiple proteins and takes 2 days. We get around 8-10 meals out of it depending on whether it's used as a sauce or a filling for ravioli.

Tamales are always a batch cook simply because they are too much work to make just a few.

When I make dim sum dumplings, I don't necessarily make the dumplings in batch, but since several of the fillings we make use cabbage, the fillings are made in bulk then portioned and frozen to use later. I don't make the wrappers anymore for dumplings, the pre-made wrappers at the Asian market are perfectly fine and a lot less work for me.
 
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