To think batch cooking is awful

Batch cooking is king, it saves me so much time and effort and if I am being honest, I think somethings taste better for being twice cooked as it where.

When I am in the mood to cook, I spend the day at it and then when I get home from work on a night, I wham something on the over, prep the accompaniments and sit down and relax.

Lasagne, is a real pain to make so I make 4 or 5 at once and freeze them, as with curries etc. Left over gravy gets frozen and we use leftover veg to make soups, and chuck in whatever is around at the time and freeze it. Taking a soup container to work for lunch - its potluck but great.

I also cook for elderly mum, so when I batch cook I take stuff over for her, because there are certain things she wouldn't bother to cook for herself as she lives on her own.

Batch cook various recipes, mainly from Delia Smith's books, and they're all good.

Not sure I understand what 'taste of freezer' means.

Some things freeze well, some things don't.🤷‍♀️

Depends on your family size too if it's worth bothering or if you can polish off the whole lot of whatever you're making in one or at most two sittings.

If I make 'spag bol', with a pound of mince and loads of veg, it makes loads, it's just me and DH at home most of the time now and it's better to freeze most of it than try to eat it on successive days.

Casseroles with chunks of meat are better if you can defrost overnight in the fridge rather than by microwaving though.

This could be it. My OH is veggie. Some things still freeze fine (daal, tomato sauce or homemade pesto for pasta, bean chilli for example) but stuff with lots of chunky veg in freezing changes the texture and it’s not as nice defrosted. I tend to just make/freeze the basic sauces. So I made a big pan of jalfrezi sauce the other day and froze several portions. When we are ready to eat it again I’ll roast veg fresh with some spices then add to the sauce right before serving so the veg have the right texture. Meat tends to be ok in the freezer & so are very finely chopped things and tinned tomato based sauces but things like broccoli, cauliflower, whole potatoes & peppers fare less well.

Cooking extra of what you’re already making is smart, if it’s something that freezes well. But spending a whole weekend cooking so you can save half an hour in the evening isn’t something I’m interested in.

I used to always have pasta sauce or curry in the freezer but now I have a teenage DS and he eats everything in sight so even when I double a recipe he’ll have the leftovers for lunch and after school ‘first dinner’ so I don’t bother freezing now, just stick them in the fridge.

I know what you mean about tasting of freezer. Try getting some new containers.

I used to batch cook when I was keto, and it was always delicious 😋 when heated. I haven't done it for a few years though. Maybe experiment with some different recipes. I froze in ceramic dishes with cling film lids and stacked them carefully in our American Fridge Freezer. I. This house we have a chest freezer and that wouldn't work as everything just gets chucked in together like a jumble sale

This is me. I always forget that I actually have a freezer with stuff in it! 🙈

’Tastes of freezer’ is surely when you cooked it circa 2017, thought ‘that will make a nice dinner for next week, I’ll freeze it’ and you only rediscovered it last week assuming it must have been the stew you made ‘a few months’ ago’.

If so, this is my experience of batch cooking and I fully agree.

Thought despite my better judgment I have 3 packs of minced beef to use so I’m going to be cooking up a couple of lasagnes today doomed for the freezer.

I'll make double portions but eat later that week, with different sides.

DH freezes leftovers to reheat for his lunch. I'd rather have a toastie.

If you can't be bothered to chop an onion just buy a bag of frozen. See also spinach, garlic, ginger etc.

Definitely wouldn't bother with all the Instagram-style food prep.

I dont batch cook as such, but I cook once, eat two or three times - freezing whats not being eaten that day.

Theres just three of us, waste of time and energy to cook a tiny lasagne - I make a huge one, we take what we need, then when its cold its easy to portion up and freeze

No point in making a small pan of soup - again , we eat, I have a container for the fridge door which will hold another days worth, the rest for the freezer

Daily cooking is a waste of life. Batch cooking is amazing.

I don't deliberately batch cook but I have two GSs, late teens/early 20s, who drop in regularly so I often cook too much in case they eat with us and then if they don't it goes in the freezer. It tastes the same to me, not sure what tasting of freezer is to be honest.

I think it's the pots you are freezing it in, particularly if you heat it up in the same pots, the plastic can take on flavours and make everything taste different. My issue with bath cooking is that none of my pans are big enough to make multiple portions now my children are bigger. I have remedied this by buying new pans in the January sales!

You just don't enjoy cooking. Which is fine.

Why do you have to enjoy batch cooking to enjoy cooking?

Who knew disliking batch cooking was going to really wind people up 😆

I don't get it either. And even if I did, I don't have the freezer space.

I try and batch cook but usually, even when I make extra, DH and DS eat it before I get chance to freeze it

I'm disappointed by this thread because i only opened it in the hope people would share their amazing-never-disappointed-freezer-suitable batch cooking recipes ;-)

i normally freeze soup, chilli, channa masala (only I eat it) and occasionally bolognese.

I made a vat of dhal yesterday. 21 boxes in the freezer. They are handy for when I cba. Microwave. Easy.

How long before you would get through this?

You just don't enjoy cooking. Which is fine.

I LOVE batch cooking, it means I can eat nice home cooked food more often than I have to cook! If you have time toncook fresh everyday then there isn't much point in it of course.
Honestly- sounds like you need better freezer containers and to clean your freezer if it tastes of 'freezer afterwards 😅.
Of course it depends what you are freezing. Soups, chilli, curry's, bolognese etc all freeze really well.
You don't HAVE to make 20 portions for the freezer, sometimes you could eg, double or riple a recipe and have one hot, one in the fridge for use that week and pop one in the freezer for later.
The batch lady has some good tips, although she uses a lot of ready made stuff which doesn't suit me.

What kind of things do you like to cook/eat?

I make eg curry or soup and freeze a selection of sizes. And then defrost whatever is appropriate for when we want to eat it ie depending who will be at home

I agree OP, I've tried it twice but we prefer a meal cooked fresh from scratch rather than cooked and frozen. Actually, before I read your post I thought it was just us! I don't think it saves much time either. We really enjoy the mindful chef boxes and take it in turns to cook.

The flavour of frozen food deteriorates quite quickly - aim to use it within a month.

I don’t like batch cooking per se but if I cook a stew, curry or spagh Bol I’ll often have one or two portions left over and that goes in the freezer for when I’m busy or someone doesn’t like what I cooked. I don’t really think it tastes of freezer though.

I do find the concept of batch cooking for the entire week depressing but it’s certainly better than throwing on a pizza