to think cookware for single people just doesn't exist?

These look interesting @MindYourUsage and on special offer via this article

www.mirror.co.uk/money/shopping-deals/mini-version-viral-best-pan-36837081

I keep getting reels from this person on Facebook. One pot one person recipes.
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1YDoo19EEc/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Oh well I’m a lazy cook it’s all very easy. If you’ve got an Instant Pot i just throw everything in there and then freeze half.

What else - stroganoff, a Jamie Oliver pork goulash recipe that’s so good - that’s also very easy. Chicken korma, lamb korma etc.

I going to up my game @Aluna I'm just emerging from the cooking bland for others stage.
I love the sound of your freezer.
Any other tasty dishes that freeze well? I'm making a list.

And I say that having just put 4 pots of left overs from tonight in the freezer.

Another 4 portions. Another 4.......

I totally get what she means and she's right.

I think people are being obtuse, just like the responses about OPs issue.

https://www.zwilling.com/uk/staub-la-cocotte-12-cm-round-cast-iron-rice-cocotte-black-40509-653-0/40509-653-0.html this is cute, 12 or 16 inch.

There seems to be a lot of mince and mash based meals in that poster’s freezer - I don’t like either and yes we’ve all eaten those a zillion times.

I have game casserole with chestnuts and orange zest - delicious the first time so look forward to the next; red cabbage to go with previous; chicken forestiere ditto; lamb tagine and some pommes dauphinoise.

For some though, there as much pleasure in the cooking as the eating. Or at least, the cooking and the anticipation is part of the enjoyment of eating. So cooking little and often makes perfect sense. Food is more than just fuel…and if time / cost is not an issue then I struggle to see what economy, false or real, has to do with it!

Perhaps all your food is tasteless as you have used the wrong sized pan to cook it in. Do better.

I know where you are coming from and I have a family. I do have some itty bitty cookware I absolutely love but it’s all from different places. I have a non stick square pan that makes exactly one grilled cheese sandwich and the sides are about 1/2”.
But - try IKEA. Their toy section used to have teeny tiny stainless steel cookware that you could actually use for cooking! I have one but Lord knows where all the bits are!

Aah, you see you make the mistake of freezing food that isn't very nice!

If I didn't like it that much the first time, I will usually eat it over the next few days rather than freeze it. Occasionally something slips through but mostly, if it's made it to the white room of precious preservation, it's a good dish!

Never really realised that before now.

Cross post @AnotherHormonalWoman
Great user name.

I thought one day I will be too weak to lift cast iron, so I better buy it all today to get maximum usage. Staub is definitely my favourite.

I know what Nigella means. Cooking for one tonight , I go to the freezer, look in for inspiration, there's half a cottage pie that wasn't that great the first time, a fish pie that I don't fancy, in fact I don't want any pies. There's the Bolognese sauce I didn't want last week, or the week before or the week before that. When I look in the freezer it's full of things I have made a decision not to eat or to eat before. What I really want is to open the door and find something unexpected and think oh, that sounds nice.
Sadly, I have metophically eaten every thing in the freezer before.

😆

Nigella thinks that standing at the freezer and looking at the macaroni cheese wondering if you fancy it for tonight's dinner is akin to actually eating it. She clearly stands with her freezer door open prevaricating a fair bit. So by the time you actually defrost and eat it you've already akin-to-eaten-it several times.

I'm not sure I follow her logic or agree with her. She either said that for telly or she spends more time naval gazing in front of her freezer than I do!

Are you saying she doesn’t like frozen food?

Nigella always freezes stuff.

No it isnt. It is gibberish.

@Shedmistress
Try reading it again and pay attention to the words “as if”. It’s an analogy.

'She said that every time you consider taking something out of the freezer, it’s as if you’ve eaten it again. And if something has been languishing in there for three months you’ve probably “eaten” it a dozen times.'.

What are you on about? This is gobbledegook.

I completely agree with you about scale and about wanting to cook fresh every day. Those suggesting 16cm and 21cm pans clearly don't understand the problem.

I discovered Staub a few years ago and I've not looked back - their dishes are great and come in lots of different shapes and sizes so you can find the right ones for you. It's not cheap but it is really worth it.

Although I love my freezer and try to use it to every advantage, something Nigella said struck a chord.

She said that every time you consider taking something out of the freezer, it’s as if you’ve eaten it again. And if something has been languishing in there for three months you’ve probably “eaten” it a dozen times.
Thats why frozen leftovers are so unappetizing.

Sometimes I don’t even feel like eating things the first time round, if they’ve been a pain to cook. But I do it for the fam. If I’m by myself I’ve been known to just stand at the fridge and scoff uncooked ravioli!

So more power to the OP who actually wants to cook single portions in appropriate pans.
Economy of scale means that single portion packages will always be more expensive, but there are things like buyers’ cooperatives.

What false economy?

The OP doesnt set out any economic reason for what she is asking, she is talking about the practicalities of preparation and cooking technique.

I completely comprehend the necessity to use the right size cooking container - but I’m still appalled at the false economy of regularly cooking in the tiniest amounts possible.

A lot of the responses on this thread saying 'just use a bigger pot with less in it' dont really understand the technicality behind cooking and temperature, how it affects texture of the food, cooking time, moisture etc.

Use the appropriate size pot for the size of dish you are cooking.

Same when I see clips of people 'frying' food or onions off in a saucepan, no, you are inadvertently semi steaming it because its crowding the pan too much and the sides are too high

A wider bigger pot has more surface area. That can cause issues.