Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think batch cooking is awful

366 replies

Newyear2025 · 01/01/2025 10:17

It takes forever to do and everything comes out tasting of freezer.

OP posts:
tigger1001 · 01/01/2025 12:58

Batch cooking works really well for me.

It means I can eat well during the week when I don't have time or energy to cook.

It also means I can have a variety of healthy lunches without much effort or getting bored. I much prefer to make a big pot of soup for example, but if I didn't freeze it, then I would be very bored of it by the time I'm finished it.

AndAgain2025 · 01/01/2025 12:59

SanFranByAir · 01/01/2025 11:32

I can also taste freezer, but I've assumed I'm just fussy! I can also taste slow cooker, aluminium and dishwasher. Spicy or salty tends to be too much for me, so maybe others just season their food more and it hides "appliance" flavours. Who knows.

Yep I’m Team-CanTasteAppliances&Utensils. Adding to your list foods dished using wooden spoons and cooked/baked in silicone dishes.

I had a silicone ice cube tray. Used once and threw away when my G&T tasted of it! Fruits like grapes, berries. need to be covered otherwise I can taste ‘fridge’. Not apples though. I’m fine with apples stored in the fridge.

Scaredandalonepls · 01/01/2025 12:59

wtf does taste like freezer mean 🤣 somethings wrong with the food or the freezer if that’s the case.

peachesarenom · 01/01/2025 13:00

I know what you mean op, tastes different and the texture is off

Proteinbananas · 01/01/2025 13:00

Why the fuck are people choosing an argument over batch cooking as their way to kick off 2025?!

Fluufer · 01/01/2025 13:01

Proteinbananas · 01/01/2025 13:00

Why the fuck are people choosing an argument over batch cooking as their way to kick off 2025?!

Policing said argument is a far better use of time?

NonPlayerCharacter · 01/01/2025 13:02

I batch cook, and I'm a decent enough cook, but I agree. Things are never as good from the freezer as they are when they've just been made. I just accept it and eat more when I first make a batch.

Cheesyfootballs01 · 01/01/2025 13:03

@Newyear2025 But what does ‘ freezer ‘ taste like? Genuine question.

I freeze quite a bit like chilli, Bolognese, stews or curry’s and they always takes better? A lot of them are cooked in the slow cooker and then frozen and they still taste good.

I do get what pp mean about some food tasting different/better when cook on the hob/oven than a slow cooker though!

BlueEyedLeucy · 01/01/2025 13:05

Saves time and money for us. A double batch of chilli, curry, etc doesn't take much longer to make than a single batch - only really the time it takes to cut double the fresh produce going into it - but it means 8 portions are made and 6 are frozen for later. Those coming out the freezer generally taste better than the fresh portion. Some things don't work well, but that doesn't mean batch cooking as a whole is bad - you just have to think about what will work and what will save you time.
Cheap veg over Christmas gives you a ton of soup for the freezer, at literally pennies a serving.

We only 'cook' at the weekend. During the week, we use stuff from the freezer that has been batch cooked. Makes life simple, means less mess and time taken during the week, and stops any temptation to fall back on lazy junk dinners.

Marshbird · 01/01/2025 13:08

I don’t “batch cook” as such, but I live on my own now and will cook and then freeze additional portions at least a couple of time a week, as well as days when I cook but don’t have anything to freeze. This means I can have nights off fromCooking from scratch but aren’t eating highly processed commercial ready meals. Which , btw, don’t always have a lot of flavour and textures there can be weirded too. It also means I save money- I can still buy larger packs of meat or use up all my veg.

I find it depends what you are freezing. Fish is never good. It does blow out the fibres of the flesh and make it stringy. Anything that requires longer slower cooking in a sauce/gravy works really well. So spag bold, chilli, any casserole or stew, some other pasta sauces. I freeze for things that are a lot of effort to make like lasagne, parmigiana and curry’s where I’ll do side dishes at same time. I also freeze stock, bones etc and left over cooked meat that’ll be defrosted and used in pastas but enables me to get something very tasty but fast on my table.

I’ve never experienced “freezer” flavour 🤨. Unless you freeze in silicone which can be strangely noticeable to some people. But I do get flavours and textures being odd due to how you reheat. Some stuff just doesn’t taste nice being microwaved …anything baked (scones, pies etc reheated in microwave are fowl and I can tell a mile off), and sometimes what you’ve frozen something in could flavour it if you reheat it in that. I freeze and store mostly in bags and will always remove into a suitable dish to reheat once defrosted or if I cook from frozen in some cases. If stuff was made with fresh herbs or spices, I will taste and maybe add more dried of the same to wack flavour back up again, but that isn’t often.

i think what o do is different form these USA you tubers who batch freeze a whole weeks menu in one day, and are in effect mass producing food. I look at what they do and it is all high speed cooking to prep, you’re never going to get anything flavourful in that. I certainly would not freeze veg side dishes (expception is veg curry’s or veg mains like parmigiana and red braised cabbage). I will always use fresh veg as sides. I think there’s a million miles between these hard core batch cooking techniques and what most people do like me.

Shambles123 · 01/01/2025 13:12

I hate eating meat that has been frozen so rarely batch cook.

Wizzardry · 01/01/2025 13:17

Some people prefer fresh food, not manky thawed out batch food slop.

If this is your opinion then you're either not a good cook or your friends/ whoever gives you this food, aren't good cooks, or you've never had the pleasure of eating a lovely casserole that's been frozen and reheated.

It's ridiculous to say that all frozen food is 'manky slop'. It's only manky slop if that's how it was when it was cooked.

I've been given some lovely cookery books for Christmas, many of which have the comment 'freezes well' at the end of recipe.

I assume you think that professional chefs are happy to eat manky slop?

ZippyCat · 01/01/2025 13:18

I don't batch cook tbh because I find ill forget about it then it'll get left their for ever in theory it would save me time if it actually wasn't for the fact I'm definitely going to forgot it's in their lol

Funnywonder · 01/01/2025 13:18

Proteinbananas · 01/01/2025 13:00

Why the fuck are people choosing an argument over batch cooking as their way to kick off 2025?!

What exciting things are you doing? Other than scrolling through Mumsnet like the rest of us.

ChristmasFluff · 01/01/2025 13:18

Wow, I love a batch cook. I can take a whole Saturday afternoon batch cooking with a glass of wine and a podcast on. Then lots of meals to see me through a couple of weeks (I live alone).

I'm vegetarian, so maybe that's why I don't taste freezer.

Thindog · 01/01/2025 13:20

I just made a huge batch of soup, cheap vegetables (mostly carrot, peppers and onions) roasted and whizzed up with passata and herbs and seasoning. Delicious and freezes in bags flat. Quick and easy lunch for future.
I have a box of frozen mince pies, little sponge puddings, curries, meat pies, veggie pasta.
I love a batch cook, makes me less likely to go for UPF junk when I'm tired or in a hurry.

MrsMitford3 · 01/01/2025 13:20

quietplaceday5 · 01/01/2025 12:46

Frozen spaghetti definitely doesn’t taste as nice though.

😂 Sorry-should have clarified-just the sauce-not the spaghetti!!!

quietplaceday5 · 01/01/2025 13:21

MrsMitford3 · 01/01/2025 13:20

😂 Sorry-should have clarified-just the sauce-not the spaghetti!!!

Ok 😅 I do that too.

latetothefisting · 01/01/2025 13:24

Lobsterteapot · 01/01/2025 10:28

I don’t batch cook but I always cook once and eat twice by doubling up the quantities.

Works well with curries, dahl, the meat bit of a cottage pie. IKEA have some brilliant storage containers that can go from freezer to oven/microwave that help.

See this is what I always assumed batch cooking was!

I got confused when people start complaining what a faff it is/how much planning it takes, or talking about taking whole weekends to batch cook multiple recipes, or differentiate between 'leftovers fine, batch cooking nope' as @jeaux90 has...

Perhaps it's because I started when I lived alone and most quantities (meat for example) are too large for 1 person anyway, so once I'd made a lasagne/curry/soup etc my choices were :
a) chuck 3/4 of it away (wasteful)
b) eat the same meal for 4 days in a row (fine but gets a bit boring)
c) eat the meal, take some for lunch the next day and freeze the rest

as a pp said, a no-brainer to me, and I've carried it on with a family. Essentially batch cooking to me = cooking a larger quantity of the meal you are making anyway, thus saving the need to make it twice, so of course it saves time and effort (and usually money as larger quantities are usually cheaper, you can buy things on offer or reduced to freeze)

Barney16 · 01/01/2025 13:25

I hate batch cooking. Tbh I hate cooking full stop but batch cooking drives me insane. However I do it because of much reduced income and I would rather batch cook than give up other things. Everyone seems quite impressed when I whip something out of the freezer but I would much rather Marks and Spencer's had done the work for me.

godmum56 · 01/01/2025 13:30

jeaux90 · 01/01/2025 10:22

It's a waste of life. Leftovers in the freezer, fine, batch cooking...nope.

I don't see the difference? I don't do batch sessions, just extra portions of what I am cooking anyway....and I have no idea what tasting of freezer means unless the cook isn't freezing stuff properly or is storing it for too long.

godmum56 · 01/01/2025 13:33

Shambles123 · 01/01/2025 13:12

I hate eating meat that has been frozen so rarely batch cook.

Why?

OnyourbarksGSG · 01/01/2025 13:33

I love cooking, absolutely adore it but I can’t stand batch cooked food. I do it, for ease for my DH and dd to have Healthy means when I’m not home but I myself can’t eat left overs. They never ever taste as good as when they are fresh and piping hot. I feel queasy thinking about eating left over/reheated food even though I know 100% that is safe and been stored correctly as I used to run a commercial kitchen and my fit safety and hygiene is shot hot.

For me specifically I assume it’s related to my neurodivergence. I can’t drink from green glass bottles either as I can taste the glass 🤷🏼‍♀️😂. I have a very sensitive nose I guess I’d be classed as a super taster as I can literally pick out the most subtle flavours and ingredients when other people are like 🤨

MrsAmaretto · 01/01/2025 13:34

Have a look at the Batch Lady on Instagram. Her way doesn’t cook the food before it’s frozen, instead your assembling food to then defrost and traybake etc. It’s changed my view on batch freezing although I still cook and freeze soups, bolognaise, chilli and ratatouille.