To think batch cooking is awful

[Newyear2025]

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

Missing the point of the thread but what does freezer taste like?

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.

How ridiculous.

This makes zero sense. NOT batch cooking is ‘a waste of life’ - it’s so much more time-efficient than cooking from scratch each time you want something that freezes perfectly well and can be cooked in bulk.

Sounds good, would you share the recipe please?

Completely agree.

No it doesn't and no it doesn't, unless you are doing something wrong.

I would like to second this request. 😋

It very much depends on what you batch cook! I just double quantities of what I'm cooking anyway. Made a fish pie last Sunday so made double quantities. I now have a healthy homemade meal in the freezer for a busy day in the future. Chilli, curry and casseroles all batch well. I find anything with peppers is disappointing after freezing so avoid that.

I also batch prep on Sundays and will get all the marinades, veg etc ready for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday meals. Thursday is something from the freezer so our busier days are easier food wise.

With both of us working FT in senior full on jobs it was what got us through the kids in school years.

Nothing like freezer surprise for dinner 😁

Although thinking about it, there are some things that don't freeze well. I stopped freezing curries or stews containing chunks of potato as the texture goes a bit spongy. And some whole fruit goes mushy, like strawberries.

That said, it's easy to just use other ingredients when I know I'm going to freeze some.

I'm definitely on team batch cook! 😁

I have no idea what "tastes of freezer" means either. Anything I get out of the freezer tastes just as good as when it went in.

I agree OP, it just doesn't work for me. It seems like such a great idea, then I reheat one of my concoctions and it just doesn't taste right. I'm a vegetarian so maybe it's better suited to meaty dishes?

From watching people, myself included, most people are wasting their Iives staring at phones.

I find batch cooking enjoyable. Enables us to do stuff in the evening.

Can I ask, how do you batch cook if you have a family to feed? Specifically heating up the food - is it just single portions in the microwave, or larger portions heated on the hob? Just until it's piping hot or is there some sort of standard temp/time you heat everything up for?

This is my only issue with batch cooking. I'd love to do it!

Cooking more of what you’re cooking anyway saves time. Spending a whole day ‘batch cooking’ maybe not so much.

Go back to basics and learn to cook tasty food. Batch cooking is a great time saver.

Freezing and defrosting tends to soften and slightly break down foods, the more so if it freezes slowly. So fruit, veg etc that ought to have some crunch or bite to it isn’t great to freeze unless you can freeze it v quickly industrial freezer style. But if you’re freezing things like meat bolognaise, chilli, stews, some curries, etc, eg things that get better for simmering for a while and softening up, they’ll be great. Freezing a piece of cooked chicken with some veg on the side in a little box likely wont work nearly so well.

Agree. The only way I can imagine something tasting of freezer is if it hasn't been sealed properly with a tight lid. Or maybe a decent clip if it's in a bag. Otherwise you can get freezer burn.

Also, if you store the food for too long, the quality may be impaired. Same thing if your freezer isn't at the correct temperature.

We had butter bean and green pepper in tomato sauce from ours a couple of nights ago and it tasted better than when I froze it. DS1 is the only person in the house who likes beef, so I batch cook bolognese and beef ragu so that he gets his fix and I don't have to start chopping bloody onions for the gazillionth time.

I don't specifically set aside time to batch cook. I just make extra when I cook. Instead of cooking enough for 1 meal, I cook enough for at least 3 or 4 meals. It doesn't taste of freezer and is all.labelled, so easy to find.

Most things will defrost in the microwave or in a covered dish in the oven, so no need to plan ahead for that.

When cooking them anyway, I also make large batches of partially prepped food too, like ice cubes of sauted soffrito, boxes of mince browned with onion and garlic, seasoned raw chicken, etc. So I can use these at a later date to make a variety of things with little prep needed.

If it doesn't work for you, fine.
I used to make huge vats of pasta sauce and curry, eat half that week and freeze the other half for the week after or whenever time was tight.
Saved me bloody hours when the DC were teenagers, and meant we ate properly.

I find this opinion a bit odd. If you don't like things like stews, chillies,curries, pasta sauce etc then fair enough but there's nothing better than a delicious no cook meal. It's the same time in the kitchen to make ten portions as two.

I don’t care for batch cooking either because I like the whole process of unwinding and cooking dinner but maybe you’re just freezing the wrong dishes?

Either that or thawing them improperly.

I've always thought it was a bit sad too. Plenty of recipes you can make on the day that don't take ages. I'd rather have the occasional ready meal than batch cook. Plus we lack the space.

Yes, especially if it's something you're already having for dinner that night. You're spending the time when it's convenient to save when it's not!

Fair enough if people don't want to plan ahead, it doesn't suit everyone but it does suit a lot of working parents who have a tight timeframe to work with, or for on nights after kids' hobbies.

I think I do know what OP means by 'tasting of freezer', it has happened a long time ago when my freezer was very old and my containers probably weren't all that, but I'd only just moved out of my parents!