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

[MindYourUsage]

Please don't tell me to shut up and batch cook. Single people want to eat fresh, too. And not everything is suitable for freezing, defrosting and reheating.

I've been looking for a small (700ml) induction friendly lidded casserole dish that could also go in the oven and - nothing.

I even asked chatGPT - it served me a load that were 3.5L or 2.5L.......

you either get those teeeeny tiny little le creuset pots that are 250ml (I do eat a normal portion size so no and anyway they're ceramic not iron) or 2.5L litre things that I would have to over cook more than I need/want.

It's just weird when there is such a rise in single person homes that some celebrity chef hasn't cottoned on or something and come up with a cookware line that is for single-servings but isn't teeny tiny little dolls-house versions.

Rant over. Any other single people feel the same?

Yes, this, all of this. Butter keeps in the fridge for ages, but you can also freeze it. Sauces, half a tin of baked beans or whatever, freeze them all. Maybe invest in some ice cube trays or bags if you want to be able to defrost small portions at a time.

Are you religious about following the dates on things? Because "best before" should not be treated the same way as "use by", and truth be told, I have kept and eaten many things that are past both. It's about working out the risk - butter that has been kept wrapped in the fridge, isn't covered in crumbs and is a couple of months out of date but will still be perfectly safe to eat. Soft cheese that has been opened, will grow impressive fluffy green mould when it goes bad, so if it's not growing visible mould I'll still eat it, but I wouldn't expect it to last as long as butter. An open carton of orange juice lives in my fridge for two weeks at this time of year before I start to worry about if it's on the turn, despite the label saying use within 3 days. Store salad veg appropriately and go by what the produce looks like rather than the date on the packet. Hard cheese that is growing mould gets the mould cut off it and carry on as normal for me, as my mother and grandmother both did.

Morrisons sells those tiny jars of jam. You can buy Philadelphia in a pack of 4 individual portions, same with some hard cheeses and Boursin. If you find yourself a supermarket with a manned deli counter, you can buy tiny portions of things from there, like one slice of ham or half a scoop of olives. You can buy peanut butter in portion pack sachets (you'd have to buy multiples) online. You can just about still buy multipacks of those individual boxes of cereal that we all used to take on self catering holidays in the 80s!

What else are you finding goes to waste that we haven't yet mentioned? Maybe we can help.

Have a look and see if you have a zero waste shop near you, you can usually buy by weight exactly how much you want, there; if you do have one, start saving jars and reusable bags that you can take with you.

I had a job finding lasagne dishes for one! I prefer even if batch cooking to make them in single portions so I don't go back for seconds or thirds and end up eating way more than I should.
I got some ones from the range that are about the size of a ready meal and are perfect for lasagna/pasta dishes/cottage pies ect.
They are in the Malmö range.

Amazon 850ml stainless Steel dish

Another small one

Cast iron option

This is 1.4l but still pretty small

There are some options. There are plenty more if you Google. 750ml is pretty small for casserole dish, to get the depth you'd had to have a very small diameter

But you don't have to fill it.

I've cooked for two for the last decade and had no problem. Try Salters cast iron wares. They do 2l pots

I asked chat GPT out of curiosity. It recommended:

• https://www.procook.co.uk/product/signature-triply-saucepan-lid-14cm?utm_source=chatgpt.com
• https://amzn.eu/d/09sDWSu7
• https://amzn.eu/d/0fI6Len2
• https://amzn.eu/d/09vk44xt
• https://healf.com/en-uk/products/our-place-mini-perfect-pot-2-0-sage?variant=46615646175471&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21812917123&utm_id=21812917123&utm_adgroupid=&utm_content=&utm_term=&utm_mt=&utm_device=m&utm_network=x&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=21812917123&tw_kwdid=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21809017625&gbraid=0AAAAAoQ3uJUCZ97kE2aPPzfERiS11hhC6&gclid=CjwKCAiAqprNBhB6EiwAMe3yhss9SQVPmRuqUt3O3pNOkiVXxpQod2NJ_Q3Y_vflhLX5tgbpUU2XVhoCQY0QAvD_BwE

think a few of those were already suggested but I wonder if maybe you just were not specific enough. I asked it:

I need to find some cookware. Specific requirements:

• between 500ml and 1l capacity
• has a snugly fitting lid
• can be placed in oven at temperatures up to 220C
• can be used on an induction hob

Can you please identify 3-4 options for me with links to buy? I would like at least one option to be in a casserole dish/lasagne cruset style and at least one to have a capacity of 500-700ml

Generally Chat GPT is fairly good if you phrase questions well

Some of the pots suggested are so tiny that one portion would fill them to the brim and not allow any stirring - 300 ml for example is the same as a small mug.

(not you @Americasfavouritefightingfrenchman, further upthread)

@Americasfavouritefightingfrenchman

Those are all saucepans not casseroles apart from the Staub which has already been linked.

Things I have successfully frozen

Hummus
Slices of ham
Beetroot
Braised red cabbage
Cheese, butter, milk, cream, ricotta, sour cream, mascarpone
Pesto
Bean dips
Avocado chunks
Roasted veg
Soffrito
Chillis, Garlic, Ginger
Mash
Tarka Dhal
Ratatouille/parmagiana
Bread
Cakes
Solid polenta
Grated carrot and grated parsnip
cooked chicken/cooked fish/cooked prawns
Porridge
Individual beans/chickpeas (cooked)

Many more, thats whats in the freezeer at the moment, along with standard frozen veg

I'm now being stalked by cute cookware adverts. Home alone but also getting the homesteader side of Tik Tok so need a whole room, shelves with a minimum of 108 jars of runner beans to see me through the year.

My brain to going to explode.

Surely you can put less in a big pot but you can’t put more in a small one. It’s the same as with wine. Which is why l only have large wine glasses in the cupboard.

I found a few bits on eBay because portions were smaller back in the day
Plus I love retro.

I know you weren't specifically asking about soupmakers but I have seen before and thought it looked good.

Ive got this and posted it upthread, it is phenomenal. I dont know how they did it but it works so well. I also make hummus or bean dips in it.

Have to say I'm enjoying this thread enormously - so many suggestions for cookware! I'm bookmarking a few of the sites for later use. No suggestions I'm afraid as I tend to be a stove-top cook rather than an oven-cook, so ten to unlidded pots myself.

Not RTFT but Le Creuset do 1.4 L casserole dishes.
You could use a saucepan if cooking on the hob or a Pyrex dish in the oven.

There are small sauce pans you know, most stuff I cook is either done in airfryer or in a sauce pan or frying pan and if I've made a vegetarian cottage pie I've left what's left in airfryer and reheated it the next day or day after or kept say spag bol or something in a covered pan on cooker and reheated it the next day

I was single for a long while and this issue was never on my radar.

I find Procook pretty good for smaller size cookware, and fairly reasonable as well. Would the following meet your needs? Cast iron, 600ml. Bonus - it's on sale for £6

https://www.procook.co.uk/product/mini-cast-iron-casserole-dish-burgundy

Slightly smaller than you want (600 ml) but dirt cheap
This

Great minds!

Thats lovely, wish I hadnt seen that

I have to say I completely understand where the OP is coming from, in that reheated / batch cooked / left over food never seem as appealing to me as freshly cooked food. Also, the process of cooking is part of the enjoyment of for me...so since my husband died I do prefer to cook much smaller quantities, and cook fresh food from scratch (ish) than take something, however tasty it should be, out of the freezer. When I do make something like lasagne, which has a sensible minimum size much larger than one meal, some if it will often go to waste.

Food waste has definitely gone up for me since I was widowed...partly because in order to have a variety of things like fruit and veg in the house, some of it goes off before it gets eaten. Likewise with ham and charcuterie , and to a lesser extent bread. As a handy hint, Chat GPT is quite helpful, with some editing, at suggesting recipes to use up what you have in the fridge but even so I don't always fancy what I have ingredients for, and so some stuff will go to waste. Very rarely protein or cheese, though sometimes it's unavoidable just because I don't fancy it.

@Tryingtokeepgoing

Sorry for your loss 💐

A casserole is too much work for one portion op. Make it for 4 and freeze 3 portions. That's hardly a chore, you've cut down the prep-per-serving by 3/4.

Plenty of smaller size baking trays/roasting tins/glass roasters for individual portions of pretty much every food choice

You are. completely correct about the proportions of the dish mattering. Smaller diameter allows for a more authentic casserole texture. And smaller pots seem to dry out faster than large ones. There must be smaller sizes available as you see restaurants cooking to order, maybe check out catering supply places. I do have one little enamelled pan which is great for single portions of sauces. Will try and check what make it is.