What is batch cooking?
According to the impressive number of books available in bookshops on this subject, batch cooking has become THE essential cooking method to succeed in eating properly when you are busy.
I must admit that the concept is quite tempting. In fact, you cook a recipe in large quantities so that you can divide it into several portions to be distributed throughout the week.
There are of course some differences to this strict definition of batch cooking. For example, two or three different recipes can be prepared to avoid having to eat the same thing every day. You can also prepare only the basic ingredients so that you only have to assemble the food when it’s time to create your meal. In short, there are as many possibilities available as you want.
In this article I will not explain to you how to cook bigger quantities. And will not give you any recipes either. Instead of telling you what to do, I thought it would be better if I tell you the mistakes that need to be avoided when batch cooking.
Error 1: Not varying your meals
If you are 17 years old and can only cook pasta with ketchup, you can be satisfied with it for several days in a row. But as the years go by, our taste buds get more refined and we get bored very quickly. I therefore recommend that you make the effort to vary as much as possible. This will guarantee the success of your efforts in the long run.
Error 2: Choosing identical cooking methods
It is Sunday evening and you realise that you are planning to use your oven to cook four different foods at different temperatures and cooking times. You end up being in the kitchen for 7 hours…
I therefore recommend that you plan for several different cooking methods and use your different appliances. If you’re like me, you have several in your cupboards and in the cellar… By the way, my most recent purchase is a rice-cooker that changed my life!
Error 3: Not preparing your shopping list
The time spent shopping can be divided by two or three if you prepare your list in advance and organise it by category.
Who has never lost patience having to go back and forth eight times to get to the end of their list?
Home delivery services like Farmy can also help you save time!
Error 4: Not adapting the preservation to the food
Some foods do not preserve well when raw. Others, on the other hand, do not preserve well when cooked.
Cooked vegetables lose their nutrients quickly. Therefore, it is best to cut and cook vegetables at the last minute. Furthermore, it is important to keep the cooking time as short as possible and to avoid cooking in water in order to preserve their nutritional value as much as possible.
In addition to avoiding waste, it is also a question of health safety, as suitable food preservation prevents the spread of bacteria.
Error 5: Ignoring the technical details of the meal
If your dish needs to be reheated, do you have something to reheat it with? Is the dish safe to reheat? Can all food be reheated in the same way? Do you have the right eating utensils?
So many questions that can quickly become embarrassing if you haven’t thought about them beforehand!
In conclusion
In my opinion, batch cooking is more a question of being organised than cooking. It is therefore necessary to be methodical in order to benefit from all its advantages.
Get cooking my friends!
What do you think?