What is batch cooking?

Batch cooking is a technique of preparing meals in large quantities, to be stored for consumption over several days. Generally done during one extended weekend session, batch cookers can then spend less time on food preparation over the course of the week.

There’s nothing ground-breaking in the idea, but it is coming back into fashion. For the unenlightened, batch cooking isn’t just about preparing a massive dish to eat 3 days in a row.

It’s more about blending ingredients. You can cook basic ingredients like cereals, vegetables and meat with a neutral flavor. Then each day, you add spices and condiments, maybe cook the dish for a few minutes and get your final product.

Never having to wonder what you’ll be eating for dinner can be liberating. A Sunday afternoon spent batch cooking also means an opportunity for quality family time. Everyone can come up with seasonal suggestions for the week’s meals and new recipes or variations to try out.

Once the menus have been planned out, it’s off to the store to stock up on ingredients. Batch cooking also helps reduce food waste and make savings by only buying the required quantities.

Depending on your personal situation, a couple of hours spent batch cooking can mean family fun, whereby recipes are passed down to children. It could be a shared activity with your roommate. Or if on your own, you can stick some music on or catch up on the latest podcast episodes. What better way to spend a Sunday?!

Batch cooking doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for improvisation. But you don’t have to stick to the plan religiously if it means depriving yourself of pleasures. You can always take the remaining food to work for lunch the following day.

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