Batch cooking – don’ts
Don’t freeze foods before they’ve cooled to room temperature
It’s important to allow the meals you batch cook to cool down to room temperature before you freeze – and you should let them stay at this temperature for about 30 minutes, before sealing and freezing. After this, cool your meals in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes before placing them into the freezer, to prepare them properly for the freezing process.
Don’t let food thaw out on the kitchen counter
Did you know it’s dangerous to leave food out overnight defrosting on the kitchen countertop? This is because it encourages the growth of bacteria, which can cause food poisoning and stomach upset – which is probably not your goal when you’re serving up a tasty meal. So what should you do instead? Leave the container in the fridge overnight, or heat it up directly from the freezer, to minimise the amount of bacteria that can potentially enter your meals.
Don’t let foods stay too long at room temperature before freezing
You should never allow batch cooked meals to cool down for too long and never for more than 1.5 -2 hours, as bacteria can grow which can be toxic and downright dangerous to your health. While it’s important your batch cooked meals do reach room temperature, when you leave them to cool down, make sure you’ll be around when time’s up, so you can swiftly place them in the fridge and then the freezer.
Don’t forget the meals you’ve already batch cooked and prepared
If you’re going to be regularly batch cooking, you’ll wind up with many containers in your freezer – and to avoid food wastage, you won’t want to forget they’re there. You also don’t want to make up too many batches of food that you won’t get around to eating in time and if you don’t check and organise your refrigerator regularly, it can be easy to overlook dishes, if you lead a busy life. Take some time every month to do a stock take and reorganise your freezer, noting the quantity of meals you have and the dates they need to be used by. By placing foods that need to be eaten up first at the front of your freezer, you’ll remind yourself and others they are there, helping to avoid any waste.
