Batch Cooking: how and with which tools to save time in the kitchen
Batch cooking is all about preparing all your dishes in advance for the week to come, so as to save time and psychologically free yourself from this burden. It involves cooking several meals in advance in a logical and organized way, following a fixed menu that covers every day of the week.
- · Menu planning: choose a suitable surface
- · Magnetic boards with menu markers
- · Food storage: choose the right containers
- · Kichly 12-piece clear glass set
- · Set of 5 Luminarc airtight containers
- · Philorn's ecological and elegant lunch box
- · Batch cooking: all the must-have books to keep in the kitchen
- · Benedetta Parodi's "save dinner" recipes
- · The Bibles of Batch Cooking
- Other useful products for Batch Cooking:
Menu planning: choose a suitable surface
Meal planning obviously begins with a "visible display in the kitchen. An" idea, a recipe spotted in a magazine or cookbook: we write the menu and the ingredients needed to make it on a blackboard.
Displayed on the fridge or kitchen wall, opt for a model large enough so you can clearly read what you have written on it!
See also
Magnetic boards for menus
Planning meals ahead of the week has never been easier and all thanks to Smart Panda's magnetic whiteboard. To be attached directly to the refrigerator or hung on the kitchen wall, it is the ideal solution to enter the magical world of batch cooking, thanks to which you will no longer be forced to cook all day every day.
Fill out your blackboard from week to week, drawing up a menu to be followed slavishly and compiling, in the appropriate section, the shopping list to never run out of your favorite foods. This product is also the perfect tool to write down all those delicious recipes you see on television but which, for lack of paper and pen, you never have time to write down. When you have planned meals for every day of the week (preferably on the weekend), we recommend that you start cooking so that, once cooked, you can store them in the fridge or freezer and find them ready after a tiring day of work.
Buy it on Amazon for less than 15 euros!
An equally valid alternative with a more elegant design is the Eachoo magnetic board. Neutral in color, it easily matches kitchen walls without attracting too much attention. Write down all the meals to be prepared for the coming week and don't worry about spelling mistakes because the product is erasable and allows you to change your menu as many times as possible. Recipes, shopping list, appointments, this multi-tasking whiteboard is designed to make your life easier, keeping it organized and free from chaos. And what are you waiting for to make this purchase?
Buy the product on Amazon for less than 12 euros!
Food storage: choose the right containers
One of the secrets behind the success of batch cooking lies in the method of food preservation:
> The advance preparation of foods in large quantities requires that they be stored properly and that they do not lose flavor and freshness.
> To preserve these pre-prepared meals, preferably opt for airtight glass boxes whose plastic (if present on the lid) is BPA-free.
> Thanks to this type of storage, meals and pre-cooked foods can be stored longer in the refrigerator or freezer. When eating or preparing the menu, the container can be inserted and heated both in the oven and in the microwave.
> Remember to choose boxes of different sizes and capacities, so that you can store different quantities of food (from 400ml to 1.5L).
> Once stored in containers, pre-cooked meals should be placed in a cool place, in the refrigerator or freezer.
12-piece clear glass set by Kichly
As specified above, after having delighted in preparing meals for every day of the week, divide them into food containers. One of our favorite sets is undoubtedly Kichly's. The package is provided with 12 pieces (6 containers + 6 lids) in transparent and resistant glass, being borosilicate. The opening and closing of the lid are particularly easy and guarantee a strong seal, keeping food and snacks always fresh.
This set is the ideal solution both for storing long-term meals and for defrosting and reheating them: the containers, in fact, withstand (without lid) the high temperatures of the oven (up to 400 ° C) and the extremely low temperatures of the freezer. Pasta, vegetables, snacks, the list of foods that this service can accommodate is almost endless and makes it one of the must-have products in the art of batch-cooking.
Make the purchase on Amazon: the price is around 25 euros!
Luminarc set of 5 airtight containers
Another set that we have found particularly useful for our batch cooking sessions is undoubtedly that of Luminarc which includes 5 airtight containers, of which 2 square, 2 rectangular and one round. The strength of these products lies in their resistance to thermal shock: thanks to a sophisticated and innovative opening and closing valve, it is possible to heat the containers with the food inside directly in the microwave (before turning it on, make sure that the valve is strictly open and that the temperature does not exceed 110 ° C) or, on the contrary, keep them in the freezer to always find them ready every day. The dimensions of the product are varied but all contained, so they do not create clutter either in the kitchen or in your bag if you have to take the meal with you to work or during an excursion.
Make the purchase on Amazon: the price is around 35 euros!
Philorn's ecological and elegant lunch box
Made of food-grade PP, odorless and BPA-free, Philorn's lunch box is our heart's “bag holder” container. It is not only the most suitable object for storing and taking our previously cooked meals everywhere, but it easily transforms into a pan in which to heat the food directly in the microwave oven, to a maximum temperature of 120 ° C. Consisting of several compartments, it even has a space reserved for the cutlery set. What impressed us above all was the leak-proof closure system: no food or liquids scattered around the bag. We recommend it to young and old!
Buy on Amazon for less than 19 euros!
Batch cooking: all the must-have books to keep in the kitchen
Since - at some point - ideas can run out, books dedicated to batch cooking are of great help. True "bibles" of the organization, these books are designed to help us prepare and cook meals in advance.
Classified by season or by food, the recipes are easy to find and are all explained in detail for early cooking.
Tips to remember:
- List the menus that inspire you and write what to buy
- Purchase the ingredients you need on the day of preparation or the day before
- Choose a time during the weekend (or two or three free hours of your choice), in order to cook some menus in advance
- This preparation time is either not intended to make recipes from A to Z, but rather to anticipate and save time upstream.
- This is where vegetables, grains and proteins can be cooked in large quantities depending on the day of consumption (al steamed, baked vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, etc..).
Benedetta Parodi's "save dinner" recipes
The mere thought of approaching the stove in your kitchen makes you sweat and your idea of cooking consists in typing the number of the restaurant nearby? We have the solution for you, indeed, it is Benedetta Parodi who has it. The well-known TV presenter lent to the culinary world, has written one of the must-have books among the shelves of our kitchen. A list of more than 250 simple and quick recipes, rigorously accompanied by relative photos, in short: real "dinner-saving pills". Appetizers, first courses, main courses, vegetable side dishes, desserts: all meals ready within 15/30 minutes maximum to eat well, with taste and with minimal effort!
Make your purchase on Amazon!
The Bibles of Batch Cooking
If, on the other hand, you are looking for more precise instructions on how to enter the magical world of batch cooking, here are two books written especially for you: “Serial cooking. Cook one day, eat a week ”by Keda Black and“ Batch cooking. Cooking in a few hours throughout the week ”by Cinzia Trenchi. Both texts are full of advice on how to best prepare, cook and preserve all your meals to have them always ready every day of the week. No more pasta with tuna, pizza or take-away every evening, but a healthy, tasty and balanced menu that requires only one or two hours of preparation during the weekend. Inside the two books you will find recipes for all palates and interesting ideas to make meals delicious and not a source of stress. During the week, all you have to do is defrost them, reheat them in the oven or microwave and sit in the kitchen, enjoying your dish of the day!
Buy them on Amazon:
> “Serial cuisine. Cook one day, eat a week ”for about 25 euros
> “Batch cooking. Cooking in a few hours for the whole week ”for about 14 euros
Other useful products for Batch Cooking:
> Vacuum machine for food at 35 euros!
> Stainless steel steamer for 37 euros!
> Candy microwave for 69 euros!
Batch cooking: how it works
>> You have two solutions: cook each recipe in advance so that you only have to reheat it (and in this case you will have to freeze a part of it) or prepare each food separately and assemble the final dish when the time comes.
>> Everyone has their own method, but the central idea remains the same: save time, eat a variety of foods, prepare the meals we like and follow the seasons, without being absorbed by the stress of daily preparations.
The advantages of batch cooking are numerous: an obvious saving of time, a liberation of the mind, the possibility of cooking with the family but also the opportunity to save money and eat healthier, promoting the use of seasonal products.
