Take pressure off with batch cooking

It must be 10 years ago, now. Two families with piles and piles of tomatoes came together during the harvest to make a lot of sauce. Everyone brought their own pots and we all took turns doing the dishes afterwards. A decade later, we’ve created a tradition.

Batch-cooking 100 litres of sauce for the year means we have a couple of litres a week to cook with, whether it’s for pizza sauce or a base for spaghetti sauce.

And even though the event takes a little bit of preparation and a little more hard work, the kids know it’s a fun day (and the adults know they’re getting a glass of wine). We’ve changed the mindset. It’s about making a moment.

But before cooking in batches, you need to take a minute and ask yourself: What do I like to eat? What does my family like to eat? The tomato sauce can be frozen in zip-lock bags in small batches.

Big bags of peppers can be roasted and preserved in oil. And then there’s canning, which can fall into the sweet or savoury category: jam, jellies, salsa, chutney, pickles, whole or sliced fruit and (yes!) tomatoes. It’s also important to pay attention to your favourite ingredients and areas where you can save money. Which is why this year, I’m doing something different. I bought a dehydrator.

My kids love dried strawberries and mangoes, but they’re expensive. When I saw that they were picking them out of their cereal every morning, I decided it was time to make our own! I use local fruit, dry and cool it, and then store it in an airtight container away from any direct light. The kids make their own mixes. When mint and chives are in season, and we have so much we can’t even give it away, I dry it out and make my own infusions.

One thing to remember when it comes to batch cooking is that you don’t need to go big. It’s like planting a kitchen garden. Harvesting one small cherry tomato can bring you a huge amount of happiness. It’s about quality, not quantity. And don’t forget to capture those moments and all the healthy food that you’ve made from scratch together. When you rewatch those videos of the kids peeling fruit and helping out, you’re also watching them grow.