LEARN TO BATCH COOK
OuR community often requests batch-cooking ideas. It’s a very effective way of helping busy families eat good food together because all you have to do is get the dish you prepared earlier out of the freezer. some notes to think about when batch cooking:
● IT’s always important to store food safely, so in this list we have included the latest nhs food-safety guidelines (correct at the time of writing).
● DIVIDE food into individual portions to refrigerate or freeze. This means you can just reheat one portion. It also ensures they cool and freeze quicker.
● MAKE sure you’ve got enough space in your fridge or freezer for your meals before you get cooking!
● USE refrigerated foods within two days.
● WHEN freezing food, make sure you use airtight containers or freezer bags. Invest in some decent, freezer and microwave-proof storage containers. If not, your containers may crack or melt. Make sure containers are sealed properly to avoid ‘freezer burn’, when the food has been damaged by oxidization from air getting inside.
● ALWAYS label food. use freezerproof stickers, adding the date you made it. Meals can be kept frozen for around 3-6 months. Beyond 6 months is still safe, but the food may not taste as good.
● ALWAYS make sure food is defrosted thoroughly before reheating it, either in the fridge or microwave.
● ONLY reheat food once.
● WHEN food has defrosted completely, it should be reheated and eaten within 24 hours. nhs guidelines state you should reheat food until it reaches 70c/130f and holds that temperature for 2 minutes. Make sure it is piping hot all the way through. stir during reheating to ensure this.
● YOU need to cook rice and pasta at the time you want to eat it as they either cannot be reheated, or they’re a lot nicer cooked fresh.
● IF YOU are batch-cooking rice, it’s important to store it correctly before you reheat it. Cool it as quickly as possible, ideally within an hour. Put rice in a wide, shallow container, which will help it cool. There is a risk of bacteria growing the longer it is left at room temperature. Cooked rice should only be kept in the fridge for 1 day before reheating. When you reheat rice, make sure it is piping hot all the way through. never reheat rice more than once.
■ PiNch Of Nom everyday Light and Pinch Of Nom are published by Bluebird at £20 each. © 2020 and 2019 Kate Allinson and Kay Featherstone. to buy a copy of either book for £13.99 (a 30 per cent discount), go to mailshop.co.uk or call 01603 648155. Offer valid until February 9, 2020; p&p is free.