The starter list
Look in the cupboard before you buy anything. Most kitchens have enough to start.
- Containers you already have With lids that fit. Any shape will do.
- Freezer bags Sauces and soups work best laid flat, so the bags stack like books.
- Foil trays with lids Pies and bakes work best in a small tray for each meal.
- A marker pen The dish and the date on every one.
- Your biggest pan The one you cook Sunday dinner in.
Not sure it’s big enough? Here’s what size pan you need.
Bags and trays are in most supermarkets and pound shops. Cooking for a parent too? Freeze theirs one portion at a time, with the dish and the date in big letters.
One shopping list, containers included
The kit is on the same list as the food, counted for the portions you cook. Using your own containers? Leave them off.
Packing kit
What your batches go into, going by the portions you usually put in a container.
- Freezer bags You need 8.
- Foil trays with lids You need 4.
Three dishes to start with, and nothing extra to buy
All three are in Nomstash and share onions, garlic and tins of tomatoes.
- Lentil bolognese Sauce in freezer bags. Pasta on the night.
- Chilli con carne Freezer bags. Rice or a jacket potato on the night.
- Cottage pie Foil trays, a small one for each meal.
How to plan a cook day takes a cook day like this one through a Sunday afternoon.
Before it goes in the freezer
Whatever you pack it in, these come from the Food Standards Agency.
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Cool cooked food at room temperature and put it in the fridge within one to two hours.
cool cooked food at room temperature and place in the fridge within one to two hours
Food Standards Agency -
To stop freezer burn, put food in an air-tight container or wrap it well in freezer bags or freezer wrap.
place food in an air-tight container
wrap it well in freezer bags or freezer wrap
Food Standards Agency -
Label everything that goes in the freezer.
label food you freeze so you don’t end up with Unidentified Frozen Objects (UFOs)
Food Standards Agency
Last checked against the Food Standards Agency page linked here.
Every rule, with all its sources: freezing, defrosting and reheating safely.
How long food is best kept in the freezer is on the freezing and defrosting guide, in the FSA’s own words.
Next, pack the freezer so more fits in. Once you’ve done a cook day or two, upgrade your freezer kit.
Sources
- Food Standards Agency How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely gov.uk
Last checked . Each quotation on this page was read against the page it links to.