Читать книгу The Batch Lady - Suzanne Mulholland - Страница 23

Your freezer is the kitchen equivalent of an on-demand TV. Nowadays, very few people will sit down and watch their favourite show at the time it is airing – we record it or watch it on catch-up at a time that suits us. Used properly, your freezer can do just the same for your food, meaning that you can make your meals ahead of time then pull them out and defrost them later at a time that suits you.

NOTES ON FOOD SAFETY

Your freezer should not be the place where old leftovers go to live until you finally throw them out. You want to make sure than you are using what you freeze and constantly refreshing your freezer with fresh, in-date food.

When you batch cook it’s important to maintain good kitchen hygiene at all times to help reduce the transfer of bacteria. This is simple to do, just make sure that your surfaces are cleaned with antibacterial spray before you start and always be aware of what you are touching, ensuring that you wash your hands thoroughly between touching raw and cooked foods.

Always do a quick clear up of utensils, pots and pans as you finish each recipe, making sure to also spray and wipe clean your surfaces – this is not only important from a hygiene point of view, it will also make the end clean down much quicker!

When working with chicken, do not rinse it first. Washing chicken in your home can easily spread bacteria. Simply use the chicken straight from the packet.

TIPS ON FREEZING

Always leave food to cool to room temperature before packaging to freeze. Wrapping your food in clingfilm and foil, or storing in freezer bags, reduces the chance of freezer burn.

If you are using glass dishes or plastic tubs, try to fill them to the top, leaving a small space for expansion – using a dish that is too big will leave the food exposed to air, causing freezer burn.

When packaging anything for the freezer, it is vital that it is labelled with the recipe name, the date and whether the food is raw or cooked. I also add cooking instructions to my labels so that I can refer to the label after defrosting my food.

It is important to freeze meals fast, as food starts to deteriorate the second it is made. As soon as a meal has cooled, package it up and transfer to the freezer. If you are freezing flat in freezer bags, try not to pile up lots of unfrozen meals on top of each other as this will prevent air from circulating and they will take longer to freeze. You can pile them up once they’re frozen.

If you are scaling a recipe up, freeze the food in multiple batches. This means that you can remove the meals from the freezer a portion at a time. Large batches take much longer to defrost and can result in food wastage.