Step by step guide to planning a batch cooking day, can anyone help, please?

Penny-Pincher!!

weezl74 wrote: »

Hi there old-stylers

What I could really do with your help in, is making a guide for someone who needs to plan a batch cooking day (say a saturday) but without us knowing which exact recipes she will be choosing to cook.

sexist:D.....sorry couldnt resist!

PP
xx

greenbee

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

I've been cooking for as long as I can remember (nearly 35 years :eek: ) and cooking for my family for 20 years. It's one of those skills that you pick up if you do it often enough, I suppose

Take a look at some recipe books - they often tell you the time taken to prepare the dish, start to finish, and the time taken for you to be doing stuff. That helps with planning. For instance, a loaf of bread needs about 4 hours, but you're doing about 3 lots of 10mins - the rest of the time, it's rising and baking

Once you get the hang of starting the long recipes first, and fitting in the quick bits (chopping veg, washing up ) when it's rising, it becomes second nature.

Exactly, its something you learn through mistakes (onion flavoured sponge cake anyone ) and in my case from cooking with my mum/friends' mums etc. I also spent a couple of years at a very old fashioned school where I did home economics. We were taught to do time plans

I rarely use them, although I do write them for other people who are stressed about cooking.

weezl74

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

sexist:D.....sorry couldnt resist!

PP
xx

quite right PP, ooops

Will change my OP

goggle

look through recipes & figure out what bits overlap - eg brown the mince (do it all in one batch!)
also any items that need time to sit/rise/marinade etc need to be done at an appropriate time so oven is not on all day!


Best way would be to create a beginners guide with recipes & once Kitty has done it once she'll be able to adapt it next time to use her own recipes!

weezl74

greenbee wrote: »

We were taught to do time plans

oooh oooh, how were you taught, that's fascinating!

NJW69

I think it would be helpful to try to do a timeline.

So starting with things that need pre-preparation such as soaking, marinading etc.

Then times for things that need cooking for a long time i.e. casseroles or stews.

Then work out what can be cooked at the same time, same over etc.

Then anything that can be cooked whilst the others are underway.

You could use something like a gant chart scheduled in 15 minute blocks.

Allegra

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Because by following yours for a few weeks, they'll then be able to see that pulses need doing the night before, bread needs to be done first in the morning, etc Soon, it'll become second nature.

I guess that depends on your definition of soon Took me 15 years, and I still have days when I muck up everything I touch :rotfl:

I do like the idea of learning by osmosis, but that's not everyone's learning style - sometimes a little more specific help is needed (I am not arguing with you, incidentally, just thinking out loud...)

weezl74

NJW69 wrote: »

I think it would be helpful to try to do a timeline.

So starting with things that need pre-preparation such as soaking, marinading etc.

Then times for things that need cooking for a long time i.e. casseroles or stews.

Then work out what can be cooked at the same time, same over etc.

Then anything that can be cooked whilst the others are underway.

You could use something like a gant chart scheduled in 15 minute blocks.

*weezl goes away to google gant chart*

Thank you

whatatwit

Like Greenbee, I learnt by using timeplans.
Even now, if I'm doing a dinner party, I will do a rough timeplan.

I've got to scoot off to work now, but I will be back on here later to see if I can add anything useful.

danni121

This sounds like a fab idea!! I'm
new to all this and I'm excited at getting all organised. I know for many of you it's so simple but the step by step basics are just what I need. It wasn't really passed down to me and I'm eager to get my family eating well and on budget. With a toddler and little one on way this is really gonna help x