Bulk Cooking With No Freezer

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Tombo

Assistant Cook
Joined
Aug 26, 2009
Messages
28
Hey guys, apologies if this has been posted before but I searched and couldn't find anything.

Also apologies if this is an obvious question but I am a bit of a noob when it comes to cooking.

Basically I have been looking through a lot of ideas in the section but most of them seem to involve cooking in bulk and freezing. The only thing is I don't have access to a freezer so I am unable to freeze. Therefore I am unsure how I can cook in bulk without things going off.

The top of the fridge has a compartment that is colder than the fridge but I don't think it is cold enough to be a freezer and it is very small. Any help or advice would be great!
 
Oh boy. You really do need a freezer if you are cooking anything in bulk. The top of your fridge doesn't have a freezer? You might want to consider getting a small chest freezer, I don't think they're terribly expensive.

You might want to look into dehydrating if you want to preserve food, also canning and/or pressure cooking. Do you have a friend or family member with freezer space? I recall in the olden days when my dad shot a deer, they would process and store it at the "locker plant", which was, as far as I understood, rented freezer space. Don't know if they have that where you are, or even if places offer that service anymore.
 
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Oh boy. You really do need a freezer if you are cooking anything in bulk. The top of your fridge doesn't have a freezer? You might want to consider getting a small chest freezer, I don't think they're terribly expensive.

You might want to look into dehydrating if you want to preserve food, also canning and/or pressure cooking. Do you have a friend or family member with freezer space? I recall in the olden days when my dad shot a deer, they would process and store it at the "locker plant", which was, as far as I understood, rented freezer space. Don't know if they have that where you are, or even if places offer that service anymore.

Thanks, the cheapest small chest freezer I could find was £99 :eek: I'm a student so that is quite a lot of money and there is no point splitting the cost with my flatmates because we are moving out in half a year.

Maybe pressure cooking could work out, they don't seem majorly expensive but how wouold pressure cooking help? Sorry I am a bit of a noob at the moment.

I conducted a google search for a local locker plant but Icouldn't find anything.

Thanks for all your help though :)
 
Sure, get a book on canning. That will give you an idea of what you can preserve and for how long. If you decide you want to preserve stuff in this manner, you can then aquire the equipment needed.
 
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Canning equipment would cost as much a little freezer, I think. Canning of low acid foods requires a pressure cooker and jars.

Maybe you should concentrate on quick meals, instead of depending on prepared meals? Stir fries, quick pasta dishes?
 
Canning equipment would cost as much a little freezer, I think. Canning of low acid foods requires a pressure cooker and jars.

Maybe you should concentrate on quick meals, instead of depending on prepared meals? Stir fries, quick pasta dishes?

My thoughts exactly. Especially with roommates, any extra prep you do may end up eaten by them.
 
Hey guys, apologies if this has been posted before but I searched and couldn't find anything.

Also apologies if this is an obvious question but I am a bit of a noob when it comes to cooking.

Basically I have been looking through a lot of ideas in the section but most of them seem to involve cooking in bulk and freezing. The only thing is I don't have access to a freezer so I am unable to freeze. Therefore I am unsure how I can cook in bulk without things going off.

The top of the fridge has a compartment that is colder than the fridge but I don't think it is cold enough to be a freezer and it is very small. Any help or advice would be great!
Obviously you can't store large amounts but stews, curries, etc., for example, will keep in the 'fridge for 2-3 days (and even improve) so you could make enough for several meals. Things like fruit salad can be made in bulk and stored in the'fridge in a recycled glass jar (eg a coffee jar) for a couple of days. Do not attempt to store cooked rice as it can breed a serious food poisoning organism.
 
Is that compartment at the top of the fridge cold enough to stash your ice cream? If so it's a freezer. You don't have to freeze whole dinners to take advantage of semi-bulk cooking. I often cook 5 pounds of hamburger, breaking it up and seasoning it with salt,pepper, onions, garlic. Then I package the cooked seasoned meats in quart size baggies, stack them up and freeze them. They take up a far less space than a tuna, noodle casserole. Leave enough cooked seasoned meat in the pot and that's the night you add the rest of the ingredients for spaghetti. You can make tacos, enchiladas, "hamburger gravy" either on toast or mashed potatoes, sloppy joes, anything that you would use cooked seasoned hamburger and it's always fresh tasting. Even is you only cook a couple pounds of hamburger, simply cooking extra makes an extra meal simple.
 
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