Food

I think I have that book somewhere, I think it is in the loft after a house move. I'll try to find it - thanks!

We've been doing Hello Fresh for a while but the massive discount that we did have is coming to an end and we're getting a bit bored of it so will probably put it on hold for a while (although I've got to say it was better than I expected).

Main reason we were doing it was for the quick cook meals after getting home from work. Now thinking of doing some batch cooking at weekends so just need to heat stuff up from fridge/freezer in the week.

Any suggestions for this kind of stuff? Cheers

I take a small pot of homemade soup to work everyday and microwave to warm it up. I currently use plastic pots but they are getting very scabby and would like to avoid buying plastic again.

Does anyone know of a microwave friendly stainless container around 300-400mls with a good sealing lid?

I commute by bike so want to avoid anything breakable.

Ditching Hello Fresh is not a bad thing, the amount of packaging is ridiculous.

As for meals, all of the basic stuff does well for batch cooking:
Chilli
Bolognese
Curries
Cottage pie
Fish pie
Etc

I think the main problem with a metal one is that it will become dinged and scratched over time.

When that happens, you get nucleation points, and sparky madness in the microwave.

List time!

As for meals, all of the basic stuff does well for batch cooking:

• Chilli
  
• Bolognese
  
• Curries
  
• Cottage pie
  
• Fish pie
  
• Lasagne,
  
• Not risotto
  
• stews & casseroles
  
• Carnitas
  
  

If you have a vacuum sealer, big lumps of braised meat can be brought back to serving temperature by dropping in hot water.

Yes, the amount of non-recycleable packaging makes a mockery of their pretend green credentials.

Chilli, Bolognese, curries, etc is what we do at the moment. Looking for something a bit less batch cooky (whilst still being batch cooked) if you know what I mean.

When I did that I used to use one of these
https://thermos.co.uk/stainless-kingtm-food-flask-470ml
Heat it up at home and put it in there in the morning and it's still boiling at lunchtime.

It went in my carradice with a d-lock and tools and although the outside got bashed it was only cosmetic.

Yeah those are good. My daughter uses one for her school packed lunch.

Still piping hot at lunch time.

I like putting interesting gratins in the freezer (potato/celeriac/beetroot/parsnip etc) and then when defrosted you can just heat it up and add a quick protein (flash fried steak/sausages/microwaved salmon/chicken legs/miso aubergine etc) and a veg and you have a meal that doesn't feel batch cooked but still pretty special?

https://black-blum.com/products/stainless-steel-box

Vacuum works well, and will probably outlast the IKEA glass ones by years.

I've got a large 28cm skillet/pan that is slowing peeling off the non-stick and giving me cancer, probably.

I've read good things about stainless steel, but not sure the missus would put up with the prep involved. Do want to keep something with a lid though.

Anyone got any recommendations that are similar to this?

Stainless steel is a piece of piss. Just rinse with warm water and a soapy sponge. Occasionally you may need to soak or use a wire wool scourer.

The main thing is to not scorch food on it. When I had a gas hob it was prone to hotspots which wasn’t so good, so either use a slightly lower heat so it is spreading across the base or if possible an induction hob.

This is the state of two of my stainless pans after 7 years of use, and I am one lazy motherfucket.

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I went for the De Buyer Alchemy range for all things stainless. It just requires a bit more attentiveness as certain foods are more prone to catching, especially when reducing liquid but cleaning is pretty straightforward. Soak and a scrub with nothing too abrasive.

@dancing james White vinegar will rid you of those stains on the base. x

maybe this:

https://www.procook.co.uk/product/professional-steel-saute-pan-lid-uncoated-28cm-4200ml

plus this:

https://www.souschef.co.uk/products/de-buyer-mineral-b-frying-pan-28cm

giving me cancer

Only when it's smoking and giving off gas - otheriwse it's pretty inert.

Rationale for two pans is (apart from I like pans and have both a SS saute pan, well two actually, and a blue steel pan and a couple of non stick pans for other people to use):

Saute pan is great for cooking a wide range of sauces, one pot dishes etc. I don't find stainless good for just frying though. Which is where the blue / carbon steel pan comes in for eg frying eggs, bacon, sausages, liver, mushrooms etc.

Limitation of blue steel is that it doesn't play nice with tomato based sauces.

I like the saucepans so very much, to the point I'm probably going to buy another set.

I don't find as much joy with the saute pan, but then again, our gas hob is rubbish.

procook saute...

I know it's a slight bump in price but I'd be tempted to step up from a bonded base pan to a fully clad version, the performance is noticeable in my humble snobby opinion. I've been gradually phasing out my old bonded pots as and when I can stomach the cost, and I can't wait to ditch the last couple.

The John Lewis one originally posted looks decent value for money.

Anyone used the hexclad pans - any good? Non stick but metal utensil safe sounds good, obviously worry it's too good to be true

It's difficult to fault the John Lewis stuff, especially at that price point.

They are just nonstick pans. Heavy bullshit marketing when you find reviews done independently

I was right to think too good to be true then!

https://www.johnlewis.com/hestan-nanobond-stainless-steel-saute-pan-with-helper-handle-lid-30cm/p6163572

who knew that there were £500 saute pans?

now i'm interested in the bonded vs clad scenario... i think both of my saute pans are bonded but I do have a clad saucepan.

I genuinely feel more in control of the temperature and they boil twice as fast.

https://youtu.be/5Gzli7-25AI?si=FlT5489vosBh1F9r

https://youtu.be/mR8AiNWgARU?si=TfiI-RnI-5v_UXNK