Prep session order of work and batch log
The order of work for a prep session, as a checklist with notes, and one row per batch you cook: how much, how many containers, the date made, the eat-by and freeze-by days, and whether it went into the freezer. Everything you type stays in this browser.
For a first pass, the batch log is essential: one row for each container from the dish you cook for two meals (Prep and batch cooking), with its eat-by or freeze-by day. The order of work is a checklist to read through before a prep session; ticking it is optional.
Order of work
The order used in Prep and batch cooking. Tick each step as you do it; add a note on anything to change next time.
Batch log
One row per container or set of containers (Prep and batch cooking). Eat by is 3 to 4 days after cooking for cooked food in the refrigerator; freeze anything you will not eat by then within that window.
How to use these sheets
- One batch, one row. A dish split between the fridge and the freezer gets a row for each, because their days differ.
- Eat by, freeze by. Cooked food in the refrigerator keeps 3 to 4 days; freeze anything you will not eat in that time within that window. The keep-until calculator turns the days into weekdays.
- Label to match. Each container's label carries the same name, date and day as its row.
The starter rows are the Delgados' Sunday chili (fictional): 16 cups in all, two 2-cup portions in the fridge with "eat by Wed to Thu", and six 2-cup containers frozen in one layer the same day.
This is not a cooking class: cook the way you already do and check doneness with a food thermometer against FSIS's chart. Prepping ahead does not extend the 3- to 4-day limit for cooked food in the refrigerator. This manual does not teach home canning; the National Center for Home Food Preservation does.