Food Waste

 European countries have a better handle on food waste than we seem have here in the United States. European grocery stores have posted reminders about food waste and how to reduce it in your kitchen. One of the things I loved about living in England was how Kitchen Composting was greatly encouraged in every household. The greater Oxfordshire council made sure we (and everyone in our neighborhood) were given a counter top compost bin and biodegradable bags for food waste. Most European households do not have garbage disposals, and everyone grew up with composting. Here in America, if your home has a septic system, you know what I’m talking about.

Now let’s talk about how you prevent food waste in your kitchen. Do we really know how long it’s been from the time our produce leaves the farm to when it’s on the grocers shelves to our refrigerator? The answer is No, we don’t. So it’s in our best interest to use those items as quickly as possible. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has purchased garlic, onions and shallots and within a couple of days you’ve noticed that they’ve started sprouting before you can use them. That 5 pound bag of onions is only a good buy if you’re able to use them all.

I’ve started using my food processor to chop and or mince my onions, shallots and garlic. Onions are frozen in 1 cup increments, shallots in 1/2 cup increments and garlic in 2 teaspoon increments, making them easy for me to add to recipes. I purchased the silicone ice cube tray at IKEA, it has a snap on base that keeps it steady and it holds 1 pound of peeled garlic cloves. I simply blitz my garlic in my food processor, fill all of the cubes, wrap with plastic wrap and pop into the freezer for a few hours. Once frozen, I pop the garlic cubes into a labeled resealable ziplock freezer bag and they’re ready to use.

Fresh herbs are not inexpensive and when they go bad you end up chastising yourself for literally throwing your money right into the rubbish bin. While buying fresh herbs in bulk can be a big savings, it’s only a savings if you can use them before they get moldy. International food stores are a great place to buy large quantities of fresh herbs. I wash/dry and freeze my herbs for future use, no waste. I bunch them in smaller quantities and they’re easy to add to soups, sauces and other dishes.

Meal planning is another way you can save time, money and become creative with how you use your leftovers. I’ll cover that in a future blog post.

Before you buy anything in bulk, check use by dates and be sure you have room to store it. If it’s produce, make sure to check for mold, use by dates and make sure you have time to commit to preparing your purchased items for storing in the freezer.