Food waste…
This is one of these Hot Button topics that people are quite rightly and thankfully very keen to address at the moment.
There does seem to be a few other big news stories going on at the moment so it’s fair to say that this one may not hit the dizzying heights of the major news outlets for some time BUT as a direct consequence of our current circumstance I can’t help but worry about the state of waste we will inevitably leave behind in the next few months.
On a personal level I hate Food Waste because fundamentally the
'Art of Cooking' or the 'Alchemy of Edible Chemistry'
(a phrase I once tried to casually drop into a date as a teenager, from which the night did not recover and rightly so because it's absurdly pretentious)
is something I take great pride and enjoyment in. The idea that people will blindly and without reservation throw food away that needs just a careful level of pruning, cleaning or application of energy to turn it into something delicious sits counter to everything I believe.
Now, the chances are if you are here reading this and are in fact someone who searches out this kind of food writing then we may have a chance to exchange or at least work together on something that can illicit positive change in our own lives when it comes to food waste.
In this post we don’t have the time to get stuck into the mire that is Supermarkets and their own processes which are governed by Hygiene Standards, set by British & European bodies and their own purchasing power for what they deem as “Suitable Food”; we can however do things at home to minimise our own wastefulness;
1. Use your freezer – I buy bread from a local Bakery but sometimes we as a family struggle to finish a loaf within 3 to 4 days, it’s going to be stale as it’s Sourdough bread. I slice it up into toast thickness and throw it in the freezer. OK – this is not rocket science, but say you come home: half-cut from the pub (once they re-open). 1 piece of frozen bread in the toaster to defrost and 2 mins under the grill with some cheese & Worcestershire sauce. You have your munchies sorted and your wallet less dented from a Kebab dodged.
2. Soup - Just because a vegetable is a little sad looking doesn’t mean you can’t cook it in stock, blend it and enjoy it in liquid format. I would argue that soup is definite podium contention for “All Time Comfort Food”.
3. Check your fridge – Can you make something work for a recipe / idea with what’s in your fridge? If a recipe calls for 3 carrots and you only have 2, will your family throw it back in your face if it does not have the requisite level of carroty-ness or will the sweet potato you have in their compliment it just as well? If so, press on and use what you got..
4. Check your bin – I’m not advocating going Ewan McGregor, mid-Heroin binge ala Trainspotting on your Brabantia Flip Top but if after 2 or 3 weeks you’re seeing the same items end up in there are you purchasing habits the problem? Rather than your consumption or lack thereof? Would the slightly smaller tub of Total 0% be a smarter purchase as half of it seems to form penicillin before it’s finished.
5. Beans on Toast – More people should eat it; maximum reward, minimal effort – even better when served with Marmite.
Look – I might be going over old ground here but I have made some delicious food (#humblebrag) from things that most people would consider bad or spoiled. Blackspots on veg, limp celery that looks like it has suffered a knee-capping, bruised fruit that’s gone 10 rounds with Tyson. These can all be worked around in some way, i'm sure of it!
But I also refuse to throw away anything edible unless I have too – I have a freezer bag filled with chicken bones from thighs I butterflied this week, so I can make stock with them when the time comes. It took me 15 minutes to prep but was worth the time for the end result of fresh chicken stock when I want it.
I guess we come to the crux of the point now – we have witnessed scenes in real life in the past 2 weeks that I thought only possible in apocalyptic horror movies and zombie TV Shows with regards to panic buying. My hope is that the forced time spent at home will encourage a level of frugality and reduce our waste but the piles of rubbish I have seen already festooning the pavements of West London does not leave me optimistic in this regard.
I will be undertaking more “Bottom of the Fridge Soup” videos in the coming weeks and as long as the panic buyers stick to their Pasta & Tuna diets; I hopefully will be able to do more “Yellow Sticker Meals” – both of which can be viewed on my Instagram Profile.
I want to try – in whatever way possible, help people waste less food and find enjoyment in the process of turning it into something nourishing for the soul and the body, my grandparents wasted nothing, found delight in the simple things and had a vegetable garden I will envy to my last days and that is the inspiration…but that’s a story for another day.
Be smart, be frugal, where possible use up what you’ve got in the fridge and cupboards.
Stay Home, Be Safe & Eat With Love.
All the best
Goose