Reducing Food Waste Recipe Sharing/Tips & Kitchen Scrap Tips

ByteLily

I learned to can you fruits when on sale. I also will cook an entire chicken at once in a pot of water with aromatics and vegetables. The cooled chicken is then used for various dishes...after I remove the skin I pick it clean and freeze much of it. The water it cooked in is now a delicious and nutritious stock as well. Leave it in the fridge overnight and skin off any fat.

gentlygently

I use a lot of the ideas above - and when my lettuce/cauliflower/broccoli arrive I often cut a mm off the stems and keep them in containers of water in the fridge (changing water from time to time). Just deep enough so they can drink away. Keeps them fresher for much longer - and you can also revive limp carrots etc this way.

Someone mentioned roasting potato peelings. Really ? Presumably in a hot oven with a bit of oil to make something a bit like crisps? ?

Agion3

I use the cores of cauliflower heads for a potato replacement in recipes, for soups and a pseudo bechamel sauce.

acpgee

Lately I have been making fruit waste sorbet to use up odds and ends. My last one was a tin of peaches, a couple of overripe bananas, an overripe pear that had gone grainy, and some underwhelming fresh nectarines from the supermarket. Peel fruit and blitz together in the food processor. Sweeten to taste with sugar, keeping in mind that once frozen it will taste less sweet. It is ingredients like sugar, alcohol and egg white that prevent the mixture from freezing too solid. Freeze, mashing the edges of the mixture with a fork every 40 minutes or so to prevent large ice crystals from developing. If it is too hard or grainy once frozen, taste to check if it needs more sugar and run through the food processor with some vodka or liqueur and an egg white and freeze again.

acpgee

If you have leftover corn or flour tortillas you can use the microwave to turn them into tostadas or chips.
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/6544-microwave-tostadas
I used some leftover flour tortillas to make nachos for transporting ceviche and pico de gallo.

corinasue1143

I don’t buy canned fruit much, but our lunchroom ladies used to use the sweetened juice with kool aid and unflavored gelatin to make some seriously good jelly!

perryc05

I freeze all my meat bones from meals (beef, chicken. lamb, pork); as well as any veggie peelings and offcuts (carrots, onions, celery, garlic, tomoto, swede, turnup, kohlrabi, asparagus stems etc). When I have a large bag of this in the freezer I simmer it for several hours, strain it and use it for stock to make soups, sauces and other dishes with. I have been doing this for several years. Afterwards I bury the solids in my garden.

acpgee

I had to warm up stale corn tortillas that would have broken if you tried to fold them. Wrap up a stack of tortillas in a wet paper towel, put them in a fabric tortilla wamer (or oven mit) and microwave 20 seconds flip, and then blitz another 20 seconds.

EpilepsyWarrior

I use scraps from veggies and the bones from meat to make healthy broths and stocks.

MsCzar

Last year was the first year I canned my own liquid pectin using crab apples. Now, not only do I save my apple peels in the freezer, but I also save citrus pith for the same purpose. Supposedly the pectin content of citrus pith is very high and will be better when making things like dandelion jam where you don't want an apple flavour to overwhelm.

acpgee

Crisped up stale corn tortillas in the microwave to make oil free tostadas for dipping into store bought guacaamole.

tinkerbellang83

gentlygently wrote: »

I use a lot of the ideas above - and when my lettuce/cauliflower/broccoli arrive I often cut a mm off the stems and keep them in containers of water in the fridge (changing water from time to time). Just deep enough so they can drink away. Keeps them fresher for much longer - and you can also revive limp carrots etc this way.

Someone mentioned roasting potato peelings. Really ? Presumably in a hot oven with a bit of oil to make something a bit like crisps? ?

Yes that was me I think. Spray oil and a little salt normally does the trick, I am keen to try it in my air fryer also.

acpgee

Taco dinners are a great way of using up small quantities of assorted leftovers. I made guacamole and grilled pineapple and onion salsa fresh. The other little dishes are all leftovers. Shredded confit duck, lentils, butter beans, tomato and courgette salad, some pickles I normally have in the fridge. The hubby does complain about the massive amount of dirty dishes this meal creates, though.

acpgee

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/mar/07/how-to-stop-wasting-food-and-save-money

acpgee

Growing veg from scraps.
https://about.spud.com/blog-regrowing-vegetables-from-scrap/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&wpisrc=nl_ecokitchen_w7&utm_campaign=wp_nl_ecokitchen_week_7

acpgee

I have been recently making spring rolls and gyoza's from small quantities of leftover meat to store in the freezer. They make a good starter on a night you have only made salad for dinner.

Dice up the meat fine, stretch with some minced re-hydrated dried shitake mushrooms, grated or finely shredded veg to make a filling.

You can buy gyoza or wonton wrappers in the deep freeze section of an asian supermarket. Making your own is fairly easy if you have a food processor for kneading the dough and a tortilla press for rolling thin rounds. For spring rolls you can either buy the frozen wrappers in the asian supermarket or use dehydrated Vietnamese rice papers (for summer rolls) that you soak individually before wrapping. I find the rice papers easier as you just take out what you need and return the rest to the pantry. Google for videos on how to wrap and roll.

Freeze in a single layer on a tray before tossing into freezer bags to prevent them from sticking together. I like to coat the tray for spring rolls in oil, and rolling them around a bit before freezing. For gyozas I dust the tray with flour before freezing.

I warm up spring rolls in the air fryer at 200C for 10 minutes from frozen. For gyozas I will use a scant amount of oil in a non stick pan, and toss in a glass of water and cover once the bottoms have browned. Cover with a lid to steam until the water has cooked off.

Some different wrapping styles for dumplings and spring rolls made with both Vietnamese rice paper and Chinese wheat based spring roll wrappers.

vivelavidanow6

I'm not sure if in your country they have the Too Good To Go app, but it is another way to reduce food waste. Restaurants, supermarkets, take out places etc. will post surprise bags or products at a discounted price. These are products that they are expiring soon or extra food from the day that would otherwise be discarded. Great way to save on meals, and reduce our footprint. I've tried it a few times. An example for $4.99 CDN received 18 artisanal bagels. Great for freezing and toasting later.