This week, I’d love to hear about your problems with ingredient waste and spoilage.
Which ingredients do you throw out most often?
And are there any ingredients in particular you’d like to get a longer shelf life from?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Oh…so funny…reading all the comments….celery,avocados and fresh herbs…got the answer above…
I have been putting my vegs in sealed plastic bags and that is working well,the herbs i am putting into plastic bags with a paper towel and that is so much better…spinach was another veg I was wasting,however,I have been putting it in a sealed container and voila
🙂 love it!
Great Mary!
Glad to hear it’s working for you 🙂
Similarly, celery is my biggest culprit, though we’ve gotten a lot more creative thanks to this class. We’ve tried making celery gratin, which like most things is made better with cheese, celery in soups and salads, and even as a snack with peanut butter. We tried roasting celery with other veggies, but it didn’t turn out too well. I’m very proud of ourselves for making it through all of our celery this month! (We try to only make one big grocery trip a month and buy in bulk.)
Another leftover we always throw out is cooked red beans — they are my husband’s favorite dish. Problem is he only knows how to make red beans for 20! and swears cutting down the recipe doesn’t taste the same. We generally eat them over rice. I’ve tried pureeing the beans and using them on quesadillas which worked out fairly well, but we still ended up throwing a lot away.
Thanks for sharing your celery ideas Elizabeth!
That’s great that you’re husband is cooking red beans… but can imagine it gets a little much.
I think the key to reinventing leftovers is to use them with different accompaniments and flavourings.. so instead of eating them with rice every time.. try different accompaniments.. maybe lentils or quinoa or try a baked potato.
Great idea to use them on quesadillas… if you can think of other ideas like that you’ll be fine.
Another thought is to try them in different types of dishes… say as a soup or as a salad.
Might be a good idea to freeze half the batch when they’re fresh, eat some now and then have the rest in installments in the coming weeks.
Like others – parsley, celery, the fresh veges often go bad and get thrown out. My celery seems to go soft fairly quickly. Maybe I need to adjust the temp. on my veg bin? Can’t remember if the veg bin is supposed to be set for higher or lower humidity? Probably lower?
Unfortunately, I’ve never been a big fan of veges but I know how important they are for good health. I’ve been trying to clean up our diet and incorporate more veges in our meals so the class has been real helpful with info on buying and storing and trying more of a variety of veges. Watching how you chop and fix them so easily has inspired me to fix and enjoy them on their own or in a simple dish more instead of always in a casserole or smothered in rich sauces, etc.
Glad for the tip about keeping avocados at room temp and only putting them in the fridge after cutting them. I’ve always kept them in the fridge but often notice they go bad and get brown fast.
Hi Geralyn
If you can change the humidity of your veg bin… increase it if your veg are always wilting (a sign of drying out) or decrease the humidity if you’re finding veg going mouldy or slimy.
And really excited to hear the class is getting you into eating more veggies!
Parsley, parsley, parsley! Not a week goes by that I don’t have half a bunch going slimy. Maybe it’s my storage method-in a glass of water on my counter? I thought herbs had to be stored upright in water? Usually I end up cutting out the good bits and freezing them to put in a stock later, which seems to work well so far. I also need to incorporate parsley into more of what I’m cooking.
And celery, that’s another one. I use a couple of stalks for a dish, then the rest of it sits in the fridge going soft, and finally it becomes a stock ingredient.
Looking over what I’ve just written, I think I just came up with a solution-make more stock!
Maeghan!
I’m afraid the glass on the counter isn’t helping. I find it last much longer in the fridge wrapped in a plastic bag.
Great suggestion to make more stock!
Also think about throwing the leaves into salads… parsley is pretty vesatile
It seems I’m always throwing out salad, cucumbers, bell pepper and avocados; and celery: if I buy it, it’s usually for a specific recipes. I think that in my case, the problem is from good intentions not realized. I have, in the past, planned to cook, but when the time comes…well, that’s another story: I take the easy road and go out. Definitely it’s the fresh veges that get trashed. Working toward the goal of cooking and eating at home (and actually enjoying it more than going out) I think will solve a lot of waste issues for me. That’s why I’m here!
I’m glad we’re going to turn you into a home cook Amy!
And interesting that you and Trudy have some commonality.
See above for tips on celery and salad.
CUCUMBERS & BELL PEPPERS
You should be able to get 2 weeks out of these in the fridge. The thing that makes them go bad is dehydration. So keeping them in containers or as I do, in plastic bags is the solution.
AVOCADO
I only put them in the fridge once they’re cut. Avocados are warm weather creatures who don’t like the cold. Refrigeration actually cases ‘chilling injury’ and speeds up browning. So keep them at room temp.
When cut, leaving the stone in the half you’re not going to eat helps protect a large part of the surface area from browning.
I find they don’t last for long. I tend to buy the firmest ones I can (unless I feel like eating avocado straight away) but they’re always something I’m thinking about ‘eating up’ before they go bad.
Now that I’m buying a lot more fresh produce, 14 types!, I’m looking in my fridge wondering, “Is this a minimalist refrigerator?” Jules, I had this same sense watching the video tour of your pantry — the sheer abundance and variety of spices and beans did not seem to belong to a self proclaimed minimalist. What does it mean to be minimalist? I remember a friend telling me he’d never seen fresh garlic growing up, that his mother used three spices: salt, pepper and garlic powder. Are these the spices of a minimalist cook or a simple one? I’m thinking that minimalism comes from a place of abundance, then from this, select few essentials are chosen. But in the end, minimalism can not exist without the excess/abundance first.
I’m already thinking how I can make my produce selections a bit differently and challenge myself in a different way. That beets are two veg types, the leaves are one and the beet is another. And that almost all the vegs can be counted as another “type” by how I cook them. Carrots can be: roasted, sauteed, steamed, raw –> (4) types. Maybe I’d pick say 3 vegs for the week and use them this way.
I often have leftover celery wilting and yellowing in the fridge. I hate to buy it because I know I’ll have it forever. But then I need a stalk for two in a recipe and it seems an essential ingredient I don’t have. And the mesclun we’ve been buying lately is quite perishable (the NY farm imports it from Florida in the winter!). It comes packaged in a plastic tub. I pull out leaves and wash as needed. I often have leftover: lemons, parsley or other fresh herbs, rosemary, thyme.
Trudy
Good observations… I must admit I’m much less strict with myself from a minimalist perspective than I used to be. I found I was getting stressed about the numbers of things I had which defeated the purpose of being minimalist in the first place.
Minimalism can exist with the abundance first. It’s just up to the individual to choose how they approach it all. Your friend’s mother could be a minimalist cook AND a simple one.
Yes if you’re finding it too much then the approach of reducing the number of types of veg you buy and counting them in different ways is a great approach. At the end of the day it’s about finding a system that you’re comfortable with.
CELERY
I used to feel the same way and then I started using it as an ingredient in its own right in a raw veg salad and suddenly it didn’t seem to be such a problem. There’s a recipe over here if you’re interested:
https://stonesoupvirtualcookeryschool.com/celery-heart-salad/
Also make sure it’s wrapped up in either foil or plastic to minimise loss of moisture and wilting. I’ve had celery last for over a month in my fridge.
MESCULUN
Tends to be the most perishable. When it’s packed in sealed bags, they often use different gasses flushed into the bag to prolong the life, which is why salad in bags had a longer use by date. But then when you open the bag (and let oxygen in) it deteriorates quite quickly.
I’ve found the best way to maximise the life of salad leaves is to wash and spin dry (leaving them slightly damp) then lay the leaves out on paper towel and wrap up into a bundle. Then put the bundle in a plastic bag and suck to remove most of the air before sealing. It’s a bit of a hassle up front but they last longer and they’re already washed when you need them.
LEMONS
I just keep at room temp.. but they last for ages in the fridge.
LEAFY HERBS
Washing and wrapping in paper towel and a plastic bag as per salad can help. But I find it best to try and use them as quickly as possible.
Mint, parsley and coriander (cilantro) can be used as a salad leaf so they’re pretty easy to find a home for.
Basil tends to go bad the fastest. Make a basil oil (puree leaves in the food processor and add enough olive oil to make a paste) or pesto to prolong.
WOODY HERBS
Woody herbs like thyme, sage and rosemary are fine in the freezer. Then you can just use them as needed.