These days have shown us once again the impact food has on our lives which got us thinking about how we can make the most of it, in a way that respects food as a whole. How can we cook in a way so that not even one bit goes to waste? How do we store produce so it stays fresh longer? What are the things to look out for in quarantine shopping? The search for meaningful answers led us to create Let’s Stay At Home episodes with Massimo Bottura. We hope this mini-series will help you make the most of your food and make the world a better place right from your home, during and after the quarantine. For many years now, we have been working with Massimo Bottura to reduce food waste and inspire people to waste less by making the most of leftovers through Food For Soul.
Here is the Massimo’s delicious leftover Panettone Souffle recipe.
Why does using every bit of the food matter?
Roughly ⅓ of the food produced worldwide gets discarded, which equals to 1.3 billion tonnes per year, and most of that waste happens in our homes. That’s why small steps towards using every bit of food in your kitchen can make a huge difference for a better future.
Learning new ways to use and reuse our food is essential for our well being as well our family’s and others’. So, here are a few tips and tricks to help us on our journey to a Zero-Waste kitchen where every bit is used and every bite is delicious.
Using every bit: Soups & Broths
Soups and broths are great scrap savers in that they are great ways to make use of usually discarded veggie peels and ends. When making any dish using vegetables keep in mind that you can use practically any bit that you don’t want to directly plate or use in the dish can be thrown into the freezer to be used in a soup or broth later.
Using veggie scraps in your soups or broths will not only give them more flavor but also make them more nutritious. You can blend your soup if you’d like a smoother finish and use ice-trays to portion freeze the broth for easy use later.
Using every bit: Peels
We all love chips. Here’s another food that you’ll probably love just as much but haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet: fried peels. Naturally, the first thing that comes to mind is fried potato peels, but skins of all vegetables that can be peeled can be remade as a fried or baked dish. For example, carrots, eggplant, and squash are just a few from the list. All you need is a little bit of olive oil, seasoned with salt to your taste and bake or fry it, simple but delicious.
Using every bit: Fruits
More time spent in our kitchens means more time to discover the wonderful and delicious world of fruits from seed to peel. Here are a few delicious ways to make use of usually leftover bits of fruit.
- Use leftover fruit to make a jam or marmalade
- Use dry and grind or zest orange peels to flavor cake, bread, or cookies.
- Create a natural cleaner by squishing the lemon peel with a little white vinegar.
- Spice apples or pears with cinnamon for a snack.
- Dry the peels to make refreshing teas.
- Make candy from the peels.
- Add it to smoothies.
- Mash it up, mix it with water and freeze to create flavorful ice cubes.
Using every bit: Seeds
Did you know that you didn’t need a huge garden to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and even lemons? To get started all you need is to keep the seeds of fruits you’d like to grow and plant them into pots in your home. Don’t worry about it going wrong because you’d still end up with a very nutritious soil that you can use for your other plants, even if it doesn’t bear any fruits which you can use to grow beautiful flowers.
Using every bit: Overripe Fruits and Veggies
Sometimes we end up with overripe fruits and it may not look pretty but trust us when we say it probably tastes much better than it looks. The answer to what to do with overripe fruit is quite simple. It makes a perfect natural sweetener since as fruits ripen, their sugar content increases and makes them even sweeter. Vegetables, on the other hand, get juicier and have a more impactful taste on dishes that can be used to deepen the flavor in soups, stews, and many other dishes.
- Use fruits in your cake or bread baking
- Add it to your smoothies
- Pickle it
- Add it to soups or broths
- Use tomatoes to make a sauce
- Use fruits to make an ice-cream
- Make it into a puree to use it later
Using every bit: Compost
If you’re faced with food beyond saving, no fear, instead of trashing it use it to make compost. Fruit and vegetable scraps contain significant nutrients that make them perfect ingredients to create a rich fertilizer for any soil.
Our respect for food increases every day and so does its importance. During these times that we’re spending in our homes let’s make the most of this time to become better at fighting food waste and creating a better world. Stay tuned for other tips from Massimo Bottura and our chefs on how to make the most of your ingredients and more.
Now more than ever, a better future starts at home.
For more inspiration, read our articles or try our recipes. Want to do more? Support your action by giving back to our community partner Food for Soul.