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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2009 10:03:41 GMT
All of us throw away some food whether we want to or not. Composting doesn't count as "not throwing away," because it wasn't supposed to become compost -- we were supposed to eat it!
My food management skills have improved over the years, but the rubbish bin still gets considerable use. Part of the problem is living alone -- no matter how hard you try, it is very difficult to cook for just one person, and that leads you to the problem of leftovers that you do not necessarily want to eat again any time soon, if ever... Bread for one person can be another problem, as would be milk if we were not using the UHT milk here in Europe almost exclusively.
What I really hate are tomatoes that look fine until you pick them up and find that the bottom part has become disgusting mush. Other vegetables use that sneaky technique as well...
It's an ongoing struggle. Are you winning the battle?
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Post by lagatta on Nov 12, 2009 12:14:43 GMT
I'm better than I used to be, but agree that it is practically impossible never to waste anything. The meat and fish I throw away has usually been already cooked, but just spent too long in the fridge. Not rotten, just a bit dodgy. I don't drink milk, and rarely waste cheese. I only buy goat's milk if I'm making a specific recipe with it - it is expensive (I'm somewhat lactose intolerant and think I have a lingering milk allergy; I had a very severe cow's milk allergy as a child). Calcium pills every day.
Some fruits also look ready to eat and are actually mushy in the middle. Yecch.
The really scary thing is of course back-of-fridge leftovers.
I hate wasting and throwing away food, because so many people don't have access to adequate food, and in the case of meat, although I'm not a vegetarian, I hate the thought of a creature being killed for our benefit and then not using it all.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 12, 2009 16:28:30 GMT
Since I really, really hate to see food wasted, I have gotten pretty good about never having to throw it away. Still, I had to check fruit and uncooked vegetables in the poll, as I occasionally over-buy those items.
I guess I'm lucky in that I never had any trouble with cooking for one and I don't mind left-overs.
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Post by auntieannie on Nov 12, 2009 18:51:00 GMT
When I was living alone in Switzerland, I was lucky enough to work at the airport, where they have a Migros (excellent quality/relatively cheap supermarket) open until late. I used to buy what I needed for the evening or maybe the next two days. I am not good at making leftovers, somehow the quantities seem to be "just right"...
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 13, 2009 6:34:43 GMT
I can state with confidence that we've won it!
The only organic stuff we throw away are orange skins or emptied coconuts. Not due to me very much though...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2009 13:08:27 GMT
Yes but in Cambodia, you have little piglets and other creatures running around under the table to gobble any stray scraps.  |
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 13, 2009 16:40:33 GMT
Huh. That's probably what happened to his chile/chili/chilie plants.
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 14, 2009 3:31:14 GMT
Ok, ok, I forgot again... my brain's like a Swiss cheese (direct translation from German, they mean Emmenthaler of course).
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Post by lagatta on Nov 23, 2009 19:37:19 GMT
What is the best way to keep a bunch of cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)? I bought a too-large bunch at the market - even if I use cilantro with the fish I'm making tonight and make a tomato salsa, there is still twice what I need. I manage to keep parsley for a few days in a jar or glass, changing the water every day, but cilantro seems to wilt faster. It is cut, of course, but has its roots.
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Post by cristina on Nov 23, 2009 21:16:36 GMT
What is the best way to keep a bunch of cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)? I bought a too-large bunch at the market - even if I use cilantro with the fish I'm making tonight and make a tomato salsa, there is still twice what I need. I manage to keep parsley for a few days in a jar or glass, changing the water every day, but cilantro seems to wilt faster. It is cut, of course, but has its roots. Do you put a plastic bag over the jar of cilantro? I find if I do that, using a rubber band to keep it in place, it seems to last longer. The water still needs changing every other day or so. Frankly, I wish that herbs could be purchased in smaller quantities. It really chaps my hide to throw out herbs, especially the ones that can't be grown easily in one's own climate. Although I am afraid that I am about to throw out quite a few veggies from the crisper drawer, along with a few UFOs from the back of the fridge. I have postponed the refrigerator clean-up long enough.  |
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Post by imec on Nov 23, 2009 21:19:53 GMT
I manage to keep parsley for a few days in a jar or glass, changing the water every day I find that works for cilantro too - I put the jar in the fridge. |
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Post by lagatta on Nov 23, 2009 21:26:08 GMT
I'll try the plastic bag and the fridge - I keep my kitchen cool, and have no problem with parsely, but cilantro gets ... muckier.
It pains me that they only sell big bunches of herbs as well. Nothing will grow here this time of year (except in greenhouses, of course), and I haven't really been very successful with growing herbs indoors, though I should try again as where I live now has a lot of natural light.
I also bought a bunch of watercress, but I'll try to use that up today and tomorrow. Craving greens.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2009 21:30:41 GMT
A sealable ("Zip-loc") plastic bag with a maximum of air pressed out works best for me. Sometimes it lasts almost for an entire week, although some of it must always be disposed of.
A big bunch here costs 0.27€ at my Chinese supermarket, so I try not to get too stressed out about the waste.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 23, 2009 21:50:31 GMT
That is amazingly cheap! Not that it is expensive here (also at Sino-Vietnamese supermarket, where I buy frozen basa/pangasius fillets for about $5CDN a kilo and other cheap stuff) but not as cheap as your guys.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 23, 2009 21:57:36 GMT
*Heavy eye-rolling here, plus slight huffiness from the evidence that you all don't pore over my golden words, taking them all to heart*
Okay. Stand back. THIS is the way to keep cilantro and parsley fresh:
As soon as you get it home, plunge it into a basin of water, repeating as often as necessary to get it clean. Spread it out to drain and to shed most of the water. Scrutinize it for anything that needs to be removed.
Once it's relatively dry, wrap it loosely in a paper towel & slip it into a roomy plastic bag. Do NOT
close the bag. Put it in the fridge where you can see it & will remember to use it quickly. If your kitchen is cool, you can leave it out.
pee ess: if it's quite a large bunch, follow the system above, but you can divide the bunch into two so they will stay more fluffed in their bags.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 23, 2009 22:30:16 GMT
Would you believe I'm out of paper towels? Silly me. I use them as little as possible, but always have some on hand for this type of thing, or for draining anything I've fried, or reseasoning my wok and cast-iron frying pans. I guess I can use a clean teatowel, no?
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 23, 2009 22:33:28 GMT
Absolutely. That's what I use when I have a big bunch of the stuff.
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Post by imec on Nov 23, 2009 22:49:54 GMT
Not sure where I stumbled upon this but it works - wrap celery with a piece of tin foil and it keeps fresher way longer than usual. Don't have to completely wrap it - just wrap a small sheet around the length leaving the bottom and top exposed.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2009 8:55:58 GMT
Things like parsley, chervil and celery are no problem for me. Cilantro and basil are the weaklings.
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 24, 2009 11:49:01 GMT
Can't you buy it in smaller amounts? We buy herbs and stuff twice a week and use as quickly as possible. I know the situation is different but even wasting something costing 25 cents drives my girl friend up the wall.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2009 12:02:59 GMT
No, I buy as little as I can -- enough for a family of 4!
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 24, 2009 19:26:33 GMT
Basil makes a fairly tough potted plant if you have a sunny space for it. It's very easy to start from seed, too.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 24, 2009 19:54:05 GMT
I haven't had much luck keeping basil over the winter but will try again. The problem is that everyone here has baseboard heating (there was a huge campaign to switch to hydroelectricity) so where it is sunny it is also dry, although I don't overheat the house.
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Post by cristina on Nov 24, 2009 21:34:41 GMT
I planted basil, rosemary and sage in a large pot on my balcony today. I'm anxious to see how they do. They came in 4 inch pots so are already a reasonable size. I wanted to include cilantro but the nursery was out of it.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 25, 2009 2:44:15 GMT
It is far above normal temperatures - cycling with no gloves today, dressed about the same as casimira in her wonderful po boy thread - but neighbours and friends would drag me off kicking and screaming to the funny farm were I to plant anything on my balcony in late November.
It is extraordinary that the geraniums are still alive. A little scruffy looking but I don't have the heart to discard them until they die. The red blooms are cheerful.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2009 14:39:33 GMT
Next thread: the tragedy of throwing away geraniums.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2009 21:18:23 GMT
I just threw away 70% of a large jar of Vietnamese pickled vegetables. Too salty, too bitter. I kept telling myself that I would find the right way to mix small amounts of it with other items and make it acceptable, but I finally admitted defeat. There was no way I was going to like that stuff, and now it is gone. Good riddance!
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Post by lola on Nov 25, 2009 21:42:20 GMT
I have taken bixa's cilantro words to heart, and intend to put them into action soon.
Soon, before it freezes, I'll put my geraniums (gerania?) in pots in the basement along the deep windows on east and west sides of the foundation. A few times this winter I'll water them well. Come spring they'll be leggy and ratsy looking, but massed together they recover well. I may buy a couple more small pots to fill in at first.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 25, 2009 22:00:46 GMT
I don't have a basement. Sadly, we only have a crawl space beneath the triplexes. This is not uncommon in hundred-year-old Montréal plexes. Where I lived before, the owner for many years was an Italian fellow who thought this was scandalous, dug everything out and put in a proper cellar with rooms for home winemaking, home sausage making, food storage (jars of stuff, better than kerouac's unfortunate pickles) and laundry, I believe. I have kept geraniums inside the house but they really take up too much room. Yes, it does make me sad to throw them away.
Some foods we buy are duds. I bought 2 dud tins of stuffed vine leaves. They were soft and soggy and too distasteful to eat. I'll have to throw out the other tin - that is open it up and throw the food in the trash; rince and recycle the tin. Sadly, we don't have food composting yet but will have it soon.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 25, 2009 23:23:25 GMT
I just threw away 70% of a large jar of Vietnamese pickled vegetables. But kept the nice big jar, yes? LaGatta, you might be able to get a large sack (burlap would be nice), slip the pots into it, and fill up the rest of the space with leaves or shredded newspapers. You might also be reported to the authorities for keeping a body on your balcony. |
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