Did you know that Australia produces up to 7.6 million tonnes of food waste every year? This is according to a report by Food Innovation Australia—which also found that 70% of such waste is actually perfectly edible.
If these stats make you uneasy, then you’re in the right place. In this article, whether you grow or buy your food, we’ll show a variety of ways to use every inch of it and make sure nothing goes to waste.
Why You Should Aim for Zero-Waste Cooking
We get it. It’s always far easier to just toss anything you don’t really want to eat anymore. Trying to use every part of an ingredient, from root to peel to stem, takes effort.
But to that, we say: the effort is worth it. By minimizing food waste, we can conserve resources, lessen methane emissions from landfills, reduce our carbon footprint, and create a more sustainable future together.
From an individual standpoint, it can save you some serious money as well. When you use and eat everything you can from a piece of produce, you’ll naturally have to buy less of it.
Additionally, it’s a great way to get creative in the kitchen! By using parts of produce typically thrown away, you can create unique, delicious, healthy dishes that you or your family members have never tried before. After all, peels tend to have tons of nutrients, too!
Zero-waste cooking isn’t new—it’s been used in different cuisines around the world. Japanese chefs, for example, always strive to use every part of a fish. Italian cuisine has ribollita, which involves using stale bread. There are many similar recipes around the world. You can just use a VPN to Australia or to other countries to make it easier to search their local websites for recipes.
In fact, we’ll share a few ways to use food scraps right now!
Maximising Your Produce: From Root to Stem
Vegetable Peels for Homemade Broth
One of the easiest ways to use vegetable scraps is to make homemade broth (which is much better than the store bought broth).
Onion skins, carrot tops, celery leaves, garlic peels, and herb stems can all be simmered with water to create a rich and flavorful vegetable broth. You can even choose to saute them first as well.
Just store your scraps in the freezer until you have enough for at least one pot of water. Feel free to add fresh herbs, spices, or even tomato paste!
Citrus Peels for Zest, Infusions, and Cleaners
The zest from lemon, lime, and orange can add brightness and tanginess to dishes. There are even ways to use them for cleaning—add them to vinegar and baking soda for a natural cleaner.
You can also dry them and grind or blend them into a powder to add to tea, syrups, or cocktails.
Stems and Are Edible, Too
Many people discard the stems of herbs and leafy greens, but they’re just as edible as the leaves themselves. Broccoli stems, for example, can be grated into slaws, blended into soup, or eaten after a quick boil (just like its florets).
The stems of herbs like parsley, cilantro, and basil can also be finely chopped and used as parts of sauces, marinades, or pestos.
Make Pickles from Vegetable Scraps
If you didn’t know, you can pickle carrot peels, radish greens, watermelon rinds, or cauliflower stems. Just a simple brine of vinegar, water, sugar, and salt can transform them into tangy, crunchy delights.
Creative Ways to Use Overripe Produce
Overripe Fruits for Bread and Jam
Overripe fruits may not be the most pleasant to eat—but they can be used in a good jam! In fact, the riper they are, the more intense their flavour.
Overripe bananas, for example, can be used for banana bread. And mushy berries are perfect for homemade jam or syrup.
Soft Tomatoes for Sauce and Powder
In the same vein, tomatoes can be turned into pasta sauce or tomato soup. You can also dry and grind them into tomato powder.
Make Banana Peel Bacon
Yes, you read that right. You can turn banana peels into crispy, smoky bacon. Just marinate them with soy sauce, syrup or sugar, and pepper or paprika, then fry them up for a plant-based alternative to bacon.
Using Waste Beyond the Kitchen
Coffee Grounds for Gardening
Don’t throw away old coffee grounds! They can actually be used as a natural fertiliser for your plants. However, you can also use them to bake chocolate cake or brownies!
Eggshells for Stock and Gardening
Eggshells are rich in calcium. You can crush and blend or grind them into a powder to be added to homemade stock for extra nutrients.
But they can be used as fertiliser too: just crush them and sprinkle over the soil to enrich it. Easy!
Stale Bread for Croutons, Breadcrumbs, or Panzanella
Aside from the aforementioned ribollita, Panzanella is another recipe using stale bread. Just soak the bread in water for around 10-15 minutes, then wring them out.
Or, you can just cut up your stale bread into cubes for croutons. Another option is to blend it into fine bread crumbs, which you can use as a topping or even breading for frying.
Practical Tips to Reduce Food Waste
Minimising waste takes some extra effort. Here are a few tips to make it easier:
- Plan your meals: A well-thought-out meal plan ensures you use up ingredients and scraps before they go bad.
- Store produce properly: Different fruits and vegetables need to be stored differently for maximum shelf life.
- Freeze excess food: Leftover produce can always be frozen if you won’t use it soon.
- Compost what you can’t eat: If you absolutely can’t find a way to use some scraps, consider composting them instead!
Conclusion
You don’t have to go zero-waste all the way. You can start by using a few scraps that you normally throw away and create new, yummy, and healthy recipes.
And with a healthier you, you also contribute to a healthier, more sustainable planet as well.
