By SARAH NASSAUER
In Ondria Witt's kitchen, last night's roast chicken is tonight's enchiladas. Stale bread becomes bread pudding.
Just don't tell her husband. "I fear if I do he'll be like, 'No. I'll
go get a pizza,' " says Ms. Witt, 29, a stay-at-home mother in
Salisbury, N.C.
"I'd rather eat a spoonful of peanut
butter than eat leftovers," says Sacha Witt, a 26-year-old classical
bass trombone player who also does home repair work. Even so, Mr. Witt
hates to think about all the leftovers that end up in the trash. "You're
like, 'Oh man, how much money have I wasted?' "
The food we throw away is getting more
attention, as prices continue to rise. Still, it's a challenge for home
cooks to resist the temptation to eat out or order in. It's hard work
using up all the food we have languishing in our refrigerators, freezers
and pantries. And it takes creativity to prepare leftovers that will
appeal to picky eaters.
But there is a reward for those who learn how. The average U.S.
family of four spends from $500 to $2,000 a year on food they never eat,
according to researchers' estimates.
Food is the second-largest component in the U.S. solid waste stream,
after paper and paperboard. Once paper and paperboard are removed for
recycling, food ends up as the largest component in U.S. landfills and
incinerators, weighing in at 33 million tons in 2010, according to the
Environmental Protection Agency.
"People have started equating throwing food away with throwing away
cash," says Steve Pawl, vice president of marketing for Rubbermaid,
which along with Ziploc and Pyrex are introducing food-storage products
aimed at concerns about food waste and leftovers.
Rubbermaid's Produce Saver container has a "fresh vent," which allows
air to circulate, and a "crisp tray," which lifts produce away from
moisture—features the company says extend the refrigerator life of
produce.
Life With Leftovers
Some experts' tips for dealing with leftovers are simple, while others are more challenging.EASY
Store smarter. Immediately storing washed herbs and greens in an airtight container with damp paper towels in the refrigerator makes them last much longer.
Separate foods. Bananas, apples and pears give off ethylene, which ripens other fruits and vegetables stored near them.
Dress them up. Put leftovers in attractive glass jars to make them look more appetizing and visible, says Tamar Adler, author of "An Everlasting Meal."
MEDIUM
Make soup. Meat bones or vegetables can make a stock and other leftovers (vegetables, meat, grains, pasta, etc.) can be added, with seasoning, to make soup.
Add eggs. Soft boil them as a topper for leftover sautéed greens, rice, soup or pasta, says Ms. Adler.
Cook more at once. Cook enough beans to have as a side dish one night, and then sauté with broccoli and parsnips for a stir fry the next night, says Michael Anthony, executive chef at Gramercy Tavern.
HARD/TIME CONSUMING
Go pesto. Sauté broccoli and cauliflower stalks, then blend in a food processor with a hard cheese like Parmesan, along with garlic and olive oil and perhaps any about-to-go-bad herbs and nuts to make pesto for pasta, a toast spread or a soup garnish, says Ms. Adler.
Why We Buy Too Much
It's counterintuitive: People tend to overestimate what they need at the store when they are well-stocked at home, research shows.How Much We Throw Out
Vegetables are the most commonly wasted food in the average American home. Each home throws out $92 of fruits and vegetables a year.
Vegetables are the most commonly wasted food
in U.S. homes, making up some 25% of avoidable waste, according to
CleanMetrics Corp., a software firm that analyzes the environmental
impact of products and businesses.
Without a well-researched shopping list, most grocery shoppers will
naturally create food waste by overbuying, says Brian Wansink, professor
of marketing at Cornell University's Charles H. Dyson School of Applied
Economics and Management, who studies eating and shopping behavior.
People tend to overestimate what they need at the store when they are
well-stocked at home, and to underestimate what they need when they
don't have enough, he says.
"You have it in your mind that you have barbecue sauce," says Dr.
Wansink. "But since you've been thinking about it, it must be because
you need it," when in fact you have several bottles. In addition to the
tendency to overbuy, people tend to stockpile. According to Dr. Wansink,
about 93% of people say they have something in their kitchen three
years or older, and when asked, they said they intend to hold on to the
item.
A popular recipe on the Betty Crocker website is "Bottom of the
Cereal Box Cookie," which uses the uneaten flakes and crumbs found in
the boxes gathering dust in our cupboards.
People respond to recipes that transform leftovers so they "suddenly
become something that people want," says Jennifer Kalinowski, assistant
manager of the food content strategy group at Betty Crocker, which is
owned by General Mills.
"Consumers have a tremendous guilt about wasting food," says
Kelly M. Semrau, chief sustainability officer at S.C. Johnson & Son,
which makes Ziploc products. In a Ziploc ad campaign, people buying
food at the grocery store specifically to throw it away.
Ziploc research indicates that more people are buying meat in bulk to
take advantage of discounts and club-store prices, yet the meat often
goes to waste, Ms. Semrau says. Earlier this year, Ziploc introduced
portion-size plastic bags to be inserted inside its freezer bags, to
make freezing and storing large quantities of raw meat easier and more
effective. Leftovers make up about 12% of the contents of
refrigerator-freezers, Ziploc says.
In the U.K., food waste is a public concern and a rallying point for
politicians and corporations, similar to the issue of childhood obesity
in the U.S. In recent years, U.K. grocery stores have tested ways to
discourage overbuying, including "buy one, get one later" promotions at
chains like Sainsbury's
and Tesco.
Just over half of avoidable food and
drink waste comes about because products weren't used in time, according
to a 2009 report from the Waste & Resources Action Programme in the
U.K. About 40% of this waste is made up of leftovers, categorized as
"cooked, prepared or served too much."
In the U.S., fears about food-borne illness and confusion about
product "sell-by" dates are to blame for some food waste. "I refuse to
eat anything if it's on or past the expiration date," says Alexis
Carscadden, a 27-year-old librarian at a Chicago culinary school. She
buys only what she and her husband, a leftover hater, plan to eat within
about 48 hours; she shops for groceries four or five times a week.
Busy Americans' love of eating out was sending the home-cooked meal
into decline for years. The number of meals consumed in the home was
declining in the U.S. until 2002 and then began to increase, according
to NPD Group, a market research firm. Spending on restaurant and takeout
meals, meanwhile, still makes up about half of food expenditures, the
firm's data indicate.
Eating at home doesn't always mean cooking, says Harry Balzer, vice
president at NPD. Some foods that are becoming more popular in home
meals don't require cooking, such as yogurt and cheese "as a base dish"
along with nuts, chips, and bars. "There is not a recession in the world
that is going to make you want to cook more," Mr. Balzer says.
Leftovers have been a contentious issue for a long time. "A judicious
use of leftover food is commendable provided the housewife knows how
far her economical impulses may carry her without a family protest,"
cautioned the 1951 edition of "The Joy of Cooking." Later editions
warned, "You have to watch leftovers for color. Sometimes they need
freshening up." They recommend adding color-contrasting sauce, greens or
pimento to dull green beans to make them look more appealing.
Chefs and authors are championing leftovers
and elevating scraps like cauliflower stems, chicken livers and ginger
peel to ingredient status. Last year, Ruth Reichl, editorial adviser to
Gilt Taste, Gilt Groupe's food writing and sales website, and former
editor in chief of Gourmet Magazine, helped develop a column called
"Eats Shoots and Leaves," about cooking with things like corn silk and
carrot greens.
The microwave oven, for all its convenience, may actually limit
leftovers' horizons. "Before the microwave it wasn't so easy to reheat
leftovers," says Ms. Reichl. "I think people used to think more
creatively."
Eggs are useful for transforming leftovers, says Tamar Adler, author
of "An Everlasting Meal, Cooking with Economy and Grace." A poached or
soft-boiled egg on top of rice, soup, or tomato sauce makes a meal.
What Food Dates Really Mean
Expiration
dates and "sell by" dates on food are often set by manufacturers and
intended to guide grocers and shoppers about peak freshness—not as a
safety gauge. The dates are generally not set by the federal government,
with the exception of infant formula.
"After the date passes, while not of
best quality, the product should still be safe if handled properly and
kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below for the recommended storage
times," says the U.S. Department of Agriculture website. Dating foods
like eggs is required by some states.
The issue is getting more attention in
the U.K., where reducing food waste has become a political flash point.
The government there advised grocery stores last year to stop using
"sell by" and "display until" dates to reduce avoidable food waste,
saying the dates aren't an indicator of food safety.
"Give it a smell, look at it, maybe
even taste it," before tossing food, suggests Jonathan Bloom, author of
American Wasteland, a book about food waste. "We have fairly
well-developed instincts as a species for knowing if something is good
or not."
Write to Sarah Nassauer at sarah.nassauer@wsj.com
4 comments:
Today I channeled my inner Tenley and made muffins with the crumbs from the bottom of the shredded mini-wheats. Turned out good and healthy too! There was nearly a cup of crumbs that I would've thrown away if I didn't think of the muffins. :) Thanks for this article.
Woot! That is a lot of cereal. Post your recipe in the comment section?
This was the original recipe I based mine on:
Whole Wheat Honey Muffins
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup vegetable oil*
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce*
1/2 cup honey
1 cup water
*(NOTE: I now replace the 1/4 cup vegetable oil and 1/4 cup applesauce with 1/2 cup coconut oil. Coconut oil is a healthier oil than vegetable oil, and I like the light coconut flavor it adds to the muffins. The muffins are also more fluffy without the applesauce.)
Directions:
Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl.
Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then mix well with dry ingredients.
Pour into prepared muffin pan.
Bake at 375 for 20 to 24 minutes.
Yields: 12 muffins
http://www.mommysideabook.com/food-and-entertaining/whole-wheat-honey-muffins/
I changed it based on what I had and to add more fiber for my girly with potty training troubles. Also, just oil and sugar are cheaper than applesauce and honey. This was a weird recipe - it didn't call for any eggs, but a full cup of water. Then I thought it was too wet so I had to add more flour. Here is what I did:
Fiber Muffins
Ingredients:
1 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup leftover shredded mini-wheat crumbs
1/2 cup ground flax seed and wheat germ combination
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
Directions:
Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl.
Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then mix well with dry ingredients.
Pour into prepared (sprayed with non-stick spray) mini muffin pan.
Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.
Yields: 24 mini-muffins
Next time we have a ton of crumbs from the bottom of a Costco cereal bag I might try a different recipe, but these were good and the mini-wheat crumbs added a nice very light crunch.
P.S. We use coconut oil as well.
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