Le Gaspillage, what a wonderful word it is ( gas.pi.jaz). What does it mean , well Waste, waste of any kind , but here we are talking about food waste.

We spent a couple of days last week in Lyon the self proclaimed capital of La Cuisine Française. We had been forewarned about the French initiative to cut down on Food Waste. As of January 1 st 2024, municipalities must provide the population with ways to dispose of food scraps, expired food, garden waste etc. Previously, it was only those who generated more than 5 tonnes of organic waste were required to separate it.

This bin in Lyon was the first that we had seen and of course this being France it was already covered with graffiti. Currently there isn’t a fine for non compliance but as food waste accounts for 16% of total emissions from the EU food system AND food waste and food loss generates about 8% of human caused emissions annually. Home composting is widespread in Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium but in the UK it is voluntary with some local councils providing small bins for food waste. We are currently in the Savoie region of France and have yet to see a composting bin, though we are required to take our normal trash to local bins, one for paper, one for glass and one for general waste, I think in the winter they look like TeleTubbies!

Food waste in the UK is high as well with approximately 76 kg being wasted per person in 2021! The highest wasters were according to WRAP ( waste reduction charity) were those who eat out a lot, or have a lot of take aways, or were following diets such as Paleo, Atkinson, Gluten free, vegan vegetarian etc. The greatest waste seemed to be milk, chicken, bread, eggs, fruit and vegetables!

Being of the generation Waste Not Want Not, I don’t throw food away. I actually put the blame to much of the waste onto the shoulders of governments, with the introduction in the first instance of USE BY DATES! This was subsequently changed to BEST BEFORE! One milk company stopped using dates of any kind recently to the SNIFF TEST ! Good for them, the only ones I would truly worry about is chicken and fish. However, most homes have a freezer these days so I usually buy in semi bulk ( meat and fish) , pack, seal and freeze. Even if the product has Freezer Burn ( not packaged properly or been frozen for too long) it is still edible,( make a fish pie or a stew). Most dates on packaging is there just as a guideline , Yogurt that is two days past its date will still be fine and probably for several days beyond that. Sugar, salt, Vinegar, Olive Oil, Worcestershire Sauce, Hot Sauce, Tabasco, the industry says they need dates, but are still fine for a very long time.

The way forward is to reuse Left Overs! when my kids were younger we would go to Club Med on Holiday, where a very creative kitchen would create new dishes, using leftovers! Consequently, when I did this at home, the answer to “ What’s for dinner” sometimes would be a CLUB MED!

Here are some ideas for LEFT OVERS.

The Lettuce looking a bit sad? Use it as a basis for soup, any kind of green stuff, Romaine, spinach baby gem are great, simply chop and melt in butter. Add other vegetables ( frozen peas make a wonderful soup. I’m well known for what I Call Refrigerator Soup. I make this by using up the contents of my refrigerator, when I am going away for any length of time,I always start with salad, but it could included any vegetables ( think of mixed vegetable soup / minestrone) stock for the soup can be a stock cube, want to make it a cream soup, use up yogurt, cream, milk.

Cooked food leftovers can of course be recycled as well and made into something new and exciting. Think of Tuna Niçoise, it doesn’t have to be made with Tuna, try cold salmon, or mackerel , or you have the veggie part, add boiled eggs and tinned Tuna. Cold cooked Salmon can be made into a salmon quiche. currently Poké bowls are in fashion, again, using cooked salmon, tuna, pork, beef, lamb, prawns eggs etc. add a stock and veggies, any will work but add chillies, coriander, fresh ginger, spring onions, lemon grass, kale, broccoli, chard, the list goes on!

And then don’t forget Fried Rice, I always seem to have left over rice.However for a while a few years ago, Care Homes were told not to serve reheated rice to their resident! Why?

Bacillus cereus a toxin grows in rice and the illness can cause some nasty symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The symptoms will usually set in just a few hours after eating your meal but will also normally not last for long. However this is not just for Rice but for any cooked foods that have not been refrigerated, so storage is important.

I love fried rice and is so simple to do, if you have left over rice. Scramble some eggs, quickly cook some vegetables ( or you might have some leftovers) or use a packet of frozen Mixed Vegetables ( defrosted), ham, fish, prawns along with Pak Choi, onions, coriander , just add to the rice and there you go! Might not be authentic but Oh So Good!

And why throw away Bread? Bread is WONDERFUL, it freezes really well, take it out of the freezer, put it back it doesn’t mind and no health risk. Or use it to make French toast, Bread Pudding, Bread and Butter pudding, or dry it to make posh breadcrumbs ! Why throw milk away, half a bottle of milk left over and you are going on holiday ! FREEZE IT! Defrost when you come home for that cup of tea! AND EGGS! If you are going away for a week, the eggs will be fine, but they also freeze, crack them open , freeze them and use them when defrosted for scrambled eggs! And CHEESE, I have so much cheese in my freezer, I buy French cheese when on offer, it all freezes well, don’t bin it!

And Finally! I saw this idea the other day just perfect for my extremely smelly Camembert cheese, which is desperately crying out to be used. Wrap chunks of it in Nori ( dried Japanese seaweed), dampen the Nori, wrap it around the cheese, egg and breadcrumb, deep fry. Result? Well maybe, just maybe my cheese was a tad too runny and SMELLY! And of course you can buy breaded cheeses, might just save you time and energy! But I will try it again !