— Jackie Sarlitt

I'm gonna make a suggestion, uh, and then I'll get back to, uh, answering your question here. Uh, go to the, um, James Beard Foundation website, and I believe that you'll still be able to access, uh, a food waste education course called Waste Not. And, um, check that out. Okay? Um, but, uh, you know, otherwise, uh, reducing food waste starts with purchasing, and we need to start to purchase smaller quantities of food so that, that we can use them in time, uh, before they're not usable for whatever reason. Okay? And this is true whether you're in a professional setting, uh, or, or whether you're at home, okay? The same challenges exist, and the same answers basically, uh, will exist. Okay? Um, you know, the other part of this is if we're talking about, um, you know, something like fresh herbs, um, my answer, like the use of spices is start adding it to all your food, okay? And start enjoying the freshness of herbs. Um, you know, in many more dishes that maybe you, uh, currently do or, or, you know, have been doing, um, it's gonna be, uh, you know, really up to us to, to start to expand, right? Our repertoire of cooking and also, um, our, uh, our enjoyment of food. And the way to do that is to start using, uh, these ingredients, and especially these more highly perishable items, uh, in, you know, more dishes more frequently, okay? Um, you know, also, you know, think about your, uh, freezer, okay? Uh, as a place to hold foods to extend their shelf life, okay? And understand that a freezer should be used as a temporary measure. Uh, it's not a one-way journey, uh, which I often see, right? We'll, sock away something in the freezer. It sits in there for months or sometimes years, uh, until it's frost bitten and cannot be used at all. And then the answer is simple. We throw it away. And, um, to avoid that, uh, label and date your food, that will go into the freezer so you know how long it's been in there, and then try to use it up within, you know, just, uh, you know, let's say a, a month or two, maybe three months, depending on what it is. Um, so you have to be conscious of, uh, what you have in the freezer, and make an effort to cycle them out, as well as cycle them in. Okay? Um, and then also consider, uh, food preservation techniques, you know, that might use, uh, salt or, um, vinegar or, you know, other fermentation, uh, you know, techniques, uh, in order to, uh, transform a food item and extend its shelf life. Okay? And so those are a few basic things to consider. And, uh, it really, uh, uh, requires for, for some cooks, these significant shifts, right? In the way that we operate, uh, in our kitchen, maybe the way that we eat, the things that we eat. Uh, and yeah, I guess the other thing that comes to mind is to just give away food. Uh, if you have some extras, you know, they still have some shelf life remaining, but you're not gonna get to 'em. Uh, give 'em to your neighbor, uh, give 'em to a family member and, uh, let them enjoy them, um, while, uh, the food still has value.

https://wastenot.rouxbe.com