Food Waste.

[Bizzy Lizzy]

Yesterday I watched a programme on bread production (it was actually more interesting than it sounds) and the thing that really shocked me was that one in three loaves purchased are thrown away. Many are thrown away unopened. Now I know I am obsessive about food waste and will use absolutely everything I buy whenever possible even if it means freezing tiny amounts of food for later use I know that this is not always the case. I grew up with a Mother that would spend ten minutes with a long spoon scraping every scrap of jam from the bottom of the jar - I now do the same. She would even rinse out the shell of the egg when making a cake with a little of the milk in the recipe. I do not quite go this far but I think it all stemmed from food rationing and her poverty in childhood. I will base a meal of what is left over in the fridge if I can and I know others who do the same. I would love to know everyone's thoughts on food waste, use-by dates, and what they do and don't freeze. The other day I froze half of a small tin of peas pudding. Yes I do know that is slightly weird.

[Plantaholic]

I watched that programme too, very interesting. I am proud to say I am also against waste. I do think it is a bit difficult for families to estimate how much bread, pittas etc they might need.

[Daisy]

BL - I'm with you every inch of the way. I hate wasting food, and my mother was much like yours - she'd tear open a sugar bag to get the last 6 grains out of it! As you say, poverty and rationing conditioned them, and in turn, us.

My parents had a grocery shop, before the days of widespread refrigeration and I learned very early on how to judge the freshness, or otherwise, of perishables. So I often take 'use by' dates with a pinch of salt, plus a good sniff and visual check!!!

I've noticed that the commercially produced bread myDIL buys doesn't last any longer than the stuff I make at home, so it makes me wonder about all the preservatives that go into it.

[Mimi]

Do you think it's a generation thing ? I have never wasted anything (that I can remember) , it made no difference to me if we were down to our last few pounds in the bank or if we were comfortably well off. But on Monday I was horrified to see DIL throw away the remains of a roast chicken. The whole lot went straight into the bin ! Her excuse was they didn't like cold chicken, which left me baffled as we had cold roast chicken and salad for lunch.

[Elisi]

Absolutely hate waste and try desperately to avoid it! Never throw bread as it can be used to feed our two tame ducks who come up from the river to get some snacks three times a day! I use the sniff test too Daisy it is almost infallible.

[Daisy]

mimi, yes I do think it's generational to a large extent. But our children were brought up by us, so how they lost the habit of thrift I don't know! My DIL1 will throw whatever's left of a meal straight in the bin too. I must admit I've stood and watched in horror at the waste. A roast chicken should be good for 2 or 3 meals, although I no longer use the carcass to make soup.

[mamma-mia]

I hate waste too. I do buy bread from the supermarket (have never made my own-and wouldn't know where to start). I generally buy four/five loaves at a time and freeze them. Then I always have fresh bread and none gets wasted. I freeze everything that can be, meat, vegetables,pies etc, that way I always have food to use and nothing to waste. My daughter on the other hand will not freeze anything. She buys her meat from the butcher as she needs it, but sometimes it doesn't get used and then thrown away.I am always saying to her to freeze the meat but she says it doesn't taste the same. She also doesn't buy bread, says they don't need it, but they all eat it when they come to mine. I don't go by the use by dates either, I find a sniff tells you whether its good or not.

[Nanto2girls]

Haven't watched the programme yet Bizzy Lizzy,but have recorded it.I must admit I have been wasteful in the past, but I'm not as bad as now.

[Bizzy Lizzy]

I am glad to her that other do the sniff test too. I am blessed with a really good sense of smell - DH says I could smell a gas leak 20 miles away - so I am flexible about how long I keep things. I suppose we didn't grow up with" use by" and "sell by" dates and managed to survive so we are not as fixed in our ideas as those that have had them most of they life. That may be one of the reasons that our children and their generation are more inclined to thrown things away. My DiL buys a lot of fruit - which is good for the kids I know - but lots of it ends up in the bin as soft fruits do not keep that long. Most vegetable keep well in the veggie draw in the bottom of the fridge and provided the fridge is at the right temperature I think it is only fish and meat which needs watching closely. If I cook a whole chicken I have it for one meal and then take it all off the bone and freeze it in portions big enough for two and use it another time for curries or a chicken and leek pie perhaps. Possibly the younger generation are too busy to do these things as many work full time and seem to spend their spare time running the children to all sorts of clubs. Being frugal is time consuming and requires a bit of meal planning too but, of course, the bonus is it saves money which, having seen hard times in the past, I still think of as important.

[ZIZI]

I am also a "keeper and sniffer" and I have also seen my dils chuck what could be another meal in the bin at the end of a meal. Some time ago Oma I pointed me in the direction of vacuum sealers. Now I vacuum seal and freeze everything. I also over buy at the butchers and seal and freeze the excess so that some weeks I don't need to go to the butchers which is quite a long drive. if we have roast chicken I do sometimes make a stock from the carcass although mostly these days I either freeze the meat or make a pie with ready rolled pastry (my pastry is rubbish) and use asparagus and other veggies that are likely to be out of eating time. Most people in my area have compost bins which are collected weekly. Because we are a flat we are exempt. I buy bread from a bakery, it lasts a lot longer that the stuff you buy ready wrapped.

[aggie]

you would all have had a fit here today . I was given DGD to mind for the proverbial 30 minutes , 3 hours later she has trashed the living room ( I am too stiff and slow to stop her ) , at lunch time she mashed and spat through her soup , squashed cheese triangles through her fingers , I snatched the bread and biscuits before she got them , then she managed to grab a Mandarin and peel it all over the carpet , the insides were chewed and spat ................. I am at my wits end , but DS is at work and DIL is sleeping because she was op night duty last night when someone didn't turn up OH went off to the dentist and took a light head when he got out.......... well when he was yanked out of the chair . He rang and I told him to sit and wait till his head cleared , by this time DGD had toy boxes well scattered and one on her head , he is home and fine , and went to clear the kitchen ........... soup , cheese and juice all went in the bin and half a pack of biscuits that had escaped my gaze ! , so lots of waste here , I never let my lot do half of this , but between stiffness and worrying about OH she has got away with it ....... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[Enfys]

I agree with you all, our noses can tell us a lot . I hate waste and DD is the same but DS and DIL don't keep,anything left over for another meal. I was horrified when we stayed with them in Oz to see how much they threw away. I was quite happy to say we'd have it for lunch the next day but she looked amazed to,even think it 😮. My freezer is always stocked with little containers of this and that and it always comes in handy if I 'm in a rush. Today we are having the other half of a chicken casserole I froze last week.....yummy

[Daisy]

Aggie - does your DGD know my GSs by any chance? When they were younger their visits were mayhem and meal times something to be endured. I must admit I'm 10 years older now and don't know if I'd be quite so able to cope. I suppose the only comfort I can offer is that they are now totally house-friendly and sit nicely at the table. In other words, this stage will pass. I hope you've recovered from what sounds like an unexpected and frantic 3 hours. I hope your DS is ok, too.

[aggie]

I had half an hour shut eye since she left , she is 3 1/2 and very spoilt being the youngest and only girl ,Oh cleaned the kitchen and is good , think we will have fish and chips carry out for tea !

[Plantaholic]

That does seem unusual for a 31/2 year old to still behave like that with food. Poor you Aggie, I hope your OH has recovered from his visit to the dentist