Waste in restaurant kitchens is avoided at 5 key points: menu planning, purchase, inspection, preparation and storage. Much of this information can be applied to help you avoid waste in your own personal kitchen.
MENU PLANNING
Most independent restaurants only change their menus two to three times per year. When it's time for this to happen, smart cooks choose carefully and consider the following key points:
1. Choose foods that will be in season for most of your menu period.
It's important to make sure you can continue to get the ingredients for dishes on the menu throughout the entire menu period. For example, if it is March now and the new menu will run through September, don’t put asparagus on as the side for the salmon. If it's October and the restaurant is far away from Florida, Louisiana or California, strawberries with balsamic would be a bad choice. She says this seems obvious, but you'd be surprised how often well-trained cooks decide they "have to have" something on the menu that will prove difficult.
2. Choose versatile starches with multiple applications.
Every dish does not need to have a unique starch. While it might sound nice to have Israeli couscous for one, quinoa for another, mashed potatoes for another, and so on, that's a recipe for disaster both for storage and for prep. Select something more versatile instead, such as regular potatoes. They can be mashed, made into gratins and galettes, even used for fancy "stained glass" applications. Right there are four different starch applications from one item that can be paired with different dishes.
3. Be very careful about the protein choice.
Take into consideration the two points already made. Will your choice of meat be readily available and how versatile is it?
For instance, make sure that the fish you want to use will be in regular supply, reasonably priced, and not coming from a ridiculous distance. And while it may be tempting to put buffalo or venison on the menu, consider whether you are really going to have a constant rate of availability.
For versatility and multiple applications, consider the form of the meat. For example, instead of ordering individual parts, get whole chickens. They can be split or roasted whole, poached, etc., and the bones can be used for stock. With duck, avoid the temptation to order cryovac-ed breasts, since ducks are easy to break down. If you work with the whole duck, you get more bang for the buck because the legs can be made into confit and then used to create cassoulet or an upscale salad.
In your home:
Eating locally-grown seasonal produce is the way to go. It's generally easier on your budget as well as better for the environment. If your area doesn't have a year-round growing season, you can preserve extra during the harvest months for later eating. You may also want to consider indoor container gardening and sprouting to keep fresh foods on the table year-round.
With long-term food storage, limiting yourself to a single starch is not critical. In fact, some unfortunate folks have discovered that eating wheat, and only wheat, has triggered gluten sensitivities. For starches that can be stored, put up some variety but make sure you learn how to use them and rotate them regularly.
The protein advice fits in well with a frugal home kitchen. Keep in mind that legumes (beans and lentils) will store very well alongside your grains.
If you join a CSA, you will have to alter your approach to menu planning entirely. Instead of deciding what you want to eat for the week and shopping for particular ingredients, you pick up your share and plan your menu around whatever you have received. Your menu planning centers around ingredients rather than recipes. It will also help you develop versatility in the kitchen as you learn to substitute liberally in your favorite recipes and learn to create new recipes with whatever you received.
PURCHASE
Before an order is placed, a responsibly run kitchen does a daily careful inventory. Purchase levels must be closely controlled due to two factors:
1. The cold storage space is always at a premium. It is illegal to have food sitting on the walk-in floor. The wise chef will remember to avoid filling the walk-in with crates of produce on Friday afternoon when she's got to store prep in there for a wedding reception on Saturday afternoon.
2. Fresh food spoils. Ordering too much increases the risk of losing the excess to spoilage. It takes discipline to stay on top of this but pays off in less wasted food.
Once the orders are ready, the phone is the chef's best friend. Orders for everything from dairy to specialty products are phoned in several times a week to purveyors large and small ("from ginormous Sysco to boutique-y D'Artagnan").
In your home:
Do you regularly find science projects in the back of your refrigerator and unidentifiable food in the bottom of your vegetable crisper? If so, you need to learn to keep on top of your perishable supplies. Food waste costs you money and wastes all of the effort and resources the farmer put into growing that food for you, not to mention the transportation costs. Don't buy expensive compost! When shopping, buy only what you need and what you can use before it will spoil, or plan to preserve it.
INSPECTION
Every order that arrives must be inspected carefully, thoroughly, and immediately no matter how inconvenient. When dairy, meat, fish and produce come in, do an eagle-eyed inspection of product before agreeing to accept any delivery. I was surprised to hear that purveyors will try to send restaurants some nasty crap. Or they will screw up and send iceberg lettuce instead of mache. This or any other million possible mess-ups can send dinner service into a tailspin.
Every single box has to be opened. Fish has to be unwrapped, sniffed and prodded. This takes time, and deliveries invariably show up at the worst possible moment, regardless of the designated time at which they are to happen, but meticulous review will save you a ton of money and hassle.
In your home:
For the home chef, this step happens generally at the store or Farmer's Market, or possibly in the garden. Unlike a restaurant with a set menu, you can be more flexible with your ingredients. Wrong kind of peppers? Just substitute or alter your dish slightly. A couple of bruises on your basket of peaches? Cut them off and make a tasty fruit compote with the good parts.
PREPARATION
Once something has made it through the door, it gets addressed immediately. Time and temperature are your enemies when you're trying to avoid loss, so it's off to storage right away or else into production. Whole lettuces get washed, dried and made into salad-friendly bits ASAP to save space in the walk-in and avoid dirt which causes early rotting. Fish gets iced immediately, and whole poultry are prepped for their various applications and put on to cook (or to chill).
At the vegetarian restaurant Kathy worked at, the owners ran a farm locally where they grew excellent mushrooms. She says she never cleaned so many cases of mushrooms in her life (and she was the sous chef!) Unfortunately, the owners didn't appreciate the importance of preparation.
Every morning at 8:30 am, Monday through Saturday, she would open the walk-in door, and find a six foot high stack of mushroom boxes (illegally sitting on the walk-in floor). They all needed to be cleaned and prepped into something before lunch service. The resulting three sheet trays of smoked portobellos took far less room than the four giant boxes they came in. And once they'd cooled properly, the smoked portos could be stored in even smaller containers, opening up more (precious, precious) cold-storage space.
In your home:
If you are shopping or picking up your CSA share once a week, managing your perishable food is critical. One CSA member put it wonderfully. She said that as soon as she gets home, she does triage. In winter, she cuts the greens off the root vegetables and plans to use them within the first day or two, knowing the roots would last most of the week. In summer, she eats the okra and tomatoes in the first few days, and the potatoes and tomatillos later in the week.
Some members also processed most of their share the same day as pick-up. All the salad greens would be washed, and any other salad veggies prepped (washed, chopped, shredded) in separate containers to toss together for quick daily salads. Some vegetables would be roasted for use in various recipes. Winter greens might be blanched ahead of their use. This sounds like a lot of work to do all at once, but it makes meal prep a breeze later. For working folks, this may mean the difference between sticking with the CSA or going back to take-out and frozen dinners.
STORAGE
Proper storage is critical to avoid food loss and waste. Hot foods must be cooled before putting them in the walk-in, otherwise they will raise the walk-in temperature by 10-12 degrees, putting expensive foods in jeopardy.
Breaking down the line at the end of service at a quality establishment means babysitting cooling food for a while. Anything liquid gets cooled in an ice bath. Anything starchy gets spread out as flat as possible (yeah, this means mashed potatoes, too) and probably gets a fan pointed at it. And any proteins held on station during service get freshly wrapped. If it's fish, it gets clean wrap and fresh ice.
In your home:
If people handled their leftovers more carefully, they'd find their food dollar going farther. Given that home cooks don't have to reproduce the same menu the next day, they also have the luxury of freezing leftovers (when appropriate), which really cuts down on loss.
Karen shared that when she was working in kitchens, her non-cook friends would have her over for dinner and say "Oh, you probably won't even like it. It's not fancy." They were missing the point. She was so happy not to have to cook a meal that she didn't care what they made for her, and was even grateful for grilled cheese.
What did bother her, though, was seeing the way people neglected their leftovers. They'd let food sit on countertops for hours while they played Trivial Pursuit or watched a movie. Once they did get around to dealing with it, often they just wrapped it in plastic and shoved it in the bottom of the fridge. Or, worse yet, they'd yank the still toasty pan off the stove, throw some foil over it, and put it straight into the fridge. Sometimes they would stick some other leftovers right on top of the warm food. As she says, "EGAD!! People! It's called the temperature danger zone for a reason!!"
Karen also has some choice words to say about the use of leftovers in the home.
An excellent example of lack of respect for leftovers is the genius idea my mother (a terrible cook) came up with when I was a kid: she called it "the pot". The leftovers from each dinner from Monday to Thursday got put in "the pot". On Friday, "the pot" was what we had for dinner...everything all mixed together (she'd heat it, of course). This g*d-awful commingling of food that had been sitting in the fridge for varying lengths of time was not proper utilization of product!
For a better, and tastier, alternative, see some of my posts on making frugal soups, where I do caution readers to consider competing flavors and to utilize the freezer for this project.
How do you avoid wasting food in your kitchen?
20 comments:
Oh, supposedly my husband's grandmother did the same thing as "the pot" only in a casserole dish. They called it 7 layer dinner -- one layer for each day's meal. Ugh!
When I worked in a restaurant, any lettuce that had started to brown ended up in the Caesar salad bin, because coated in dressing, you couldn't see the brown spots. Sounds a little gross, but it isn't. You can't taste the brown spots either. I'm not talking about really brown slimy lettuce, just when the stem starts to turn a bit.
"The Pot" thing is absolutely foul! I'm all for not wasting leftovers but why would anyone do that?! Food safety aside, that's got to taste nasty.
My meal planning has been totally overhauled since I've been buying all my produce at the farmer's market this summer. I basically buy whatever looks good that week. Then I go home and figure out what I need to use up first and what I need to get at the store to go with it. Sometimes I end up freezing things for later. So far I've wasted little to nothing.
I actually am enjoying doing things this way b/c it saves me from having to come up with a meal plan from scratch- many of the ingredients are determined by what's in season and I just work with that!
I've loved how the CSA has forced me to be more creative. For instance, the only thing I ever used to do with tomatillos was make enchilada sauce. I've now learned to use them in many different ways.
Allie, I once heard that upscale restaurants also add the rough outer leaves of Romaine lettuce in with cooked spinach dishes. That led me to experiment more with cooking greens, with good results.
I'm lucky that my partner will eat *anything*, at fridge or room temperature, for his lunch the next day.
But we don't do the CSA unless one member of the household will commit to spending the evening of CSA delivery washing and cutting up produce. This year, no CSA - I go to the farmer's market on Saturday morning, then Saturday afternoon while my son naps we make a meal plan for the next week, then wash everything & cut up the stuff that needs to be cut up to cook. That way, if dinner is stir-fried or from the pressure cooker, whoever comes home from work earliest can just toss it all together and cook, instead of doing a lot of prep.
I haven't found time to can yet, and it's almost tomato season. I think I'm going to have to burn all my PTO to stay home a few days and can :(
The system breaks down when we're out of town on the weekend, though. I think the solution is to get a part-time job instead of full-time one, but that's been eluding me. My partner has a little anxiety fit every time I bring it up, but he'll cope.
My husband does the cooking and most of the procuring. The problem is that he is so anal about his menu construction and how much food is required for the week. Sure we hardly waste any food at all, but spontaneously inviting friends over for dinner causes severe stress to his inflexible system :) Any suggestions on not wasting food yet having enough flexibility for potential guests that I may or may not invite?
Cindy, do you have food stored for emergencies? Preserved foods you've made yourself, such as condiments? If not, try to start building up your emergency food stores and build in some extra for unexpected company. If you, or your hubby, does any preserving, be it canning, pickling, or freezing, that gives you a little flexibility in filling out a meal with those items.
And you might need to have a heart-to-heart with him to let him know that you enjoy the option of spontaneous company and he needs to learn to deal with it! 'Course if the real issue is that he's an introvert and doesn't enjoy the company himself, you've got a tough sell...
Rosa - going away for a few days can throw a monkey wrench into the plans and may require a couple of late nights to deal with it. If you're going away somewhere that you can take your own food, though, prepping it all and taking it with you can save lots of time and money. Depending on the facilities available, you can even freeze entire meals to be reheated as needed. That also works even if you plan to eat out. When you get back home, and are tired, just pull out your frozen meals.
But, yeah, push for PT work if you can get by financially. And, depending on where you would cut back and what you'd do instead, it might definitely be affordable. Then you just have to be disciplined enough to get the work at home done...without having too many crazy conversations with yourself like me. ;-)
Great post (and series), Chile. Most of my leftovers, about to perish food, ends up going with me to work for lunch. Tidbits of vegies get scrambled up with eggs, or tofu or potatoes for Sun. morning breakfast.
Rosa, we only have access to a farmers market on Sat., go away for the weekend and it's either shop at the traditional store or eat out of stores. I actually have begun to rather dread the farmer's market trip -- unless you get there early AND the weather's bad, it has gotten so crowded due to popularity and strangely uncongenial with people pushing and shoving and generally interfering with order completion perhaps because they think you might just get the last whatever that you have no intention of buying anyway. Then there's all the unpacking, prepping, etc. upon getting home -- my partner cooks and shops but definitely believes that only a woman knows how to put away food.
Unexpected guests -- for us this means adding a starch or a salad or a bunch of pickles, relishes or or a coldplatter of cheeses,etc. or a dessert.
I am usually really good about the "no waste" thing, until this week... I forgot a cantalope on the floor in the mudroom and spent last night cleaning the resulting "soup" off the floor and the surrounding areas.
We eat leftovers until they are gone. If we can no longer stand the sight of them, they are frozen into portion sizes for lunches. And on occaision, I have been known to feed the dogs leftover meat because I just don't want to eat it.
I really have to be careful when I shop. There is a farmer's market on Friday downtown and on Saturday a short drive away. But I get so excited about all that I see, I forget that they will perish. Now, I purchase the food and plan my meals around that. And I do a regular inventory of my fridge. Otherwise, I lose fruit. :(
Great tips! Because our family is on a limited budget, we're very careful to avoid food waste in the kitchen. We don't go so far as "the pot", but we do incorporate left-overs into other meal plans. I try to buy as much from the Farmer's Market as possible, even buying larger quantities of items I don't grow myself so I can can or freeze it. (Corn is one of those items I love, but I don't grow in my home garden.)
with three small kids it is hard not to have some waste (the half eaten apple under the sofa, a few sandwich crusts back from school etc) but what we do is:
* casserole type meals - leftovers are frozen in lunch size portions for taking to work.(i make leftovers on purpose for this)
* meat/tofu and three veg type meals - i portion it as I cook so no waste. ie i know how many carrots etc to cut up so there is no waste.
*children (and adults) not finishing meal: all leftover meal goes into fridge. if child is hungry before next meal they eat leftovers before they get anything else. Once next meal is served (unless i am being mean and making a point because they refused to touch anything on their plate) I give the leftovers to the chooks/dog, and they are served fresh food. If I am being mean they get the last meal, while we eat something particularly yummy (like their favourite dinner) just to make a point.
Needless to say children will eat 98% of food put in front of them without a fuss. I do make sure I dont serve them extremely large quantities and I dont go down the 'clean your plate/ starving children in Africa' route (although I am tempted sometimes)
*sometimes on the weekend we will have a version of the pot dinner - when I have lots of little bits and pieces in the fridge half a jar of this and that, a small bit of cheese - not enough of any one thing to make a meal- but I put it all out with some crudites and bread as a smorgasboard and everyone helps themselves until it is gone.
I have been known when I am at friends place to gather all leftovers before they go in the bin and bring them home for chooks too.
I try to freeze surplus veggies or fruits that I know we won't eat, right away. The two of us can't eat all of the green beans that our garden produces, however I planned it that way so I have some for winter! I'm currently looking for great ways to preserve yellow squash (in recipes) because I know that bounty is coming! I'm thinking some of the zucchini chocolate chip cookies from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle are in the outlook for this weekend.
I read your post and picked up my CSA share an hour later. So, I've torn, washed and bagged lettuce, blanched and frozen 4 lbs of green beans, washed and dried basil, roasted onions and sauteed the tops and froze them. Then I made a huge cucumber salad for dinner and leftovers. My back is killing me! But I'm glad I did it - thanks Chile!
We don't often have leftovers, with so many kids. I am usually dishing out seconds! Though, when we do, I pack them right up to take to the office for the next day's lunch. Soups I freeze in single serve containers that also go to the office when there are no leftovers.
With produce, lately I have been canning the "soon to spoil" items. Last week I canned two jars of peaches before we went on vacation. Tonight I canned 4 jars of raspberry jam using a slightly smushy pint of berries from the fridge and a slightly frosty bag from the freezer. This canning thing is certainly easier than I thought and helpful to put away excess food!
How do you avoid wasting food in your kitchen?
LEFTOVERS! I plan making something I know I can get a couple of good meals out of. Lessee- menu planning- yup you mentioned that!
Also I have three dogs, small medium and stupid, who keep me from food wastefulness!
This is such a fantastic post--despite my best intentions, we do end up with more than our fair share of really expensive worm food.
I've almost worked up the nerve to try my hand at preserving food. I think maybe I need to get off my ass and do better at reducing our food waste.
Unemployment. When you're unexpectedly thrust into one-income living on a two-income lifestyle (I say that only because my salary barely covers our mortgage) you start being far more cognizant of your food use. Still, I get seriously tempted at the farmers market and am trying to figure out what to do with mu summer squash!!
Susan - yeah, a lot of leftovers go with my sweetie for lunch and then I eat the scraps for my lunch. I also love "frugal soup". Little bits of fresh veggies can turn into a nice stir-fry as well.
fearlesschef - oh, I hear you about soup on the floor. That happened occasionally last year at the CSA. Rotted potatoes are vile! And what is it about getting too much fruit? It looks so good at the CSA or the farmer's market but once it gets home, it somehow loses half its appeal.
Bobbi - leftover lover here, too. I never understand why someone wouldn't like leftovers. It was good the first time...
Paula - it sounds like you found an effective way to ward off picky eating! I like leftover casseroles but tend to avoid them in the summer heat because I really don't want to fire up the oven. I keep hearing how good chickens are for scrap clean-up.
Abbie - I know how to preserve zucchini, but not yellow squash. What did you come up with?
JAM - WOW! Good work! Can I come over for dinner? ;-)
Eco 'burban mom - little eating machines, aren't they?! The one caution I would pass along regarding canning is that I was told to use the best and freshest specimens, rather than "salvage". I don't know how critical this is to canning, but if things are really at the mushy stage, freezing might be a better option. (Freezer jam instead of canned, for instance.)
Rob - Angel doesn't seem to think our food is nearly as good as her dog food. I've never had a dog who wouldn't snag veggies dropped on the floor.
Jen - avoiding waste saves money. That was one of my biggest initial motivations!
RJS - see, you just proved my point to Jen. ;-)
late in reading but I had to say I love this post! the only thing I'd add is that if I have a decent chunk of dinner leftovers (I was raised in a bigger family than I have now and I am part Italian, which seems to translate into eternally making too much!) I instantly stick them in the freezer so I have a healthy meal for some night I just can't deal with cooking. I also deliberately make lots of certain things like enchiladas to be able to sock some away.
Hey, you are funny. You sound like Click n Clack (car talk). Behind every car problem there is always a relationship problem lurking.
In this specific case, my cook/husband actually enjoys company. But his analness (here is a person who actually measures the thickness of his french toasts) gets the better of him sometimes. Messing up his PLANNED meals offends his sense of balance, that is the best I can describe it.
And me, I am the complete opposite. I thrive on randomness and spontaneity. And worst of all, I intentionally mess with his "system" sometimes, because, gheesh, we all need some flexibility in our lives.
It makes for comedy most of the time.
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