5 fresh ways to cut down on food waste

Ready to banish food waste from your kitchen? We’ve gathered some expert tips from local chefs who run their kitchens as sustainably as possible.

1. Think ahead

The first and best way to cut down on food waste is meal-planning. This needs to happen on two levels; first, you should know what’s in your fridge (and pantry), and what needs to be used up before you go shopping or put in that online order. This prevents you from doubling up on fresh produce that will go to waste. Secondly, you should have a good idea of what you’re going to be cooking that week, and a matching grocery list, to keep you on track.

Kerry Kilpin, executive chef at Steenberg wine estate, says: “Meal-planning really helps reduce impulse buys and wasted food. By knowing exactly what you need, you can make sure everything is used.”

Christine Stevens, sustainable cook and author of the Harvest series of cookbooks, is a big fan of batch-cooking. “It’s great for your health and your wallet! I usually make a large pot of something once a week to have on standby for when I’m short on time and want a nutritious meal. In summer, this might be a large pot of ratatouille to add to pasta or an omelette. In winter, having a large pot of soup in the fridge is a culinary insurance policy.” (Both these options are also a great way to clean out the veggie drawer at the end of the week.) Making a big batch of soup for the week ahead is a great form of meal-planning.

Green vegetable soup recipe

2. Think about “whole” foods

It’s helpful to start thinking about food differently and to try and use every part of it. Instead of habitually trimming the stalks from produce, think about what can be done with them. Most people automatically discard the tops and stalks of veg (such as carrots tops, beetroot leaves, etc.), but they contain valuable nutrients.

For example: “Broccoli and cauliflower stalks are delicious and can be transformed into creamy pasta sauces or added to stocks and soups,” says Christine. “Up your pesto game by using young carrot tops, radish and turnip leaves. Larger leaves can be shredded and added to stir-fries.”

Stella Delport, executive chef at Werf Restaurant at Boschendal, also goes out of her way to use every part of fruit and vegetables. “When you’re planning a dish, think of ways you can use the whole product. Is there is a way you can use every part of the cabbage? Every part of the brinjal? We make a wonderful salad with baby marrow ribbons and lemon where we use the whole veg.”

“It’s a mindset thing,” she says. “When you make baked cauliflower, don’t cut out the stalk and portion it,” she recommends. “Rather rub it with olive oil and a dry spice and char it whole, slowly over the fire until it’s tender and delicious.”

She also applies this kind of thinking to working with protein. “Instead of buying portions, buy a whole chicken, portion it yourself, and use the bones for stock.”

Kerry is on the same page. “Opt for whole items such as whole fish, chicken or veggies rather than pre-cut portions. This often reduces packaging and waste, plus it gives you more flexibility in using every part.(Ready for some whole roasted goodness? Try this roasted cauliflower.)

Whole roasted cauliflower with 3-cheese sauce recipe

3. Think about making food last longer

There are so many ways to extend the life of extra food. Don’t let food moulder in the fridge – think of ways to preserve or pickle it. If you have a glut of tomatoes you’re not going to use, turn them into a roasted tomato sauce for pasta (or a soup!) and freeze it for later. If you have fruit that’s going soft, how about making some jam? It’s so much easier than you think. Too many apples in your fruit basket? Make apple butter ! And Mediterranean cucumbers can easily be turned into the most delicious home-made pickles.

Pickled cucumbers recipe

“We make a point of pickling and fermenting food we have too much of and use it in winter,” says Stella. (They also make a fabulous, infused olive oil using the charred tops of spring onions.) Christine agrees that pickling and preserving fruit and veg is a wonderful way to use up extra produce – and it can provide you with a “taste of summer” in the middle of winter. (Ready to add some tang to your fridge? Try these easy pickled rainbow carrots – perfect for adding to salads, a snack platter or a charcuterie board.

You can also make your own seasonings, argues Christine, instead of throwing out leftover herbs and lemon rinds. “Once dry, grate them into a jar of sea salt for your very own seasoning!”

And let’s not forget the wonder that is home-made stock. All three of these chefs recommend saving veggie scraps and offcuts and using them to make stocks to add flavour and body to future soups and stews.

CHECK OUT: How to make stock

Pickled rainbow carrots recipe

4. Think about the soil (and composting)

One of the best ways to cut down on food waste is to turn your kitchen scraps into compost – or to feed it to the bokashi bin/worm farm. If you don’t feel up to DIY, get in touch with a community garden in your area – some of them now accept kitchen scraps for their own composting processes. This means that your kitchen scraps literally help to enrich the soil and grow more food for other people! And the more organic matter (read: food scraps and other vegetation) soil contains, the higher the nutrient density of the food grown in it. If you’re already paying for a recycling service, quite a few now accept food waste – the waste is diverted to community farms where it is converted into compost and used to feed the soil. Examples include Clearer Conscience in Cape Town and The Compost Kitchen in Joburg.

“Most raw food can be composted,” says Christine. “And so can used tea leaves and coffee grounds.” Kerry agrees: “For anything you can’t repurpose, composting is great. It reduces landfill and you can use it to nourish your garden.”

5. Think about GIY (growing it yourself)

Here’s an experiment: buy three plugs of sweet rocket at the nursery, plant (in a sunny spot) and water well, and see how long you can go before you need to buy salad leaves. The same applies to that plastic punnet of herbs on your grocery list – consider growing some instead. This will provide you with herbs for months, even across seasons, in cases like rosemary. And it will be fresh as can be.

Growing your own food is not always simple ( tomatoes can be tricky, and don’t get us started on fickle strawberries) but there are some small wins – like rocket and soft herbs, which grow happily in pots and don’t need big beds – that can reap a big reward.

There are myriad ways of cutting down on food waste. Start small, but start, and don’t be discouraged. “Rome was not built in a day,” says Christine. “But there are small everyday changes we can make to help us live a more sustainable and healthier lifestyle and produce less waste.” Kerry agrees: “These small changes can really add up and make a meaningful impact on both the environment and your kitchen efficiency.”