How to rescue the foods that get thrown away most often

publication date: Jul 9, 2008

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author/source: Fiona Beckett

With the huge focus on wasting food this week here are some tips about what you can do with the foods we most frequently chuck.

Most of this, of course is preventable. We buy too much and keep it in less than ideal conditions.
According to the organisation WRAP, a government-backed organisation which helps individuals to reduce waste, more than half of us choose to leave fruit out at room temperature, rather than keeping it cool. Simply by storing fruit and veg inside the fridge rather than in the fruit bowl or veg rack you could extend its life considerably. (See exceptions below*)

However here’s how to rescue the foods that get away . . .

Bags of salad
The best solution is not to buy them in the first place! Whole lettuces are much cheaper and you can just take leaves off as you need them. Leftover salad leaves can be tucked into sarnies if still reasonably fresh or chucked into a summer vegetable soup (lettuce is specially good with peas)

Apples
Cut up and add to salads (they go particularly well with cheese, celery and walnuts) or grate and add to a bowl of muesli

Potatoes
Cook them then turn into a potato salad or hash. Or cut them into wedges and roast them.

Bananas
Catch them before they go black and whizz them into a smoothie or roughie.  Or turn them into a banana cake or muffins.

Tomatoes
Very ripe tomatoes can be turned into a tasty Mexican style salsa (just chop up and mix with a little finely chopped chilli, lemon or lime juice and some fresh coriander if you have some). Add a leftover tomato to a pasta sauce or stew. (Skin it first by nicking the skin with a sharp knife then put it in a bowl or mug and pour boiling water over it. Wait for a few seconds, drain it, pour over cold water and the skin should come away easily)

Oranges
Juice them. (orange juice makes a nice addition to a salad dressing), add them to a fruit salad or make an orange flavoured sponge cake

Bread
There are loads of uses for stale bread: bread pudding, summer pudding, bread salad (panzanella) breadcrumbs for coating chicken pieces . . . Make croutons or crostini with stale French sticks or ciabatta loaves. (Drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 minutes then keep in an airtight tin). If you don’t have time to do any of these things you can always freeze it until you do.

Pasta
Usually chucked because a) you’ve cooked too much b) you’ve left it in a colander after a meal and it’s all stuck together. The answer? Make less (100g per person is generally enough) and mix it with any leftover pasta sauce or a spoonful of salad dressing before it gets gluey (see this easy recipe)

Cheese
Keep in the front of the fridge to remind you to eat it up. In sandwiches, on toast, or in salads, depending on the type of cheese. Leftover hard cheeses like cheddar can be grated and frozen then used for cheese sauces and toppings

Yoghurt
Best to buy plain yoghurt then you can use it in savoury recipes as well as sweet ones. Good added to curries or dolloped over any spicy food. Or use up in a smoothie (see bananas above)

* Some fruit and veg don’t refrigerate well - bananas, avocadoes, potatoes and onions, for example. And tomatoes and fruit such as pears and peaches are tastier if you keep them at room temperature and transfer them to the fridge once they're ripe.