Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook by Dana Gunders

Why worry about food waste? As my mother used to say “Better to waste it, than waist it.” Well, actually it is pretty important. In the United States about 40% of all food does not get eaten, and I expect things are no different in Canada. That is absolutely insane, which is why one of my New Year’s resolutions is to reduce the amount of food I waste. It is the perfect resolution for me: allowing me to combine the parsimoniousness of the newly retired with the sanctimoniousness of someone trying to reestablish her enviro-street cred after trading in a Corolla for a RAV4. Another fun fact: “in the United States, greenhouse gas emissions from uneaten food are equivalent to that of 33 million passenger vehicles.” So there, the RAV4 doesn’t look that awful anymore, does it?

This book delivers exactly what it promises—it is a handbook. It offers a brief overview of the issue and its ecological and human impacts. For example, in the US, “reducing losses by one-third would save enough food to equal the total diets of all 50 million food-insecure Americans.” Wow! It then moves on to discuss the reasons why food is wasted and offers strategies to plan your meals, shop, store and use food more effectively. Her approach is realistic, acknowledging that people have busy complicated lives and that eliminating all food waste is an unrealistic goal. Much of what she offers is just basic domestic economy. These are strategies that our grandmothers or great-grandmothers feeding a family in the Depression would know, but we have forgotten in the rush of modern life and the illusion of plentiful and (relatively) cheap food. Among the main reasons we waste food is that we buy too much, are overly optimistic about how much time/energy we have to cook or we don’t store it properly. Personally, I know that when I am in the store I often make impulse purchases because I think about “how” I am going to prepare the food rather than “when” I am going to prepare it. If I can’t envision using it within five or six days, why not leave it and pick it up next week if I still want it?

She also explains how to store food effectively in your refrigerator, unlocking the mysteries of the high humidity and low humidity drawers. Apparently the one on the right is not actually the “beer crisper”. Who knew? And she includes handy recipes to use food that would otherwise go to waste. I can’t wait to try Sneaky Black Bean Brownies. Most importantly she discusses food-borne illness and how to know when it is safe to eat food that may be past its freshest ideal state. I have spent my entire life a slave to best-before dates and have been too disdainful to even contemplate consuming slightly wilted greens. For me this section was a revelation, almost completely eradicating my fear of becoming an accidental mass-poisoner.

Almost a quarter of the book is devoted to a directory that lists common foods and explains how each food should be stored, when it is freshest, how to freeze it and suggestions on how to use it up or revive it once past its prime. Much of what is in this section seems to be common sense, but it also includes lots of helpful surprises—did you know that you should not store onions near potatoes because they will cause the potatoes to sprout? I didn’t—and I’m from PEI!

So if you want to reduce the food you waste, this would be an excellent starter guide.

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