Auckland couple Jane Lyons and Will Bowman are committed to reducing food waste, pickling and fermenting an absurd amount of food. Photo/ Dean Purcell.
Auckland couple Jane Lyons and Will Bowman are committed to reducing food waste, pickling and fermenting an absurd amount of food. Photo/ Dean Purcell.
Christmas leftovers got you feeling guilty about food waste?
With the new year only three days away, a 2017 resolution to use more and throw away less perfectly good produce could be a good one to make.
Will Bowman and Jane Lyons are a young Auckland couple who spend a huge chunk of their free time giving old produce a new lease on life.
Whether its pickling, fermenting or using tricks in the kitchen to freshen things up, they're all about trying to get the most out of what they buy.
"The amount of food New Zealand wastes that's fully edible every year would be enough to feed Dunedin for two years," Lyons told the Herald.
"That's edible food, that's not people being super crazy and scraping tiny bits out of jars and having it for dinner."
With summer produce in abundance at the moment, it's easy to fall into the trap of buying too much, only for everything to start to rot before you get the chance to eat it.
Bowman said it could be hard once fruit started to turn to know how to eat it in time.
"You've got so much [fruit] and it's all starting to go off and it's like 'oh no what do I do' - it's pretty easy to pickle or ferment it."
Pickling was when produce was preserved in a brine, which essentially shuts down the ageing process, Bowman said.
"Whereas with fermenting you're taking something and letting good bacteria develop and that changes the whole flavour and texture of something and also makes it incredibly healthy."
The couple, who work with Love Food Hate Waste as well as running their website The Next Meal, recently used fermented strawberries in a cocktail for a hosted dinner which demonstrated the best way to get the most out of your food.
They also pickled everything from carrots to watermelon rinds, and recently took a survey to see what people struggled to make the most of.
"Soggy greens, that was a massive one," Lyons said.
"Buying a bag of rocket and eating most of it and being left with a quarter of the bag that's a bit slimy.
"We've got a soggy greens dressing that's really yummy. You can transform these things."
Pickling and fermenting were easy, Lyons said, but people often felt intimidated to try them.
"There are just a few simple things you need to remember," she said.
Let them cool then remove the blackened skin and roughly chop the soft flesh.
Place chillies, tomatoes and salt in a large ceramic or glass bowl - metal or plastic bowls aren't suitable for this as the ferment will react with those materials.
Using your hands, mix everything to incorporate the salt.
Cover in a muslin or tea towel and leave in a cool and dark place.
Now you just need to make sure you stir the ferment at least twice a day - there will be a bit of white mould that develops, this is good stuff!
Taste the ferment as you go - it will start to develop a delicate fizziness. When you're happy with the flavour, transfer to sterilised jars.
We've all eagerly dived in while culinary motivation is high, only to find a carrot that is practically puree or a bag of spinach that is soggy and soft.
The carrot might be hard to reconstitute, but a bag of wilted, yucky-looking leaves?
Perfect!
Turn a bag full of forgotten-about, sad-looking greens into a damn good dressing.
If you've got some spinach, lettuce, rocket, or even leafy herbs like parsley or coriander that are soggy and limp, give them another chance.
Ingredients
Soggy leaves from the fridge (as many or few as you have to use up) 1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 cup white wine vinegar Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Whiz the leaves in a food processor until coarsely chopped.
Add oil and vinegar and pulse to incorporate - you don't have to follow the amounts of each ingredient religiously. It really depends on how many soggy greens you're dealing with!
So add the oil and vinegar slowly, tasting as you go until you have something that you're happy with. Season to taste.
This is the dressing in its most basic form but you can really do whatever you want with it.
You could use different vinegars and oils to create different flavours; you could add yoghurt, mayo, or sour cream to bulk it up and use with meats and other veggies.
Or, you could add a little less oil and vinegar and create a meat rub or dip.
