Food waste is a significant problem. Estimates within the Scottish Government’s Circular Economy Route Map suggest that around 20% of all food purchased by households in Scotland is wasted. This equates to around 1 million tonnes of food!
As much as food waste is part of a problem, reusable food surplus is its own solution to the food waste dilemma. There are lots of ways to make the most of food surplus, which means it doesn’t end up at the bottom of a bin!
One of these ways is through cooking and, on Thursday 26 September, CFINE and Granite City Good Food were delighted to host a second Zero Waste Cooking Workshop – a fun and interactive session making the most of delicious ingredients which might otherwise find themselves at the back of your fridge or cupboard, unused, or worse- in the bin!
As part of the workshop, participants were presented with a smorgasbord of ingredients - from staples such as carrots, onions, and potatoes through to lesser used (but equally as tasty) ingredients such as courgettes – which were used in all the workshops recipes.
Participants were welcomed into the class through the preparation of a communal vegetable curry. The group launched into a hive of activity, chopping vegetables, flavouring and spicing the pot, which was then left to bubble away as the rest of the class continued.
The group then took a new approach to pickling through a ketchup, packed with courgettes! The courgettes, alongside tomato puree, onions, and spices filled the kitchen with a tempting aroma which – when cooked off and blended – resulted in multiple jars of ketchup for each participant to take away.
A pairing for the ketchup and the curry, courgette bhajis shared the same list of ingredients with the curry and created a completely different dish. A delicious accompaniment to the meal, the bhajis were crispy and delicious!
Continuing in the theme, baking activities were potentially the most unusual part of the day with delicious courgette, apple, and cinnamon scones and courgette cake providing the perfect sweet accompaniment to the day.
The workshop was an exciting opportunity, as part of Scotland’s Climate Week, to explore a different aspect of why tackling food waste is so important, how we can all play a role in tackling our own food waste, and just how easy that can be!
The workshop also marked the hard launch of our BRAND NEW Zero Waste Cooking Guide, developed to reflect the wide variety of different approaches and aspects of reducing food waste. Our guide includes information such as:
- How food waste and cooking on a budget fit together
- How to make the most of seasonal fruit and vegetables, including guidance of what is seasonal and when
- Recipes which make the most of leftovers, or use ingredients which might more commonly end up in food waste
- A checklist for tackling food waste, no matter what you choose to cook!
The guide can be found on our Zero Waste page – check it out and see how you can get started with zero waste cooking TODAY.
Are you using food for good and helping turn the granite city gold? We want to hear from you! Share your good food activity and you could feature in our next Granite City Good Food blog/Spotlight:
Get in touch via mcarle@cfine.org or give us a call at 01224 596156.