What’s the point of worrying about organic food, genetically modified organisms, locally sourced items and fair trade if more than a third of it will simply go to waste? Discarded food is a serious issue, and it’s garnering attention from a variety of places. Statistics are stunning: Approximately 40 percent of food in America goes uneaten — the equivalent of $165 billion a year. Globally, it’s estimated that at least one-third of the world’s food is wasted across the supply chain. Not only could curbing the waste have a profound effect on the very real issue of hunger, but it could also help with less-obvious concerns — water supplies, energy and land use, even climate change.
In March, New York chef Dan Barber transformed his Greenwich restaurant Blue Hill into wastED, a three-week pop-up devoted to the theme of food waste and reuse. WastED collaborated with suppliers across the food chain, along with more than 20 guest chefs, to conceive dishes from food that would normally be discarded. In April, the documentary “Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story” premiered to American audiences. In it, filmmakers Grant Baldwin and Jen Rustemeyer pledge to live off of discarded food for six months, and through their journey they explore issues of waste across the food chain — from the farm, through retail and into a consumer’s refrigerator.
“Every day, America wastes enough food to fill the Rose Bowl,” Jonathan Bloom writes in the opening to his book “American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food (and What We can Do About It).”
“For the most part, we don’t recognize we’re throwing away good food,” Bloom said recently, citing the disconnect when it comes to the amount of food wasted in individual households. Where most people may have a sense that there is a lot of waste society-wide, they don’t implicate themselves as part of the problem. “They don’t tend to look in the mirror, because it’s so easily disposed of. It’s down the drain, it’s out with the trash or it’s sent back half-eaten at a restaurant.”
Before produce even has a chance to reach the average consumer, much of it is discarded merely because of imperfections in appearance.
“Around 6 billion pounds of produce is wasted each year because of looks,” says Ben Simon, a co-founder of Imperfect. The venture, scheduled to launch this summer, will take otherwise-rejected produce from California’s Central Valley and distribute it to subscribers in Oakland and Berkeley at a discounted price.
“The genesis [of wastED] was expanding the whole idea of what waste was,” says Barber, arguing that the American expectation of a plate of food is inherently wasteful. “We cherry-pick what we want to eat instead of eating the whole thing.”
As Barber worked with other chefs in the wastED pop-up, he noticed that many were pulling ideas from items already on their menus. “But they weren’t calling it waste. We’re talking fine dining.” Barber feels that restaurants and chefs should be credited for the creative work they do to make use of everything that comes into the kitchen. “We get blamed for preciousness and elitism. We need to wear what we do on our sleeve. Chefs are doing this already.”
“I grew up doing this. We used everything; that was just a way of life,” says Michael Fiorelli, chef at Love & Salt in Manhattan Beach, Calif. “Now it’s funny to me that [it’s trendy].” Fiorelli has a dish on his menu made from sauteed cauliflower leaves, served over a soft mascarpone polenta. The leaves are usually discarded after the vegetable is cleaned. “Why would I throw the leaves in the trash? There are so many different ways to use them — just love them up a little.”
At Union Restaurant in Pasadena, Calif., chef Bruce Kalman infuses butter with the woody ends cut from asparagus. He uses it with his fingerling potato gnocchi. “I thought about all the flavors of spring and creative ways to add flavor. It’s asparagus flavor without the asparagus. It eliminates food waste and enhances the flavor of the dish.”
Barber feels the conversation about food waste has only begun. “This is a larger theme beyond just American waste. Where is the conversation going?” says Barber. “Because the current conversation doesn’t go far enough. What’s needed is a cultural shift.”
Sauteed Cauliflower Leaves with Soft Mascarpone Polenta
Time: 55 minutes
Serves: 8
6 cups milk, more if needed
1 cup polenta, preferably Giusto’s
3/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
Kosher salt
Cracked black pepper
8 cups chiffonade cauliflower leaves, large stems removed
Extra-virgin olive oil
In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat milk until it just starts to steam. Gradually pour in the polenta, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Adjust the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the polenta begins to bloom and absorb the milk, about 10 minutes.
Once the polenta begins to simmer, reduce the heat to low, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn. Continue to cook until the graininess is gone and the polenta is rich and creamy, 20 to 30 minutes more, adding additional milk if needed. The polenta should be the consistency of a soft, creamy pudding and move easily when you shake the pot. Remove from heat and add the mascarpone and Parmigiano-Reggiano, along with the butter and 1 tablespoon salt. Hold in a warm place until ready to serve. (This makes about 6 cups polenta, more than is needed for the remainder of the recipe; the extra polenta can be chilled and reheated before serving, and it will keep up to 2 days.)
Heat a saute pan large enough to hold all the cauliflower leaves without crowding, or work in batches. Coat the pan with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat until just shimmering. Add the cauliflower leaves and saute quickly until they barely wilt and start to become tender but are still bright and crunchy, 5 to 6 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste, and freshly cracked black pepper.
Spoon the warm polenta into individual bowls or a large serving bowl (approximately 1/2 cup polenta for each serving). Spoon the leaves on top of the polenta and sprinkle with a little Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to garnish, crack some pepper on top and drizzle liberally with extra-virgin olive oil.
Note:Adapted from a recipe by chef Michael Fiorelli of Love & Salt in Manhattan Beach
Asparagus Butter
Makes about 2 cups
1 lb. butter
3/4 lb. asparagus trim/bottoms
2 tsp. kosher sea salt
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
In a medium saucepot, combine the butter, asparagus, salt and thyme. Cook over low to medium heat until the asparagus is softened and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove and transfer all of the contents to a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and chill until needed.
Note: Adapted from a recipe by chef Bruce Kalman of Union Restaurant in Pasadena.
Ways to break the food waste cycle
Tips for reducing food waste in the home:
Shop smarter. “Primarily it’s shopping smarter. Not bringing too much into your own home so you doom yourself to waste food. We squander 25 percent of the food we bring home.” — Jonathan Bloom, author of “American Wasteland”
Try to use every part of a food item you buy. “We cherry-pick certain ingredients we want to eat instead of the whole thing. Waste should become gastronomic invention.” — Dan Barber, chef, author and creator of wastED
Don’t just look for perfect produce in the stores. “When you’re grocery shopping, you can buy imperfect or buy the stuff no one else is going to buy. You can start that right now.” — Grant Baldwin, “Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story” filmmaker
Love your leftovers. “Save and actually eat the leftovers. You’d be amazed how many people are so careful with packing everything up to get it into their refrigerator, only to let it rot once it’s there.” — Bloom
Avoid wasting meat, especially. “The single biggest thing you can do is avoid wasting any meat at all, because the amount of water and land you’re wasting through this is disproportionately massive. Eat the whole thing.” — Tristram Stuart, author of “Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal” and founder of the environmental charity Feedback.
Manage your refrigerator. “We don’t need to fill our refrigerators front to back.” — Baldwin
Befriend your freezer. “Use it as a way to avoid waste. Pretty much every food item can be frozen.” — Bloom
Treat expiration dates as a guide. “Trust your senses, not the expiration date. It’s not the ultimate arbiter of when a food should or shouldn’t be eaten.” — Bloom
Push for your store to donate leftover unsold food. “Grocery stores are realizing they need to do something about it. I think at some point, people will pressure them with what they expect, just as they expect to see local and fair trade food. They’ll expect to see they’re donating food.” — Baldwin
Order only what you’ll eat at restaurants. “When you’re out, maybe just say, ‘I don’t need full portions.’ If you don’t need fries because you’re on an Atkins Diet, then don’t have them placed on the plate.” — Baldwin
Compost. “Composting has a role. It’s great keeping that stuff out of the landfill, and it has a real role in raising awareness in how much food we’re throwing away as a household and as a society.” — Bloom
Consider your place in the global food system. “Once you connect your daily food choices — what you buy, where you buy it, whether you eat it all or throw it away — to the global phenomenon and you accept it, it’s not so much what you do. It’s really who you are.” — Stuart
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