Eco cooking

[whole milk]

Hi,

In Japan the trend most visible on the cooking shows is what they call "Eco Ryori" or ecologically sound cooking. The idea is making as little waste as possible; so, for example, the skins of carrots, the tops of daikon, the bones in the fish somehow get incorporated into something.

It might be common sense for most of the world but, I think, in countries with large economies we throw away too much.

This afternoon I played with the concept. I made hummus in which I reduced the water the beans cooked; I stemmed spinach, purred the stems and reduced the cooking liquid; I minced the tops of my turnips instead of throwing them away. What I got were two vegetable terrines, cream stew thickened with the spinach stems, and a delicious fried rice from the turnip tops. The best thing about this project was that it was fun to do: I had the problem of how to use these scraps and I went about looking for creative ways to use these things.

Since this is a virtual cooking thread, I propose to do an eco meal. That is, take a lot of different fresh ingredients and try to use everything in a coordinated way.

If you're interested lets sign up and set an end date for this little project.

Cheers,

Steven or (or both)?

[mike in brooklyn]

I throw away as little as possible.

I save bones and defatted drippings from cooked poultry
and freeze for later making of stock.

I hate the way TV chefs remove tops and bottoms of peppers in
order to make perfect logs. I always dice the tops separately.

Carrot peel and other veg. parts not going into a dish can easilly
be frozen for broth - or composted if you have the ability.

I agree with this Japanese philosophy - never waste anything
in cooking, in life.

[Alix]

We waste very little here too. I use nearly everything that is usable and the rest would go for compost etc.

[Katie E]

Nothing here goes to waste either. All vegetable matter that isn't used in a recipe is delegated to the compost bin. Don't throw out tea bags or coffee grounds either. They're used in gardening. Bones are used to make stock and once the stock is made, the bones are turned into kitty "swill" for our outside kitties.

So little it discarded that it takes more than 3 weeks to fill up the kitchen wastebasket enough to put in the trash bin.