On the subject of leftovers

[GotGarlic]

I came across this article about the history of leftovers, presented as a function of abundance. Before refrigeration was common, and especially for the poor, there was no such thing.

I always find it odd when I hear about people who don't like leftovers. I love them, for the most part. I eat them for breakfast or repurpose them for dinner.

What are your thoughts?

An Economic History of Leftovers - The Atlantic

 

[blissful]

I always cook with leftovers in mind because it 1) saves me from messing up even more dishes to wash and put away, 2) we eat on different shifts so it allows for separate meals, 3) we eat different kinds of diets so it allows for mix/match of what we each eat, 4) it allows me to freeze 'dinners' for DH to take to work in a wide variety.
And 5) there are certain meals that taste better after refrigeration or freezing, like tomato based dishes, some stews, some curries.

Is it really a leftover if it only makes it to the table once? Are they then called intentional leftovers or just cooking in larger quantities?

 

[expatgirl]

well I have two thoughts......GG.......hope you don't mind the abbreviation.....

my father was a child from the depression and from a family of 5 boys and a sister.....they did without a lot especially meat growing up..he joined the army when he was 19 and it was one of his proudest accomplishments that he could put meat on the table every night of the week.....he did `not want to see leftovers.......cause my grandmother made do with whatever she had and if it meant boiling bones and serving the broth with bread that's what they went with.......`i've heard this about other depression children........

`me on the other hand am always happy to go with leftovers......but then again it's not broth and bread forever............all `i remember is my grandmother saying how hard times were back then.........they must have been during the depression..........

 

[GotGarlic]

well I have two thoughts......GG.......hope you don't mind the abbreviation.....

Not at all Others do the same.

my father was a child from the depression and from a family of 5 boys and a sister.....they did without a lot especially meat growing up..he joined the army when he was 19 and it was one of his proudest accomplishments that he could put meat on the table every night of the week.....he did `not want to see leftovers.......cause my grandmother made do with whatever she had and if it meant boiling bones and serving the broth with bread that's what they went with.......`i've heard this about other depression children...

I should have qualified my statement a bit. I do understand the pride that depression-era children would have in being able to provide fresh food every day. I was thinking about younger people who have always pretty much lived with abundant food available.

 

[roadfix]

I have a friend who has a thing with leftovers. He will not touch them whatsoever.

 

[Dawgluver]

We live on leftovers. Even though we're only two, I have a tendency to cook for at least eight. Things just seem to grow out of the pot.

I also have some friends who won't eat leftovers. I was horrified watching a friend scraping all the perfectly good food into the trash after a get-together.

 

[Steve Kroll]

My daughter is one of those who is kind of weird about leftovers. I just don't get it myself. I don't know how many times I've eaten out with her, and ended up taking both of our leftover meals home in doggy bags.

On the other hand, I often make entire meals with the idea that I'll be enjoying leftovers for a few days. I like to think of it as a gift that keeps on giving.

 

[CraigC]

Chili, nuff said! Definitely think of another meal that will use leftovers quite often. Instead of one pan of lasagna, make two and freeze one for another time and eat the leftovers from the first one for breakfast or lunch. Should we count purposely cooking a large quantity of say chicken (like we are doing today) and use it in several different recipes?

 

[roadfix]

And often times leftovers taste even better than the time they were prepared and served.

 

[Katie H]

I'll begin at the beginning.

Both my parents were children during the Depression and I'm sure they experienced all manner of corner-cutting and frugality.

Even though my father's occupation would have allowed us to live quite comfortably, we still ate as though pennies had to be pinched. As far as leftovers went growing up, we rarely had any. Largely because there were 5 children who were food vacuums.

Okay, on to my brood. I just thought my siblings were food vacuums. They were a broom at cleaning up food compared to my group that ate like magicians. Everything disappeared before our eyes. As a bit of info, two of the boys, by age 13, were 6'4" and 6'6". They were, literally, bottomless pits.

I'd serve supper about 6 p.m. and, by 7 or so, one of them would be scanning the refrigerator for a likely victim for a "snack." It was like running a mess hall. It was even more challenging when the children got older and brought home friends to eat with us. "Mom always makes plenty!" Imagine that.

The only time I've been able to see leftovers is after the nest became empty and that was a real eye-opener. The youngest will be 42 in a month or so, which means the nest has been empty for a long time.

But, leftovers....Boy, oh, boy, am I the queen of leftovers. I still haven't learned how to pare down my years of quantity cooking. I'm getting better and I'm so glad Glenn likes encores of many of our meals. Buck didn't particularly care for reruns, so this is a different world for me.

I agree with some who have said that making large amounts of dishes and dividing and conquering (freezing) makes sense. Especially with something that requires a lot of prep and time to get to the end product. Make one big mess and devote a block of time and you're set for several times.

I also concur that many things are better a day or so later. The herbs/spices get friendlier and the food takes on another depth of flavor.

Long about the end of August/first part of September, I look for opportunities to have leftovers that can be frozen. I know from experience how busy things can get prior to the holidays and it's a good feeling to have something in reserve.

I, too, don't understand the casual throwing away of perfectly good food. One of Glenn's daughters is as someone described in an earlier post. Just scrape it into the garbage.

We visited her and her family last month and filet mignon was served the first night. There were 6 at the table. Many ate their whole meal. Others did not. I was one who nearly finished, but had plans on snacking on my piece of steak cold for lunch the following day, along with the sides I couldn't finish. I like it cold steak.

I didn't get an opportunity to retrieve my piece of beef, nor did anyone else because as the table was cleared, everything on the plates went into the trash. And...they have doggies. If I had been Fido and witnessed that act of dog abuse, I'd have been pissed.

Personally, I really like leftovers, especially for lunch. Glenn teases me about a line I use as I clear the dinner table and there's just a dab of this or a dab of that. I'll put it together, in portions, in a bowl or on a plate and say, "This will be a good lunch." Now, he's saying it.

Never have any bits and pieces of frozen veggies in the freezer. When there's a scant amount left, it joins another bag with a similar quantity. Others get in on the fun and, pretty soon, there are enough mixed veggies to throw into a pot of soup or such.

Even though I didn't grow up with a "waste not, want not" household philosophy, I've just always applied to that way of doing things. And it goes beyond food for me. Glenn just shakes his head when I rescue something from the trash to morph it into another use. I think he used to think I was weird. Now he knows I'm weird. He's quit saying, "Why are you taking that useless thing out of the trash?"

 

[Addie]

And often times leftovers taste even better than the time they were prepared and served.

Like stews.

My mother was a child growing up during the depression also. They had a farm so food wasn't in short supply as much as other families in the neighborhood. She told me that so many times they would see a kid or even a grownup in their garden stealing a veggie of some kind. Her parents never tried to stop them as they understood. That is one reason they planted more than they needed or could use.

But they did move the chicken house and fenced yard closer to the home. And they put a lock on the chicken house door. That seemed to work along with the alarm raised by the family dog that slept right next to the hen house.

 

[dragnlaw]

I've been trying really hard to adjust my meals and recipes down to at least for two. The thought being I would have tomorrows' ready and sitting there as mostimes adjusting to one just doesn't work.

To divide it evenly (because I could never judge what was half going onto the plate and what was half left in the pot) I would dish out the 2nd plate right then and there, let it cool, and put in the fridge.

Rarely happens.. by 9 pm the 2nd plate has been gobbled up

On the few occasions it makes it overnight, I have it for breakfast, then make another full meal for that night's supper...

I've gained 30 pounds..

 

[LizStreithorst]

Excellent article. I loved the history of what folks thought about leftovers at different times, and why. When folks are poor their ain't no such a thing as leftovers. When they started having money leftovers weren't good enough. (we never has left overs when I was growing up).

I learned to cook because I had no choice. I never thought that I would come to enjoy it! It was either drive far and pay a lot for a good meal, eat crap, or learn to do it myself. I'm 65 and I've only been really cooking for 7 years. Is that not something?

I discovered the beauty of leftovers because I cook only for myself and always have them if I make a pot of anything. I was surprised that what I made was even better the next day and better than that the 3rd day. After 3 days it goes into the freezer.

I'm making Balsamic chicken in the crock pot for dinner. I won't eat it tonight though. I'll have a stuffed pepper instead. I know how much better the chicken dish will taste after it's flavors have melded for 24 hrs.

Leftovers Rule!

 

[Whiskadoodle]

Pick a little parsley from the garden. One sprig. For a plate garnish. Here's another juicy looking stem. And another. O Look. Here's a full bouquet of parsley. I Am Incapable Of Cooking less than 4 servings.

I am pretty good, getting better at, re-purpose, change ups and combining ingredients for planned over meals. My initial dilemma is what to make in the first place. I think it's pretty easy to repeat the same or make into something else. Luckily I like leftovers.

 

[CakePoet]

I grew up with a grandmother, who starved due to a few years of bad harvest and the first world war, yes Sweden wants part of it and still people died due to it. Sweden didnt care about the people up North and hardly any aid came there. So my grandmother was amazing doing something out of nothing. Even after she became middle class house wife, she still kept up her style of cooking and money pinching.
My mum, who I also grew up with was horrible cook and well left overs meant torment most often but there are many Swedish recipes that are made with left overs and those she could do, so long as dad had made the dinner to start with. Yes, my father who I also grew up with was the chef and he is amazing man, he truly loved and cared for his mother in law, he used to bike home for work, just for having 15 min lunch with her when she got older. Yes, he spent 35 minutes of his lunch on bike. He learned how to cook from his father and a his fathers family, they where paper mill worker, they had enough not more and grandfather hunted and fished and was amazing with just getting the most of everything.

Even though my mum and dad children of times of plenty, yes they where born the same year WWII ended , grew up in a Sweden with a working industry in a war torn Europe. They had money, they had hope and still it became some for of pride taking care of left over and live green.

Left overs in Sweden is most often next day lunch, that is most workers have with them.

So with all of that in my culinary back pack, I use up all my left overs, lunch box to husband, lunch for me, made into new dinners.

And I never understood people who dont eat left overs, it same food as yesterday and if it was yummy then it will be great the day after. I even serve my guest left overs, with out them knowing.

 

[Andy M.]

Thanks for the article, GG. I learned something from it.

Large batches of food intentionally prepared for freezing for future meals (pasta sauces, chili, etc.) are different from leftovers. That is, unless you plan to eat the same meal day after day after day until it's all gone.

To me, leftovers are less than a full meal amount of a dinner. In our home it usually ends up as lunch. More often than not, my lunch. Some recipes I prepare don't freeze well but are enough for a second meal so they get eaten a couple of days later.

I look at leftovers not from the economical perspective but from the perspective of a lazy person who gets a chance to avoid cooking a new meal for a night.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Interesting article, GG. Thanks for sharing. I, too, am the progeny of Depression-era parents. Mom was so good at squeezing the buffalo that the poor critter pooped dimes. I had no choice but to absorb frugality in many areas of life, and for that I roundly thank Mom. (Thanks, Mom. )

We live on leftovers. Even though we're only two, I have a tendency to cook for at least eight....

Seems there is more of that going around...:

...On the other hand, I often make entire meals with the idea that I'll be enjoying leftovers for a few days. I like to think of it as a gift that keeps on giving.

...I look at leftovers not from the economical perspective but from the perspective of a lazy person who gets a chance to avoid cooking a new meal for a night.

^This!!!^ Steve and Andy. I love to putter in the kitchen, relish making a from-scratch meal from all kinds of non-processed ingredients. BUT it is time-consuming. And tiring. Not always, but the last thing I want to do is "make dinner" when I've spent a considerable amount of the day running errands or doing loads and loads of laundry, or gardening...which I think of doing more often than actually do... But when I know one of those busy days is lurking down the calendar, I do plan having food left over so that I can skip cooking that day. Sometimes they are more lifesavers and less leftovers.

 

[Zagut]

Interesting article GG. Thanks.

In this house there is no such thing as leftovers.

Some way, Some how it's going to be used.

Some meals are prepared with future use of items planed for future meals.

If not planed they will alter what's fixed in the future until they are consumed.

I was raised with the waste not want not philosophy.

But in our house of 3 hungry boys and 1 girl we usually finished it all and looked for more.
Not to mention my father was no slouch in the consumption department.


One night there was one pork chop left on the serving platter.
The lights went out.
When they came back on there were 5 forks stuck in the back of my fathers hand.


Re thinking it my original statement isn't true.
I do find some condiments and such that have stayed too long in the fridge for me to trust them. (Especially if they are green and fuzzy.)
They are leftover but I view them more as waste.
And I hate waste.

 

[rodentraiser]

One night there was one pork chop left on the serving platter.
The lights went out.
When they came back on there were 5 forks stuck in the back of my fathers hand.

Oh, hey! I just read that one in a book, except it was Chinese women and chopsticks trying to get one leftover dumpling!


Shopping and cooking for one, I don't think I've ever cooked a single meal that didn't have leftovers of some kind. I sort of like it. If I make meatloaf, for instance, I know the night I take the leftovers out of the freezer I'm not going to have to cook. All I do is put the meatloaf in some foil and heat it up.

It's a pain when I shop though. I have to cut up and freeze the meat in separate bags, so I'll end up with 4 bags of hamburger, 5 bags of chicken legs, 2 bags of pork roast, etc. It's the one thing I just hate doing and I don't know why. And I'm still not separating meat into separate portions. Each time I do a pork roast, for instance, I'm still making enough for 2 or 3 meals.

So I don't look on leftovers as leftovers - to me, they're just another meal.

I forgot to add, since I get food stamps, every penny for food goes to food and the only times I've ever thrown anything out is when I've experimented with a meal and it ended up being inedible. Believe me, I don't do that often. I'll budget my food like some people budget money, like eating something cheap for a number of days so I can afford something more expensive. But whichever way I go, I know I need to have enough food to last me till the next month. So to me, throwing out any food is like a sin. It just isn't done except in extreme cases.

 

[GotGarlic]

Each time I do a pork roast, for instance, I'm still making enough for 2 or 3 meals.

A one-serving pork roast is a pork chop