Vegetable broth against throwing away

Many consumers strictly adhere to the best-before date. A mistake, because even older food still tastes good.

We throw away far too much food, about 81 kilograms of food per capita and year. That's about one and a half kilos a week.

There are systemic reasons for this: Food is far too cheap and is no longer valued. There is a best-before date (MHD) after which goods are already sorted out in the shops, even though the food is still very good. In addition, we shop with our eyes and hardly go by taste. This means that if something is crooked, crooked, too small or too big, it is not taken.

Then there is round-the-clock availability, so that even in the evening the shelves are still full and the rest then has to be sorted out overnight. Finally, there are the strict hygiene regulations for canteens, restaurants or schools that make it very difficult or even impossible to recycle food.

Food is stored incorrectly

Hardly anyone goes out with a shopping list anymore. We no longer know what we have in the fridge and buy too many things that we cannot use up. But not only do we waste too much food, we also waste energy. When we think we are starving and therefore then cook twice as much. The leftovers end up in the rubbish. In addition, many foods are stored incorrectly and therefore spoil more quickly.

EU wants to allow crooked cucumbers

The EU has set itself the goal of reducing waste by 50 percent by 2030. In a first step, various standards are to be abolished. This would affect crooked cucumbers, which are not allowed on the market. The same applies to vegetables that are too small, too big or too overgrown and therefore do not meet the standards.

A big problem is the best-before date. It does not mean that a food is bad after expiry, but that it is of good quality until the best-before date, which then decreases. This can mean that the colour or the taste changes. But it is certainly still edible.

A possible alternative to the best-before date would be to label food with a use-by date. This says: After that, please be careful, it could be bad.

Leftover vegetable stock

I use whatever leftover vegetables I find and would otherwise throw away: Onion peelings, garlic scraps, potato and parsnip peelings, the green parts of leeks and root tips. This is all cooked together with a little salt and pepper and then poured through a straining cloth, portioned into small containers and frozen. This is an excellent base for a vegetable soup with rice or noodles or as a base for a good meat sauce. It's delicious and costs nothing.