Making a meal of it - book review

by Farmer Liz
Do sometimes find yourself with a glut of something that you need to use up?  Or with a little bit of left-over something?  I was sent a book to review by Wakefield Press called "Making a Meal of it", by Jane Willcox and Rosemary Cadden, and they really have thought of a lot of ways to make meals that prevent food waste.  Its not just about veges either, they also include meat, cheese and eggs.


This is relevant to the permaculture principle I reviewed earlier in the month, produce no waste.  Food waste is a massive problem.  Not only is the food wasted, but also all the energy used to produce and transport the food.  One of the main ways we can reduce this waste is to eat locally and seasonally (more here).

This book is full of useful information, here is just a selection of the things I learnt or used from the book so far:
  • some varieties of apples keep better than others (buy/grow the good keepers such as Granny Smith)
  • avocado, eggs and lemon slices can each be frozen for longer term storage!
  • tips for making breadcrumbs from bread scraps (great for using up failed bread experiments)
  • lots of information about storing and using all types of cheese
  • how to use up both egg whites and egg yolks, lemon peel and bread crusts
  • which onions are in season when, what each variety of orange is good for and all those potato varieties
  • how to ripen tomatoes more quickly
I do think they are going to have to write a second volume, because there was no section on eggplant, which I needed to use up over summer or chillis (which we have lots of at the moment) but they do cover most common foods in this book, with as much information on choosing the right variety and storing it correctly, as there are great recipes for using up what's left over in the fridge.  I also noticed that they didn't include two of my favourite methods of storage, dehydration and fermentation, but that would fill another book again!  The tips for freezing things are very useful as I always wonder what I need to blanch first.

By coincidence, it was also World Environment Day on June 5th, with the theme being Think.Eat.Save. to prevent food waste.  See some more ideas here.

Now its your turn.... do you have a great tip for avoiding food waste? using up a glut? or the last leftover of something?
The Self Sufficient HomeAcreFrom The Farm Blog Hop monday's homestead barn hop


This post was shared on Unprocessed Fridays on Girl Meets Nourishment


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