You know by now food waste is bad, the wonky veg revolution is here with Odd Box and Olio tackling the food waste problem from the source, getting the supermarket unfriendly fruit and veg back into people’s homes. On a personal level though, food waste is still a huge problem with over 13% of edible food in UK households becoming waste (that’s three meals a week and a whole day of food uneaten), fruit and veg making up 40-50% of that. So, like my friend’s grandma says, “better belly bust than stuff be lost” (you gotta go ahead and imagine that in a Brummy accent, for me, it makes it better.)

I know you’ve been there with me, ordered the veg, planned the meal, maybe the veg is even lined up on the counter waiting to finally become garlic roasted broccolini or that healthy salad you said you’d prep for work tomorrow. Then, your bad influence whispers in your ear, “you should order pizza”… and because you’re an adult that can make adult decisions you obviously get the damn pizza (East Londoners if you haven’t had Yard Sale Pizza yet I don’t know what more I can do for you) and it’s good (oh so good) and it’s fine (oh so fine) and like a one-night stand, pizza box still on the sofa, you see your veg out on the counter, judging you. And if you felt bad splashing the cash on a takeaway before, the hidden cost of food waste adds up to £13.5 BILLION binned yearly. That’s about £540 per household!

But where is all that waste coming from? Well, according to Goodfind sources (the internet and Respect Food survey), 63% of us, if we’re being truthful and anonymous in a survey, just don’t know the difference between ‘best by’ and ‘use by’ with 10% of the 88 million tons of food waste in the EU being down to expiry dates. No shaming here at Goodfind, we just want you to be in on the truth about goods, it’s what we do! Best before dates just mean the goods aren’t in their peak but still totally edible, like wonky fruit they might not be the sexiest, but they can still get saucy. 

Too Good To Go launched their “Look, Smell, Taste, Don’t Waste” initiative last year trying to combat this mass understanding after learning that 39% of Brits don’t use their senses when making a decision (no, not about Brexsh*t this time). So, we’re here to help Britain trust their gut again! Grab your manky veg and let’s get stuck in.

Homemade Ketchup – food waste edition

Ingredients:

(Feel free to alter measurements depending what you have in!)

• Roughly 1kg of Tomatoes – try for a pot full or half a pot there should be minimum 5 beef tomatoes to make a big batch that’ll last you for weeks

• Medium Onion – or half a salvaged onion remember, onions have layers

• 1 TBSP brown sugar – I only had agave syrup in so used that in same measurement (add more depending on sweetness)

• 1 TBSP white wine vinegar – this you do need vinegar helps to keep the sauce from going off!

• ½ tsp salt

• Ground black pepper

• 1 bay leaf – I didn’t have this in but highly recommend 

• Pinch of chilli powder & ground coriander (to taste) – Can also add whatever you have in herbs please mess about with this recipe and let me know what you make over on goodfind.io 

Instructions:

1. Grab ya toms and cut small crosses in the ends of the tomatoes. I go by the stem to make it easier to grab when peeling off later. 

2. Boil some water, add your tomatoes and bring to the boil again. After a few minutes give them a poke to see if the skin will separate and come off easily. Keep testing until they do. Using tongs or a fork (I used both, the tomatoes are bloody boiling here) peel off the skins and keep them in a pot for another recipe!

3. Add the peeled tomatoes and all other ingredients to a pot and bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Remove the bay leaf (if you remembered to get some unlike me) and blend that sh*t until it’s as smooth as Jeff Bezos head.

5. Cook for 20 minutes again in the pan, until the sauce is thick.

6. Let it get cool then whack it in the fridge. The sauce will be good for a few weeks in the fridge or you can freeze and add it to Spag Bol sauces (big recommendation)

Pineapple, Fig and Apple Chutney

Ingredients:

•  1 big pineapple, if u have everything else apart from this those tinned pineapple cans work too, use what you have – try any fruit you have left that’s got a sour kick

• 500g apples, or the packet you never got round to opening, peel, core and chop those bad boys

• 5cm of ginger, chopped

• 140g dried figs, chopped

• 2 tsp black mustard seeds

• 1 red onion, chopped

• ½ tsp nutmeg

• 500ml cider vinegar

• 400g sugar, brown

Instructions:

STEP 1

Chop the pineapple into your blender, just until it looks finely chopped. Tip it into a biggish pan with the apples, ginger, onion, figs, spices, vinegar and 2 tsp salt. Boil it, stir it, then boil again for 10 mins until the apples are soft.

STEP 2

Add your sugar, then stir till it’s dissolved. Simmer for 20-30 mins, give it a stir every now and then, until the chutney is thickened. Pot it into warm sterilised jars, seal and give a cute label. This in theory will last 6 months but it never lasts more than one pack of poppadoms for us.

“Leftovers” KimChi

Ingredients (to make the paste):

• 1 cup chilli

• 1 cup peeled onion

• 1/2 cup water

• 15 garlic cloves, peeled

• 1/4 cup peeled and chopped fresh ginger

• 2 tablespoons salt

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons miso paste

• 2 tablespoons mushroom sauce

• 2 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 4 cups water

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 1 large napa cabbage

• Food scraps (anything you’ve got in the fridge that needs using)

• 1/2 bunch fresh chives, cut into 1-inch batons

• 1/4 cup soy sauce

• 1/4 cup mirin

Instructions:

Step 1:

Put all of the ingredients for the paste in a blender, puree, and set aside.

In a bowl large enough to hold the cabbage and leftover food, mix the water with the salt. Split the cabbage in half and soak it in the salted water for 2 to 3 hours at room temperature.

Step 2: 

Drain the cabbage. Mix 1/2 cup of the paste, the chives, soy sauce, mirin and layer between the leaves of the cabbage. Coat the exterior of the cabbage with the remaining paste.

Step 3: 

Stuff the cabbage into a gallon-size glass pickle jar and seal tightly. If it doesn’t fit, you can cut the cabbage in half again. Keep the jar at room temperature for 2 days, then put it in the refrigerator. It will be ready to eat in about 2 weeks and can be kept refrigerated indefinitely.

Words by Faith Sugden