How to Reuse in the Kitchen: Veggies and Fruit

Here’s a sobering food fact: about one-third of the food produced in the world each year is lost or wasted, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. Some organizations that track food waste put that number even higher; the UK’s Institute of Mechanical Engineers contends that as much as half of the food we grow and make gets sent to landfills. Even more troubling still: most of that food is still edible.

The good news is, this is a problem we can easily do something about. By cutting down on food waste in our own kitchens, we not only help reverse those alarming statistics; we also stretch our grocery shopping dollars and make the most of all of our ingredients, extending their shelf life and utility. Plus, it feels good to use what we normally throw away, not only because it means less waste, but because it becomes an exercise in creativity. When you peer into your refrigerator or look at what you would have thrown away in the past and ask, “What can I do with this besides send it to the landfill?”, all sorts of fun–and tasty–possibilities emerge. Read on to find out how to trim food waste and find creative uses for items you might be throwing away.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Stems

If you only like to eat the crown pieces of broccoli and cauliflower, you’re likely producing lots of food waste when you buy these two vegetables. But in addition to using the stems for vegetable stock (more on that in a minute), you can trim and julienne them. If the stems seem particularly thick, blanch or steam them to soften before cutting them into matchsticks. You can do the same for asparagus stems. (Tip: Bigger is not better when it comes to asparagus. Always buy asparagus the thickness of a pencil to ensure that the stems aren’t woody).

Uses: Sauteed vegetables and stir-fries. Raw or flash cooked garnishes for spring soups. Thicker, longer matchstick-sized stems also make great after-school or travel snacks for kids, especially when paired with one of our favorite dips.

Watermelon Rind

Watermelon rind is another summer scrap that seems almost inevitable but when used properly can avoid a huge amount of kitchen waste. One of the effective ways to reuse lots of watermelon rind is to turn it into pickles. For some home cooks, the idea of brining anything may seem a little daunting, but there are plenty of quick pickling recipes to make the task easier. Once you’ve found a recipe you like, you probably won’t throw out the rinds anymore.

Next, what to do with fruits…[pagebreak] Vegetable Trimmings and Scraps

Carrot and parsnip peels; broccoli and cauliflower stems; scallion and leek greens (and the white parts, too); celery you’ve let get flabby; corn cobs with all the sweet corn nibbled off of them; and the collection of half-cut onions and jalapeños or other chiles taking up a quarter of shelf space in your fridge… all of these can go into a stock pot to make vegetable broth or stock (the difference between the two is that broth is seasoned and stock is plain). If you’re doing a general fridge cleaning, throw all your scraps into the pot with some olive oil and cook on medium until soft. For every 2-3 cups of vegetable scraps, add 6-8 cups of water; let the whole mix simmer on low for about 45 minutes. After cooking, strain the broth through a sieve or colander and discard the solids. If you’re not using the vegetable broth right away it can be frozen for future use.

If you don’t have the need for broth or stock regularly, get in the habit of saving your vegetable scraps to make occasional batches. Add the scraps to a gallon size Ziploc bag you keep in the freezer until you’re ready to stir the stock pot.

Uses: As a base for soups, stews, and certain rice dishes. For more recipes, visit our archive.

Citrus Peels

There are so many uses for citrus peels that one should never really have a reason to throw them away. On the savory side, you can take the peel trimmed from any of the citrus fruits–lime, lemon, orange, tangerine, grapefruit–anything, really–and use it to line the bottom of a bamboo basket to add flavor to steamed fish or chicken. On the sweet side, you can candy your trimmed peels. Use them in salads, baked goods, or for a simple, special after-meal treat, dip the candied citrus peels in dark chocolate.

Citrus peels can also be used in drinks. Use a sharp paring knife to trim a fancy, curly peel for a cocktail; add a thick swatch of peel alongside an after-dinner cup of espresso; or dry the peels to make your own tea and infusions. If you prefer to save the peels to enhance your beauty routine, you can also use peels in a homemade sugar or salt scrub.

Next, turning scraps into cocktails…[pagebreak]Papaya Seeds

Papaya seeds are entirely edible, but if you’re like most home cooks, you probably scoop the seeds out of the fruit and dispose them without a second thought. This summer, as papaya becomes a regular item on your shopping list, try the simple re-use recipe of taking the black pearly seeds and turning them into papaya seed dressing. There are endless variations, most using vinaigrette as a base. You can experiment with the flavors of balsamic vinegar until you find a combination you like.

Uses: As a dressing for salads and slaws. You can also use papaya seeds plain as a garnish for spring and summer soups– they’re especially pretty on chilled soups made of orange vegetables and fruits, such as cantaloupe. Papaya seeds can also be used as a visual substitute for caviar or roe.

Pickle juice

And speaking of pickles, you probably throw the juice away once you’ve eaten all the pickles, don’t you? While it doesn’t take up landfill space (and there’s no harm in tossing pickle juice down the drain as there is with cooking oils), there are some neat ways to give pickle juice a second life. The easiest and most predictable way is to simply reuse the leftovers by pickling something else. Onions (in thin rings or slices), julienned carrots, steamed artichokes and asparagus, and even hard-boiled eggs all take well to pickle juice.

Pickle juice can also be used as a marinade for fish and poultry; just mix it with some minced garlic, mustard (dry or bottled), salt, pepper, and fresh cilantro and/or parsley and let your fish or meat rest in it for a while before grilling.

One of our favorite ways to reuse pickle juice, though, is in a cocktail. Add a splash to a michelada or a Bloody María or experiment combining pickle juice with a clear, neutral spirit like vodka, giving a tangy twist to a traditional martini, for example.