27 Ways to Go Greener in the Kitchen

 
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How “green” is your kitchen? Over the years, we have made swaps and changes to our kitchen habits and tools to minimize the environmental impact of the way we cook. It turns out a lot of these habits are better for our health, and most actually save us money, which offsets any extra expense we might have to make in other areas. Here are some of our favorite ways to lessen your footprint in the kitchen.

Save water

For many of us easy access to fresh running water can lead us to take it for granted, yet it is a precious finite resource. Every time we turn on the tap, it’s helpful to remember that only 1.2% of earth’s water is drinkable, to be shared among 7 billion inhabitants, so use it sparingly.

  • Use a bowl or tub when washing dishes to catch the water, and don’t run the water continuously as you wash. Collect the water you use to rinse vegetables, leafy greens, salad and fruit, and use it again to water your plants

  • Don’t throw away the starchy water from rinsing rice. It can be used to wash dishes or as a face wash, toner or rinse to strengthen your hair. Fermenting the water has extra nutritional benefits for skin and hair.

  • When boiling food on the stove top, consider what else you may be able to add to the pot – for example when making pasta, blanch vegetables in the water for the last couple of minutes of cooking time, or add a steamer basket above to make use of the evaporating water. This will also help save on energy.

Conserve energy

Being conscious of our energy consumption in the kitchen will not only save on your energy bill, it will help to lower you carbon footprint too.

  • When bringing water to the boil, always cover the pot with a lid which will help the water come to a boil faster, and prevent too much evaporation.

  • When using your oven, cook multiple things while the oven is hot. For example when baking a dish for dinner, chop up any vegetables that need to be eaten quickly, toss them in extra virgin olive oil and roast them. As a bonus you will have effortlessly partially prepped a future meal as well as avoiding food waste.

  • Consider investing in a pressure cooker. Not only will a pressure cooker cook your food faster (and hands-free), it is highly energy efficient (up to 70% over stove-top cooking). It is a simple and efficient way to cook chickpeas and dried beans too, which makes it much easier to get more plant-based foods into your diet (and tastes far better than the canned versions!).

  • If you’re looking to renovate your kitchen, consider the carbon-implications of your choice of cooker. While gas is wonderful to cook with, the process of extracting natural gas and piping it into private homes leaks huge amounts of methane into the atmosphere, a powerful greenhouse gas. Induction hobs are much more efficient, and if you have a renewable green energy provider, they have almost zero associated pollution.

  • A freezer is most efficient when at capacity, so make good use of the space you have. Having frozen foods on hand can help you pull a satisfying and healthy meal together quickly too, while helping to reduce food waste at the same time. Some foods that freeze well are:

–  Precooked grains and legumes
– Nuts and seeds (which quickly go rancid at room temperature because of the oils)
– Fruit such as berries and bananas (peel bananas before freezing) and vegetables like cauliflower, spinach, peas and artichoke hearts
– Sauces, stocks and soups
– Parmesan rinds, which you can throw into soups and sauces to add an umami depth of flavor

 

Reduce your food waste

30-50% of all food produced globally is wasted, much of it ending up in landfill where it produces large amounts of the potent greenhouse gas methane. Research has suggested that if food waste were a country, it would be the third biggest greenhouse gas emitter after the US and China. Reducing your food waste will save you lots of money as well.

  • Plan your meals in advance and shop to a list so you don’t end up filling your shopping trolley with impulse buys that will go to waste

  • Get creative with using up leftovers. Take inspiration from the Italians who are masters at turning leftovers into entirely new dishes, like left over risotto into arancini balls or a risotto frittata.

  • Label your fridge well and keep it tidy. One huge cause of food waste is half-eaten jars that make their way to the back of the fridge and then are promptly forgotten. Label your shelves using washi tape and a sharpie so you can keep track of what you have. Designate one shelf for leftovers and food that needs to be eaten in the next few days. And label your jars of leftovers so you know what’s in them (particularly if your food is not in a transparent container). Adding the date can also be helpful.

  • Keep your vegetable peelings to make veggie scrap stock.

  • Start collecting zero-waste recipes and educate yourself about how to use all of the plants and animal products you buy. Did you know that pineapple skins can be transformed into a delicious infusion by soaking them, refrigerated for a few days in water? Or that strawberry tops are edible, nutritious and can be thrown into a smoothie? Pea and fava bean pods are completely edible when cooked the right way.

  • Start composting. These days there are composting systems that let you compost no matter whether you have a garden or not. You will be astounded by how much less trash you’ll be sending to landfill too.

 
Go plastic free

The plastic free movement has been gaining momentum for several years now, meaning it’s really easy to find good-quality plastic-free choices. As you wear out items in the kitchen, consider replacing them with biodegradable or less damaging alternatives:

  • Up-cycle glass jars to use as food storage containers for the fridge, pantry and freezer.

  • Invest in silicone zip-lock bags

  • Find alternatives for plastic wrap, such as using beeswax wraps or simply using a plate to cover leftovers like our grandmothers used to.

  • Kitchen sponges are made from oil-based plastics. Swap them out for cellulose sponges or wooden and natural fiber scrubbers. Coconut fiber scrubbers are long-lasting and combined with baking soda are really effective at cleaning hard-to-remove food from pots and plates.

  • Buy your dish washing liquid at a bulk bin store and transfer to a glass soap dispenser

  • Have a set of bamboo or metal cutlery and reusable plates reserved for picnics instead of single-use plastic cutlery.

Make recycling your last option

Less than 90% of plastic is actually recycled. So instead of seeing recycling as our environmental savior, think of it as the last possible option:

  • Avoid food that comes in disposable plastic packaging (bulk buy stores are now becoming more and more popular)

  • Repurpose your old packaging creatively by turning it into art projects for your kids

  • Buy biodegradable non-toxic baking paper and don’t throw it away after the first use. Just rinse it carefully, dry it and store it for next time.

  • Get rid of paper towel (it doesn’t recycle anyway) and replace it with reusable cloths – you can cut up an old sheet or get preloved napkins at a second-hand store

 

Avoid harsh chemical cleaners

Remember whatever goes down your sink goes into the water system, so be mindful of using harsh chemical cleaning products that will eventually become part of the water cycle. Just a handful of natural products are all that are needed to keep a green kitchen clean and healthy, and they can all be purchased package-free at a bulk bin store:

  • Baking soda can be used for everything to cleaning out your kitchen pipes to being used as a non-abrasive cleaner on surfaces.

  • Coarse salt is excellent for removing baked on food for non-delicate surfaces such as cast iron pans and the inside of glass bottles.

  • Create your own kitchen spray using a 1:1 white vinegar (14%) and water solution. Add a few drops of lemon or orange essential oil, or macerate lemon or orange peel in the solution for a few weeks to give it a fresh natural fragrance.


This post is part of Nourish the Planet, a collaborative series by Patricia Wells and Emily Buchanan.
© 2021 – All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce without permission.

Nourish the Planet: 10 easy kitchen swaps

 
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When teaching people how to cook or expand their repertoire, we often suggest starting with a list of 10 new recipes (ones that will teach them the basics or challenge them to learn more) that they can work through methodically until each one has been mastered. Once they have perfected the techniques and are more comfortable with the ingredients of each recipe, they can update their list, growing their abilities and confidence as they go.

We have found using this same formula helpful in creating a greener kitchen, which can be just as intimidating as learning to cook. Considering all the trade-offs and implications of what you buy and how it impacts the planet can be so overwhelming that we often end up doing nothing at all. Instead of trying to change everything at once, begin with a list of simple kitchen swaps. Write down 10 things that seem doable and are important to you and pin it up somewhere in your kitchen as a reminder of what you are trying to achieve. Tackle them one at a time or all at once – it’s up to you. Once you have fully integrated them into your life, refresh your list with new challenges. Before you know it, you’ll have transformed your kitchen habits and will likely be inspiring others to do the same.

Here are some ideas to get you started.

WHAT TO SWAP:


cow’s milk for sheep’s milk or plant-based alternatives

According to a study by John Hopkins University, cutting dairy out of your diet can slash your carbon footprint by 23%. This is not to say no cheese ever again but rather with some modifications you can significantly reduce your intake without compromising on flavor.

  • Swap out cow’s milk for plant based alternatives such as oat or hazelnut milk. Beware of added sugars and fillers in the store-bought brands or avoid them all together and make your own at home, which also means cutting down on packaging waste.  If you can’t imagine giving up your milky coffee in the morning, oat milk is a worthy stand-in but note it works best when made with a low-acidity coffee beans.

  • Swap out cream for tahini (sesame paste) to add creaminess to a blended soup

  • Sheep’s milk yogurt and cheese is an interesting alternative to cow’s milk as it contains a higher amount of milk solids meaning it uses half as much milk to produce the same amount of end product. Use it sparingly and source from an organic, small scale farm

  • Try olive oil in place of butter, if for no other reason that it makes the most beautifully moist cakes. A fruity and peppery extra virgin olive oil needs no accompaniment when paired with a good slice of sourdough.

Refined white sugar for local honey

You probably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about how sugar is produced (we know we haven’t until relatively recently), yet more than 145 million tonnes of sugar cane are produced every year for our consumption, much of which is associated with deforestation, water pollution and soil erosion. Not all honey is created equal though and industrial scale honey farms can have negative impacts on the environment too. Local non-blended honey from a natural apiculture farm however is much less dependent on cheap fossil fuels and more likely to manage their hives in a sustainable way. Yes, it is more expensive than imported or industrial honeys, but it taste infinitely better and we think the buy less but better quality rule applies here.

Refined wheat flour for ancient grains and alternative flours

Similar to the refined sugar story, the production, processing and transportation of mono culture refined wheat flour has a heavy carbon footprint, and the heavy use of pesticides and herbicides is linked to the steep decline in biodiversity we are currently seeing. Try switching to ancient grain flours such as spelt or rye (you get extra points if it’s locally grown and milled!) or experiment with flour made from non-grain sources such as chickpea flour and buckwheat. If this has you baffled, chickpea flour crepes (known as socca in France) or buckwheat galettes are a delicious place to start.

Eggs for chia seeds or ground flaxseeds

We love eggs but industrialized chicken farms are problematic on many levels, so we like to find ways to cut down on our consumption and use them when they really count. Try substituting with a chia seed or flaxseed egg as a binder in baking for example. To make the equivalent of one egg: grind one tablespoon of chia seeds or flaxseeds into a powder with a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle. Add 3 tablespoons water and stir to combine. It should become a thick paste within a few minutes.   

Meat for lentils, beans and chickpeas

You’ll have likely heard that reducing your intake of red meat is a great way to lighten your carbon footprint. Endlessly versatile, satisfying and high in protein, lentils, beans and chickpeas are a natural plant-based swap for meat dishes and worth embracing wholeheartedly. Transform them into hummus, put them centre stage in hearty stews or use them as a base for your summer salads. Their robust consistency and earthy flavors match well with aromatic spices, citrus zests and fresh herbs – you won’t be missing a thing.
 

Store bought stock for homemade chicken or veggie scrap stock

Leave the processed stocks on the supermarket shelves and discover how easy and infinitely more satisfying it is to make your own homemade stock. By doing so you’re making better use of the ingredients you already have, saving money, reducing emissions associated with processing and transport, and you’re in control of all of the ingredients. These are our go-to recipes for chicken and veggie scrap stock.
 

Imported berries for homegrown frozen berries

Forget out of season berries that have been air freighted halfway round the world, with their dwindling nutrient content and their plastic packaging, and opt for homegrown berries frozen right after picking.
 

Hothouse tomatoes for canned tomatoes or passata

When tomatoes are grown out of season they require energy-guzzling hothouses to grow them. Tomatoes never quite taste the same without real sunshine, so ditch them altogether in favor of those that were bottled or canned at the height of the season.
 

Processed pantry staples and snacks for homemade versions

It takes 10 calories of fossil fuels to make 1 calorie of processed food. By making your own you get to avoid all the nasty additives, and high sugar, salt and fat content, and most likely end up with something that also tastes a lot better. Start with making this harissa, you’ll never buy the store-bought version again.
 

Plastic and paper for wood, fabric and coconut fibre

It’s not just the food in our kitchens that have an environmental footprint. Trade-in those hard-to-recycle plastic scrubbers and microplastic sponges for wooden scrubbers with a natural fiber brush. Biodegradable coconut fibre scourers are effective as well as efficient and long lasting. For plastic wrap, try re-purposing shower caps to cover bowls, use reusable beeswax fabric food wraps, or just like our grandmothers did, simply use an appropriately-sized plate as a lid over bowls in the refrigerator. We can often forget that paper towel actually comes from trees, so either make sure you’re buying FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) label brands that guarantee the paper source comes from sustainably managed forests, or even better, re-purpose old sheets or clothing fabric into kitchen towels that can be thrown in the wash with your tea towels and reused again and again.


Nourish the Planet is a collaborative series by Patricia Wells and Emily Buchanan.
© 2020 – All rights reserved.

Find our more here about why we created this series.

A Conversation with Harper Collins

While on a recent trip to New York, I sat down with the publisher of Harper Audio Ana Maria Allessi to talk about writing, food, Paris, cooking tips and of course my upcoming cookbook My Master Recipes. You can listen to it here or follow the link http://www.harperaudiopresents.com/episodes/conversation-with-food-writer-patricia-wells/.
 

 

Patricia Wells left a career at the New York Times for a two-year writing assignment in France and has remained there for over 35 years. A self-taught cook, Patricia has multiple James Beard Award nominations and wins for her cookbooks, and wrote the much-lauded Food Lover's Guide to Paris. Today, she takes Ana Maria Allessi through her writing career, life as a French food celebrity, and the only thing she uses the microwave for.

 

The book will be on sale from March 7 from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million and Indiebound

Taste of the Week: Unsung star of the kitchen

I am not one for cluttering my kitchen with unnecessary kitchen gadgets. I prize my counter top and storage space, so every piece of equipment has to earn it's place. For me, the electric spice mill is an unsung star of the kitchen and has to rate among my top five favorite kitchen tools. It's of course essential for making my own spice mixes, but is also a dependable little machine for grinding, mixing and blending quantities too small for a blender or food processor, such as kaffir lime powder, dressings, sauces and pastes. It saves on the cleaning up too! A clever trick for cleaning after grinding spices is to grind a small quantity of rice, empty, and then wipe clean with paper towel.

What's your favorite kitchen gadget?

 

Taste of the week: Labeling your way to a more organized kitchen

La rentrée – the time of year in early September when France goes back to real life after a long, lazy summer break – is as much a formalized part of the year as Christmas or Easter. Kids are heading back to school, the papeteries (stationery shops) and supermarkets are piled high with stacks of notebooks, pens, diaries, ready to supply the nation with everything needed to start the new year. And while the only school I'll be attending is my cooking school, I always rejoice in a bit of annual reorganization. I round up unused utensils cluttering my kitchen and give them to friends, reorganize my cupboards after a month or two of hosting guests over the summer, and make sure my kitchen is in perfect order – not just so that my students can easily find their way around, but so that I can turn my hand to any task with a clear work space at my fingertips.

Strangely enough, one of my most frequently used items in my kitchen is not used for cooking. It's my label maker, the key to an orderly kitchen. Here are five ways in which labeling can transform your kitchen storage:

  1. Label and date anything that goes into your freezer, and also note it on a master list nearby. You think you'll remember what's in each container, but two months later, when the bag is frozen and your memory has faded, you'll be happy you have a well-marked inventory of your freezer contents.
  2. When storing leftovers in the fridge in glass or plastic containers, label the outside for clear identification. Then you're much less likely to leave perfectly good leftovers to languish at the back.
  3. Label spices and salts by jar in the same way. And if you like to renew your spices every six months, label the date of opening on the bottom of the jar.
  4. I always decant flours and grains into glass jars for storage. Labeling the jars makes for a much neater pantry, and helps avoid that moment when you're not sure if you're looking at self-raising flour, bread flour or plain flour. For grains, it's always useful to note the suggested cooking time and amount of water to cook in.
  5. If you have a lot of people coming through your kitchen like I do, labeling drawers and shelves for specific ingredients and cooking utensils is one of the best ways to make sure everything ends up back in its proper place at the end of the day.

Of course, you don't have to go out and buy a label maker, a roll of labeling tape and a sharpie can do the trick just as well. Happy organizing!

Taste of the week: Vanilla sugar

I always have vanilla-scented sugar on hand when making desserts, to give an injection of that warm, comforting aroma so perfectly suited to so many sweet dishes.

To make vanilla-scented sugar: Flatten one or several moist vanilla beans. Cut them lengthwise in half. With a small spoon, scrape out the seeds and place them in a small jar; reserve the seeds for another use. Fully dry the vanilla bean halves at room temperature. Place the dry halves in a large jar with a lid, and cover them with sugar. Tighten the lid and store for several weeks to scent and flavor the sugar. Use in place of regular sugar when preparing desserts.

A tip from my latest cookbook The French Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes and Lessons from Paris and Provence.

Taste of the week: Homemade molds

© Jeff Kauck

I love repurposing items, particularly packaging, into something useful in my kitchen. And why buy expensive stainless steel kitchen molds when you can just make them out of an empty tomato paste can? Simple remove the top and bottom of the can and you have an instant mold to make dishes like this gorgeous tomato tartare (you can find the recipe in The French Kitchen Cookbook).


Taste of the week: Red Boat Fish Sauce

I consider Red Boat Fish Sauce a favorite ingredient and one of my kitchen pantry essentials. Nuoc mam nhi (meaning salted fish water) is a staple of south-east Asian cooking, but I find endless ways of using this umami-rich sauce to deepen the flavors of many of my recipes, both Asian and non-Asian.

This brand in particular is my favorite because, unlike many other store-bought varieties that use additives and sugar, Red Boat fish sauce uses just two ingredients: wild caught black achovies and sea salt. The anchovies are the freshest possible, fished from the clear waters off Phu Quoc island in Vietnam. Using artisanal techniques, the fish is slowly fermented with sea salt for a year in tropical wooden barrels. They bottle only the first pressing, so what you get is a deeply rich, amber liquid, with no additives or preservatives.

Of course fish sauce is a requisite ingredient in Vietnamese dipping sauce, that perfectly balanced accompaniment to so many classic Vietnamese dishes. While the composite components are almost always the same, it is the balance of quantities and quality of ingredients that makes for the perfect dipping sauce recipe. Make sure you use fresh, moist garlic, with the green germ removed, to avoid any bitterness, and a good quality dipping sauce like Red Boat.

I've tested many different variations, and this recipe I think has the best balance of flavors:

 

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce

Equipment: A mini food processor or a standard food processor fitted with a small bowl; a small jar with a lid.

2 plump, moist garlic cloves, peeled, halved, green germ removed
1 fresh or dried red bird’s eye chile
3 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce, preferably Red Boat brand
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup (125 ml) water

In the food processor mince the garlic and chile. Add the fish sauce, citrus juice, sugar, and the water. Pulse to blend. Taste for seasoning. Transfer to the jar and tighten the lid. (Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.)

Makes 3/4 cup (185 ml)

Buy Red Boat Fish Sauce here from My Amazon Store.

 

This recipe was first published in The French Kitchen Cookbook. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Taste of the week: A recipe for learning to cook

Who can resist a new year's resolution? If yours is learning to cook, or be a better cook, then it is a worthy resolution indeed!

One of the questions I have been asked most over the years by novice cooks is a simple, but very important one: "How do I learn to cook?". Busy schedules and tight budgets mean that cooking classes aren't always on the cards. So here is my advice to those who want to really take a leap forward with their cooking at home in their own kitchen. And remember, this can be applied to more advanced cooks, just pick recipes or techniques that are relevant to your level of expertise. You know, we never stop learning!

1.  Sit down and make a list of the 10 things you most like to eat (for a well-rounded cook I would suggest not all desserts, unless your aim is to become a master pastry chef!) Take inspiration from your favorite cookbooks or blogs but don't be too ambitious, just choose the things that you really want to perfect.

2. Then, like a pianist learning to play a new piece of music, you simply practise. Just cook, cook, cook! Practise the first recipe on your list until you feel you have mastered it, making notes along the way about what worked and what didn't - a kitchen diary can be one of the most useful tools in a cook's kitchen.

3. Move on to the next recipe on your list. By the time you have completed the list, you will have a repetoire of 10 things you can be proud of. Then of course, you'll make another list of 10 new recipes. The wonderful thing about cooking is that no matter how much you know, there is always more to learn.

I think if I was to learn to cook this way today, top of my list would be roast chicken, a simple pizza, a wholesome salad with a zesty lemon dressing and a chocolate tart. What would be on your list?

 

Taste of the week: Decant or not decant?

© Jeff Kauck

With the festive season pretty much upon us, it seems an especially good time to talk about the benefits of decanting red wine, as I am sure many a bottle will be shared in the coming weeks.

In class during our wine-tasting sessions, we often do a blind taste test to understand the benefits of decanting - and the results are always surprising to my students. We test the same wine, one which has been decanted several hours before, and one that has been just opened. The decanted wine wins every time for flavor and satisfaction, no matter what the price or wine (with the exception of very old wines that might be fragile). This is because the aeration and oxygenation actually ages the wine and opens it up, So don't just get out your decanter for your special occasion reds, have it on hand to get the most out of any bottle that you are drinking.

A handy tip for getting rid of stubborn wine stains on your carafe: after washing the carafe fill it with water for a few days or even until the next time you use it. And residual stains should just disappear.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Taste of the week: Lemon zest salt

 © Jeff Kauck

Before using a lemon, I always zest it. If I am not using the zest in the recipe I am making, I like to turn it into lemon zest salt, that I can use on virtually any dish to add color, texture, and well, a little zest! The recipe couldn't be easier:

Lemon Zest Salt

Makes 2 tablespoons

Equipment: A spice grinder; a small jar with a lid

1 tablespoons grated lemon zest, preferably organic (as non-organic lemon skins are heavily sprayed with pesticides)

1 tablespoon fine sea salt


Combine the zest and the salt in the spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Transfer to a small jar and close with the lid. Keep refrigerated for up to a week (after that the lemon flavor begins to fade)

If you don't have a spice grinder, you can use a well-cleaned coffee grinder, or zest the lemon finely with a very sharp fine zester such as a microplane zester, and stir to combine.


This recipe was first published in Salad as a Meal. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

 

 

 

A new way to love a tomato

Bristol Tomatoes 8 12

Tomatoes must be very happy. Everyone loves them. Craves them. I have always understood that the Japanese believe that the way in which you cut anything changes the flavor. I agree. Slice something too thinly and it looses its soul. Too thick and you miss the message. But at a celebratory lunch the other day on the new terrace of the the Bristol in Paris, with chef Eric Fréchon at the stove, my friend Susan Herrmann Loomis and I shared a landmark meal. There were many highlights, but as a cook and a  teacher, what I took away  was the "tomato corks" pictured here. I grow more than 20 varieties of tomatoes in Provence, and never tire of them, breakfast, lunch, dinner. I slices them thick and thick, make sauces, etc etc. But I have never seen them cut like this. After lunch, Susan and I emailed about how to do this at home. She was the smartest one who suggested an apple corer might be the right gadget. So I found a fabulous Zyliss apple corer that does a "twist and release" meant for the apple but even better for the tomato. There is no recipe here, but I will tell you what I have done: made tomato corks and drizzled them with olive oil and vinegar and salt, made them part of an antipasti platter paired with thin slices of ham, giant olives, slices of prosciutto, slices of mozzarella, pure heaven. I use any leftover tomatoes to make a tomato sauce. The best advice is to cut the top and bottom from the tomato and stick the corer into the tomato. Release each cork onto a thick layer of paper towels. Salt lightly. Then season and serve as you like!   Tonight I will serve a ravioli with that homemade tomato sauce and toss all of this with more tomato corks. To be continued! I have added the Zyliss apple corer to my Amazon Store if you want one!