To think everyone uses leftovers

[moogy1a]

Certain smug, lispy, fat tongued chefs make a living at the moment by telling people not to throw perfectly good food away if you've cooked too much.
Surely no one does anyway?
Would anyone really cook say a roast chicken, not eat it all, so bin it rather than keep for sarnies / stir fry/ nibbling at secretly in the kitchen?
Do you bin leftover food or use it later?

I am cooking a sausage casserole, I am doing double quantities and freezing half for another day.

There's the odd carrot that I may forget about, but on the whole, batch cooking and freezing into sensible portions works for us.
Both mine and dh's parents were born before or during WWII and remember rationing vividly. They didn't talk about it all the time, but it did inform how they consumed, whether it be food, clothing, furniture etc. They were careful, and some of their lessons have rubbed off on us, which they'd be pleased about. Wish they were all still here to tell our dc's about seeing oranges and bananas for the first time etc .

No phantom I don't like tuna steak and my fishmonger does some of the best.

There isn't enough fat in it for me, likewise bonito, shark and swordfish.

I do like other fish. Mostly white, but on the darker front I like mackerel and sardines and sardine-type things such as anchovies and pilchards depending on the season.

Not herrings, I find the flavour a bit strong.

I cook them in various ways.

What do you think?

It really upsets me that people throw away perfectly good food. There are people here in the UK that are hungry and could have eaten it !

Can I just check something ?

It's OK to freeze left over chicken (cooked from fresh) ? I've been doing this for a while then when I've got enough I make chicken pie (using left over vegetables from the Sunday roast). We don't freeze the left over pie (I finally worked out what pie plate is enough for one pie).

My mother thinks it's not wise but I can't see the issue (assuming the meat is fully defrosted and then piping hot when cooked in the pie) ?

Fine if defrosted and piping hot.

didireally
yes of course

anycoffee that doesnt make sense though,thy dont get to eat it do they,unless you go round peoples houses or roam the streets offering up leftovers,i hear people say that lall the time and it doesnt make sense.

I know I know they dont. But just the idea of it..Its irrational I know.

ringaringarosey
go around a supermarket at the end of the day and watch hundreds of unopened perfectly good sandwiches being binned
go past ANY big chain snackerie (Greggs, Starbucks, Subway) at the end of the day and watch the shelves being cleared into the bin
ask any supermarket if they are happy to let you see their bins for food waste
they won't be
when I see live herb plants binned because they are past their "display until" date - they are a living plant ffs
I know that the economics of food in the UK are mad.

I'd prefer to eat left over chicken cold, or preferably room temperature in a sandwich, possibly with mayonnaise and stuffing or apple or cranberry sauce.

I've never found it works re-heated but I would eat it, if starving.

Maybe the problem with this thread is that the world is divided into two types of people: those of us who know how to eat left-overs and those who rear up in panic.

Talkinpeace

I totally agree with the amount of wastage from supermarkets and restaurants, but how is that comparable to me throwing out uneaten leftovers?

This is the issue I have.

There's some lasagne left in my kitchen now. I'm chucking it once it cools down. There's not enough there for any of us to eat tomorrow and besides which, no one will want it tomorrow. I don't strip chicken carcasses either. So shoot me.

I'm not going to spend my life feeling guilty about it. Life's too short. If people have problems with waste, take it up with the big corporations and get them to donate their leftover food to homeless shelters or something.

No point people coming on here (not you specifically, Talkin) and getting cross with those of us who don't eat every scrap of food in the house.

spices really,thats what makes them different,a traditional english stew doesnt have chilli or paprika or peppers in it as far as i know!

Its quite patronising when someone tells you you only dont like something because youve never had a "proper" one,there are some things you just dont like the taste of,my husband hates pretty much ALL fish,some people would never eat something hotter than a korma,i dont tell them they just havnt a well made one.

talkin you still dont make sense,it doesnt make any difference if people throw stuff away,eating food doesnt stop others going hungry.

heartbroken
I was involved in a research study where we had to quantify our waste for three months into recyclable, food and dry landfill
bearing in mind that food is the most expensive part to handle due to it rotting etc
food amounted to 2/3 of the non recyclable by weight.
but I compost all food so it ends up back on my veg garden

nobody uses all the food they buy : peelings and stalks and gristle
but it is worth being aware of it because you save money.

ringaring
it doesnt make any difference if people throw stuff away,eating food doesnt stop others going hungry
when food is grown it is irrigated and water tables drop
if that food goes straight to landfill, creating greenhouse gases as it rots, then the people in the area the food was grown have lost their drinking water for nothing
it matters

it doesnt though,because it still makes no difference whether that food is eaten or not,the outcome is the same!

How is it more patronising to say you prefer a goulash - central European? - to a casserole from western Europe as in France or Britain.

I like mild to medium curries and other chilli-based foods btw. Anything else I can't take. But if I was starving I'd eat grass.

What do you think of stews from northern Europe containing deer meat and caraway? Or things of preserved fish and dill? Or much further north of buried (leftover) fish and meat in snow?

I like deer meat, though I find it a bit dry. The other things, not so much.

What do you think ring?

if the food is eaten, hopefully the eater generates wealth or learning

read my post again,i am saying i dont like traditional english food,i find it bland and i dont like those kinds of flavours,i said people are being patronising by saying the only reason i dont like them is because i havnt tried theirs or their grandmas or whatever.

So i could say to you,"ha,the only reason you dont like hot curries is because you havnt had a proper one" that would be patronising.

Ive not tried the things you mentioned so cant comment!i have had venison before that was nice.

Not sure what traditional English food is......

Can I ask about this rice thing? I cook my rice in boiling water -- will that kill the spores? I've always put rice dishes in the fridge and reheated it 2-3 days later! I try to freeze if I expect it to be longer. I'm now worried, and with DD sharing food with us, I don't want to do anything dangerous!

No, with rice you've got to cook, cool what you don't want under the cold tap & reheat thoroughly when you use it again.

But what if it's in a risotto or similar? You can't rise that! I make a lot of dishes like that, and usually with planned overs. Should I not?

as long as it's been cooled quickly and kept sensibly and not too long it'll be fine.

you can buy risotto ready meals in supermarkets fgs, if they were that dangerous people would be falling down dead all over the place.

yes, rice can harbour a fairly unpleasant form of bacteria (bacillus cereus) which isn't always killed on initial cooking. ut getting food poisoning from it if you've been careful with food prep, cooling and reheating is really, really, really unlikely

With rissoto I put it either in a freezer bag or pot and put that in iced water, then freeze it. Plain rice gets cooled as Fluffy said.