Zero waste | Braun DE

Less food waste

Zero waste: Keeping food fresh and getting creative with leftovers.

Huge amounts of food end up in the bin every day. Planning your grocery shopping, storing it properly and adopting a more conscious approach to what you eat can all help to reduce food waste. Even small changes can help to cut waste or even avoid it completely. But nobody's perfect: We don't need to achieve a zero waste lifestyle immediately, we all just need to start. Equipped with a few tricks for keeping fruit, vegetables and other precious produce fresh, and even reviving a few things past their best, you can reduce food waste to a minimum or even eliminate it entirely. Why not start getting creative with your leftovers?

Keeping food fresh: How to save food and ensure it stays fresher for longer

By chilling, freezing, pickling and preserving food, you can extend its shelf life and save it from being condemned to the bin.

Best-before dates

Best-before dates are a guideline – and very different from use-by dates

Just because a yoghurt is a few days past its best-before date (BBD), that doesn’t mean you can’t still eat and enjoy it. This date is simply a guarantee from the manufacturer stating that, when properly stored, a product will retain its flavour, aroma and nutritional value up until then. You should not consume chilled convenience products like fresh pasta or sausages long after their best-before date. They may contain germs that you can’t see, smell or taste but could still make you ill. If in doubt, it’s best to throw them away. The same applies to easily perishable produce, which will usually have a use-by date on the packaging. After this date, perishable goods should go in the bin.

Storing and chilling

The FiFo principle and temperature zones in your fridge

Put new food at the back, bring older food to the front. The “FiFo” principle (first in, first out) can help you keep track of what’s fresh and what isn’t. It’s also useful to know that refrigerators have different temperature zones. Above the crisper drawer, the higher the shelf, the warmer it will be. The lowest shelf, just above the crisper, will be the coldest. The fridge door warms up the most when opened. So, to help foods in the fridge stay fresh for as long as possible, make sure you place them on the right shelf. You can find out more about this under “Storing food correctly”.

Einfrieren

Worauf Sie in Ihrem Gefrierschrank achten sollten

Mikroorganismen können sich bei niedrigen Temperaturen nicht so schnell vermehren. Aus diesem Grund lassen sich Lebensmittel durch Einfrieren am besten frisch halten. Im Folgenden finden Sie ein paar Regeln für das effektive Einfrieren von Lebensmitteln:
- Transportieren Sie gefrorene Produkte in Kühltaschen oder isolierten Lebensmittelbehältern, um eine Unterbrechung der Kühlkette zu vermeiden.
- Tauen Sie gefrorene Produkte im Kühlschrank auf und fangen Sie das Tauwasser auf, damit alles hygienisch bleibt.
- Frieren Sie Lebensmittel portionsweise ein, damit Sie immer genau die richtige Menge auftauen können.
- Frieren Sie Lebensmittel immer in Gefrierbeuteln ein, damit sie nicht austrocknen oder ihr Aroma verlieren.
- Denken Sie daran, die Gefrierbeutel mit Datum zu beschriften – nicht alle Lebensmittel bleiben im Gefrierschrank gleich lange frisch.

Eingemachtes

Einkochen, Einlegen und Fermentieren

Das erinnert Sie an Ihre Großmutter? Das mag sein, aber die Kunst des Einkochens, Einlegens und Fermentierens ist gerade wieder stark im Trend! Mit diesen Methoden können Sie Lebensmittel an einem kühlen, trockenen Ort ohne direkte Sonneneinstrahlung bis zu einem Jahr lang aufbewahren. Beschriften Sie frisch eingemachte Lebensmittel immer mit dem Datum und stellen Sie sie hinten in den Schrank oder die Vorratskammer, damit Sie die älteren Produkte zuerst verwenden. Ist der Deckel lose, die Flüssigkeit trüb oder der Geruch unnatürlich, sollten Eingemachtes und Eingelegtes am besten entsorgt werden.

Einkochen

Lebensmittel in Gläsern einkochen

Sie können so gut wie alles einkochen, sogar Fleisch und Wurstwaren. Dafür müssen die Lebensmittel natürlich frisch und unbeschädigt sein. Obst sollte roh und Gemüse roh oder blanchiert sein. Es ist eigentlich ganz einfach. Schichten Sie gewaschene und vorbereitete Lebensmittel in ein sauberes Glas mit Bügel- oder Schraubverschluss und bedecken Sie alles mit Flüssigkeit. Stellen Sie die Gläser in einen Kochtopf und achten Sie darauf, dass sie sich nicht berühren. Füllen Sie den Topf mit so viel Wasser, dass die Gläser etwa zu drei Vierteln bedeckt sind und erhitzen Sie das Wasser auf 75 - 120 °C. Je nach Lebensmittel sollte diese Temperatur für 10 Minuten bis 2 Stunden gehalten werden. Beim späteren Abkühlen der Gläser bildet sich im Innern ein Vakuum, das den Deckel luftdicht verschließt. Beim Einkochen von Erbsen, Bohnen und Pilzen sollten Sie den Kochvorgang ein zweites Mal wiederholen.

Einlegen

Lebensmittel in Gläsern einlegen

Sie möchten etwas Neues ausprobieren? Stellen Sie Ihre Kochkünste doch mit Karotten, grünen Bohnen, roter Beete oder Paprika auf die Probe. Diese Gemüsesorten eignen sich besonders gut zum Einlegen. Um ein Kilogramm Gemüse einzulegen, benötigen Sie einen halben Liter Essig (5 %) und bis zu einem halben Liter Wasser mit Gewürzen und Kräutern. Erhitzen Sie die Einlegeflüssigkeit, gießen Sie sie in Gläser oder Steinguttöpfe, lassen Sie sie abkühlen, erhitzen Sie die Flüssigkeit erneut und gießen Sie sie über das Gemüse. Das Gemüse sollte ein paar Fingerbreit mit Flüssigkeit bedeckt sein. Die eingelegten Lebensmittel sollten vier bis sechs Wochen lang durchziehen, danach sind sie für weitere 3 bis 12 Monate haltbar.

Fermenting

Fermenting food in glass jars

Fermentation is an age-old method for preserving food and is used to this day to make sauerkraut. For some people, fermented foods are more digestible, for example. Enzymes and microorganisms break down the sugars in the vegetables in a multiple-stage process. This produces both the lactic and acetic acids that give fermented vegetables their typical flavour and stop them from perishing. Ripe vegetables are ideally suited to fermentation. It’s actually quite simple… before you start fermenting, you need to grate, slice or shred the vegetables. Then add the grated, sliced or shredded vegetables to a glass jar, fill with a 5% brine, and leave for a few days or weeks to pickle. If the jar remains well sealed, the fermented vegetables can keep for several months.

Reviving old food

Even when stored correctly, some foods rapidly lose their freshness and take on a chewy or dry, crispy consistency. There’s no need to throw these foods away, though. Here’s how you can refreshen old food in your stock.

Lettuce & herbs

Refreshing salad leaves and herbs

If you want to refresh wilting lettuce, simply sit it in cold water for a little while. This will make the leaves crisp again. You can also heat some firmer varieties of lettuce, such as raddichio, romaine lettuce and chicory. To revive herbs that have become limp, simply cut them as you would do it with flowers and place them in a glass with water. They’ll soon perk up again! You can also use wilted herbs to make pesto or freeze them in oil in ice-cube trays.

Carrots & co.

Putting the bite back into root vegetables

Just like lettuce and herbs, root vegetables such as carrots, radishes and beetroot just need to be given a little water to bring them back to life. However, it can sometimes take rather longer. Ideally, you should leave the root vegetables in a container with water for several hours or overnight – preferably in the fridge. Alternatively, you could wrap them in a damp tea towel. They will absorb the water and regain their crunch.

Fruit

Fruit – an exception

Overripe fruit can’t be refreshed, but you can use it in a number of delicious recipes. Brown bananas, for example, are a perfect ingredient in banana bread or as the base of smoothies – and, in summer, they’re great for making banana ice cream. You can use shrivelled apples and pears to whip up tasty jams, purées, compotes and crisps. However, if fruit is past its best, you should use it quickly before it gets mouldy.

Bread

Moisten and bake: Hard bread doesn’t need to be binned

We’ve all been there, haven’t we? That delicious baguette or bread roll we only bought yesterday has gone hard in the blink of an eye. However, that doesn’t mean you have to throw them away – you can still get plenty of value out of them. Take your dried bread, moisten it with a little water, pop it in the oven for a few minutes and, soon enough, it’ll taste almost as good as it did the day you bought it. If bread has become very hard, you can use it to make breadcrumbs.

Pasta

Sauté or blanch: Making yesterday’s pasta soft again

Depending on how you store it, leftover pasta can either become watery or it can dry out. If you want to make it taste just as good the next day, simply sauté softened pasta over a medium heat. On the other hand, if your pasta has dried out, just pop it in some boiling water for a minute or two.

Cheese

Hard cheese softens again in milk

If you leave cheese out on the dining table for too long, or if it gets pushed to the back of the fridge, it can soon become dry and hard. You can soften hardened cheese by soaking it in milk for half an hour or so – this eliminates the need to throw it out.

Biscuits, cakes & pastries

How apples can save snacks

Biscuits are naturally fairly dry, but they can become even drier and a little hard when stored for a long time. If you like your biscuits a little softer, simply pop a sliced apple in the biscuit tin for a few hours. The fruit will give the biscuits a little moisture and soften them up again. You can also do this with cakes and other baked goods.

What to do with leftovers? Get creative with your odds and ends

Sliced vegetables, yesterday’s potatoes, half a pudding – if you’re not careful, your fridge will be brimming with leftovers. You should always give your food a second chance, as it often allows you to get creative. Don’t throw leftovers in the bin, put them in a pan and conjure up something new. Cooking leftovers together with family and friends can be a lot of fun!

Whatever the food, whatever the occasion, there’s always a recipe to match. For example, leftover bread, tomatoes and rocket can become a delicious panzanella. Maybe you could whip up a healthy dessert by turning leftover fruit into a smoothie or fruit salad? And that leftover sliced pepper can be combined with the half-can of sweetcorn and rice from yesterday to create a tasty veggie curry.

Still got some soup leftover from yesterday, but not enough for a full portion? No problem! Just use it the last bit of soup as a sauce for pasta or noodles. And, if that’s still not enough, add a few chopped vegetables and maybe a little vegetable stock.

Check out our recipe ideas for further inspiration on how to use leftovers creatively.

Zero waste: Other things you can to stop food ending up in the bin

If you’re eating in a restaurant and your portion was too big, simply ask if you can take the leftovers home in a doggy bag. Alternatively, you could ask for a smaller portion in advance.
Buying food to eat the same day or the next day? Try to choose products with a close best-before date.
Be smarter when peeling and slicing, we often put more of vegetables in the bin than we need to. Broccoli stems, for example, taste just as good as the florets.
Ever thought of making a salad out of radish leaves or baking banana peel into a cake?
Slice spring onions into rings and freeze them in a plastic bottle. You can then use just the right amount whenever you need them in future.
If you’ve opened a tin of food and only need half of it, simply decant the rest into a clean, resealable container. This will keep it fresh for longer.
Fancy holding a leftovers party? Cooking together with friends allows you to combine your odds and ends and whip up creative dishes.
Heading away on holiday but your fridge is still full? No problem! Simply knock on your neighbour’s door and offer them what you have.

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Good design should be effective. So are our tips for reducing food waste, which we hope provide practical, useful examples of how we can show great appreciation for our food with even the smallest effort. Together we can achieve a lot with small changes.

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