Open Thread - Thurs 15 Sep 2022 - Upcycling
Upcycling - Don't Waste It!
I learned about 'upcycling' a little while ago. It's a nice new name for an age-old practice, at least, so it seems to me.
Recently there was a podcast about it on Anthrodish and that got me going down the rabbit hole. And that hole is empty right now, as the cats just brought home a little dead rabbit to offer to me because I was late with the cats' afternoon feeding... err, hmmm, ok, back on topic.
Some stuff to upcycle! from https://junkit.ca/blog/3-ways-to-upcycle-your-food-waste/
So upcycling food 'waste' is basically taking the old fruit and veg (and more) that didn't sell in the markets, the produce that farmers have that isn't going to be sold for whatever reason, the stuff restaurants may have which is more than they can sell, the by-products and trash from factory food production, baking, etc, and making it into food. Here's a link to a group in Detroit, using upcycled food to feed the poor, and also educating people about using food to the finish, not throwing it away when it gets a spot on it. Apparently Americans throw away 30-40% of the food we grow! As a retired small farmer, that statistic kinda makes me ill.
Now, I have to admit that I didn't know that upcycling was a needed thing (here's an article on 4 ways upcycling is making a difference). In regards to fruit and vegetables I thought people just did things like I do; for example, cut out the black spot on the vegetable and eat the rest, put the remaining bits of food on the compost heap to help grow the next crops, accept that food isn't 'perfect' looking all the time and eat it anyway. On the other hand, most people get their fruit and veg from a grocery store, and that produce always has to look perfect. It never even occurred to me to think about what happened when it wasn't perfect, or wasn't sold. I know that a lot of fruit and veg isn't perfect when it's grown, heck, the produce I grow has never been perfect and I eat it, bug marks, cut out little rotten bits and all, happily. But I never connected the dots. Why was the grocery store produce always so perfect? Unless, of course one lives in an inner city or other poor location where the stores get the leftovers and castoffs of the other stores.
Anyway, I'm glad some of society is starting to try to use all the food, including the bits left over from factory food production, as well as superfluous, for whatever reason, vegetable, fruit, bakery, restaurant, etc, food. Companies are trying to make a profit out of using this cast off food to produce more food.
I think we need much more education about food, about cooking, about how food is produced and grown and everything else*. But at least this is a start.
So, thanks for reading and here's the open thread - and remember, everything is interesting if you dive deep enough, so tell us about where you're diving!
*Some personal experiences:
- People in the ghetto where I lived in Philly in the 1980's couldn't produce good food. They didn't have the experience/training to do it, and they really didn't have the equipment (like stoves). However, I will admit that the local food stores/supermarkets sold what is now being called 'upcycled' food; food too old, too close to the sell-by date, too ugly, to be sold in the suburban versions of those stores.
- Rich people don't know how to make or store good food, either. I had a member of my CSA one year complain because the lettuce didn't last very long. She was trying to eat vegetables because her 10 year old son was supposedly unhealthy (maybe, she was very much a helicopter Mom) and the doc recommended vegetables for the kid. So she immediately signed up for the CSA without knowing a thing about food or cooking. She worked in the financial industry in Seattle in upper level management. She didn't know that you should refrigerate vegetables, or store them in a cool location. So she put the lettuce and other things I grew for the CSA on her countertop in the sunlight and then got pissed when they wilted and turned into dry leaves.
- Dairy farmer friends of mine welcome inner city kids out to the farm once a year. This is often the first, and maybe the only, time those kids see the countryside and its animals. More than one of the kids didn't realize that milk comes from animals. They thought milk was made in a factory and then sent to the store.
Comments
Hello Everyone!
Hope everyone's day is going as well as it can! Here it's supposed to be cool and cloudy. That works! Let us know what's up with you! What you learning/doing lately?
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good morning...
I've go a little building project to wrap p today. It is a shame we waste so much food in the US.
https://www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america/
For some reason we can't even manage to compost waste food? Speaks volumes about the current nature of the US.
Well hope you all have a good day. Thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Dang, 650 apples straight into the garbage?
That really puts it in perspective. I know composting can be annoying, and most people can't do it in large amounts (not enough land) but we could all do it together. Separate the food waste from the other stuff, and send that to a composting facility. How's that different that separating out plastics or cans?
Here at the farm we've got a huge compost heap. We compost basically everything we can. And the soil loves us for it.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Before refrigeration...
...probably for thousands of years, Korean people used their renowned expertise in pottery making for food processing and preservation. I'm certainly no expert on farming or food, but being around Korean people for a while, and just watching South Korean tv, I've observed some things about Korean foods, and traditional food processing.
The hangari, or large brown ceramic pot, is used for food storage, normally, on a traditional farm. The hangari are stored on a jangdoktae, a kind of outdoor patio with the right conditions for fermentation. In this Wikipedia article, they call hangari, "onggi," which to me, is a category of ceramics, (but the Chinese derived word for pottery is used for the large brown ceramic jars, as well, I never heard it before). Hangari is the specific name of the large brown jar used in common usage. There is a picture of a jangdoktae at the wikipedia link but it is labelled onggi.
When people migrated to the city from the old village (kyoyang) where they grew up, even if they lived in apartment buildings, with electricity, aircon, and refrigeration, supermarkets, etc., they would still have a couple of hangari, ideally three for bean paste, pepper paste, and kimchi. One's home or apartment would have to have a suitable patio or balcony for this. Shopping at street side or open air markets was usually preferrable to a supermarket to get ingredients. If one lived in a seaside village, fish were dried on racks in the sun for preservation. So from the wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onggi
Older people left on the village farms, after the great exodus to the cities, still used this traditional food processing and storage technique for its economy. Successful middle class retired persons moving back to the farming village, renovate farms and use these traditional techniques to live a more natural life.
Hopefully, these traditional food processing and preservation techniques will not be lost.
On a political note, this article from the Korea Herald (English) portends a possible turning point in the police state developments unfolding in South Korea. No surprise that Han Dong-hun, the justice minister, opposes the petitions to overturn unconstitutionally vague limits on freedom of association, assembly and speech, which are relics of the cold war. Frankly, because of a circumstantial record of Yoon and his hatchet men from the prosecution offices unlawfully investigating judges, (in addition to other arbitrary police techniques) I wonder if South Korea can get a positive outcome from its Constitutional Court under the current administration. I hope I'm proven wrong.
Constitutional Court begins deliberations on Cold War-era National Security Act
By YonhapPublished : Sept 15, 2022 - 09:47
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20220915000166
語必忠信 行必正直
Thanks, both for the info on food processing/storage and
for the information on the freedom of association & National Seurity Act hassles. I was unaware that people were taking on the Security At provisions, ironic at a time when their counterpart, McCarthyism, is surging back in this country.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Red baiting
Thanks for your observation on McCarthyism. That is a good characterization.
The authoritarian movement in South Korea is ominous imo. Most Americans think I'm exaggerating. It appears that way, mostly because Americans see what the English language press wants the public to see. As long as the new reactionary authoritarian administration in South Korea caters to US and Japanese, military and financial objectives, they will look the other way.
TK of The Blue Roof, calls it the new right. It portrays the Japanese colonial period in a positive light, and lauds the accomplishments of the South Korean dictatorships that followed.
語必忠信 行必正直
Seems like this move to the 'right'
or whatever it is, is happening everywhere. It's so frightening. I hope the South Korean people can beat it back, even if the American people can't.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Some college friends
of mine were extremely Korean, and at the start of the fall semester they'd take an old beat-up onggi and fill it with all sorts of marvelous stuff. Then, under cover of darkness, they'd go out and bury it under the sod in the outfield of the nearby softball field. Come about the end of January, they'd dig it up, and it would be kimchi for everybody! Still the best kimchi I ever had...
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Wonderful
when younger people display the traditional skill. Many don't lately because of urbanization. Usually, it's a skill passed from generation to generation. As a suburban American, i thought all food came from the supermarket.
I love Kimchi too! Especially cabbage kimchi. Home made is always better than the store bought jars at the Lotte Mart or other oriental food store. Not that I know how to make it, but most older generation Korean Americans know how.
語必忠信 行必正直
Thank you for the information about how things are done...
in Korea, traditionally. My husband lived there for a while, and loves Kimchi. He makes his own, not in a pot but in a gallon glass canning jar. I love learning about how food is stored in other places as well, gives me ideas for the food we grow here on our farm!
Also, I hope the people in South Korea can get rid of those stupid rules about Cold War era National Security!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Misfits Market
Thanks for the OT! I always enjoy them but seldom get a chance to comment.
Being raised on the farm, nothing went to waste. The barn cats ate any leftover table food and my mom was a wizard at left-over casseroles.
My husband isn't too keen on leftovers originally being a city kid, but nothing goes to waste here as leftovers go to dogs, chickens, or compost. I know how to cut off a bad spot.
This past year I discovered "Misfits Market" https://www.misfitsmarket.com/
There was a card about them in the mail. They claim that all of their items are rescued. My garden was burned by the sun this year, but at least I could get a box of produce from Misfits Market. I don't get one every week but at least a couple of times a month.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
That's a great service, Misfits Market
It's just great. We do much the same here, everything gets used, or it's on the compost heap. The chickens get free range over the heap, so they get a lot of food there, and we get the best eggs ever! I grew up in a town, like your husband, but learned to compost everything pretty young. It was the 'way' in Europe. Now, there's a compost bucket by the kitchen sink, gets emptied about every two days. There is no trash can in the kitchen (which really befuddles guests). That is outside in the garage, along with whatever smell and flies it brings. Wish we could figure out what to do with the blood soaked, or whatever that is, meat packaging.
Anyway, thanks for the info about Misfits Market. I might give that a try when I need to! And good luck with your next garden. Ours got quite a bit of sun damage too. Very frustrating.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good morning Sima, thanks for the OT.
"Upcycling" to me has always been about "repurposing" which has been a natural part of my life since childhood. Broken, worn out or obsolete items, not readily or economically reparable could always be converted into something else, or used to fabricate some sort of makeshift repair to something completely different and unrelated. I recall once mating a cheapo hairdryer with a busted element to a cheapo cast iron hibachi with busted grill pieces and voila - extremely cool charcoal fired forge which I used for a great many projects that required those kinds of temperatures such as bending cold rolled steel rod to replace an improperly shaped generic floor shifter, hardening and tempering various steel items, etc. A classic was taking long outgrown clamp on roller skates, making a few alterations and attaching them to a piece of 1 by 4 to make skateboards back in the early 60s, before skeateboards were even a thing.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
You sound like an ace at repurposing!
I do what I can, but, heh, never could figure out how to take parts from old appliances and make new ones like a forge! That rocks. I tend to recycle a lot of fabrics, the last stop is goat bedding when they are giving birth. Before that the fabrics are cat beds, plant guards, and so on. Ohh and rags, of course.
One thing we recycle constantly is stuff for plant growing. We wash and reuse plant pots until they break. We do the same with seedling flats and so on. Still using some 1 gallon plastic pots we bought over 20 years ago!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
I think the most common applaince hack
in the us is the use of old washing machine tubs, as is, for portable camping firepits. Just load and light, all the drain holes provide perfect airflow.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I would do that...
if I ever have access to an old washing machine tub. My washing machine is 30 years old. Whenever the plumbers/repair guys come by to repair something else, they fondle the washing machine and tell me in hushed tones, 'Never get rid of this, until it breaks completely.' Apparently the machine was/is one of the best around. Certainly it has survived well!
Thanks for that little bit of info, I'm storing that away. Maybe I can get an old tub from the junk/recycle!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Sounds like our dryer old kenmore every year or so
I need to fiddle with it, but it always comes back to life. Of course we mostly use the solar powered linear dryer out back, so it doesn't get too overmuch use.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
My 34 year old German equivalent
is still going, and never needed repairing. I don't use it very often and don't overload it, but they certainly don't make most stuff of the quality that they used to, even German products. Planned obsolescence has been around for a long time now.
...
Whatever happened to respect for materials and craftsmanship?
High quality products
that last and last are what modern manufacturers avoid.
Pride in your product has gone the way of the dodo.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Boy, ain't that the truth
Seems like nothing is made to last more than a couple years now... It's sad.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Hi el
Thank you for sharing your inventiveness.
I have listened to all the music you posted in this week's to throughout the week, and I enjoyed all of it. Your sequencing is also very nice.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the tunes.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Leftovers Report
The food guru Martha Stewart reports:
Still troubling that over 25% of respondents had a negative attitude toward leftovers. When food is already cooked and paid for, it's a good deal.
That is troubling...
I don't understand it. 25% won't eat left-over food? If you buy food to-go or eat out... bring home the left overs. One meal out can equal two at home (for us). One Chinese to-go meal equals four meals at home, for me. Unless the dog gets some of it. And heck, every recipe is for four or six people, but only two live here. So we ALWAYS eat left-overs. Seems sensible, doesn't it?
And, what are freezers for? Freezing left over meals for later if people don't want to eat them right away, right?
Thanks for the stats and the link to Martha Stewart!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
endless enigma
there is/are more resources untapped than ever dreamt.
That linked org is an echo of Food Not Bombs actions and organization for multiple decades, internationally. When you become involved (entirely crucial) you see the amounts, the challenges and the obstacles. We do not lack for food resources. Involved participants? another story.
That's it, isn't it?
We always seem to lack involved participants. I think it's cultural, or maybe it's just human. Everyone thinks some 'other' people will take care of whatever is the concern. And so the concern never gets dealt with!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Surprisingly, maybe,
is that 25% of Americans do some volunteering.
https://nonprofitssource.com/online-giving-statistics/volunteering-stati...
I wonder if they are going to visit the Obamas? LOL
Obama's humble abode in Martha's Vineyard
Hey, well, ya know
It takes a lot of slaves to clean those 30 gold plated toilets.
The funny part, the refugees were taken to a 'safe location'
meaning a jail. Hopefully they have a decent lawyer pro bono.
People are political pawns in this nation.
question everything
Safe Location
Wasn't until your comment that I put the two together, of course they are going to a jail. Damn.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Hahaha!
Too funny!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good to learn a new word!
I am a "waste not, want not" person. If I cook a roast, it is first an entree', then made into a sandwich, then shredded for tacos, and anything left is thrown into the soup pot.
Young people, particularly urbanites, do not know how to cook, much less how to determine what food is truly spoiled, or what spot can be chopped off and discarded. It is not uncommon for me to present a vegetable to a young grocery cashier and have them ask, what is this vegetable? They obviously have never eaten said vegetable. They have never seen it served.
It pisses me off Big Ag has no problem with GMOs, but does have a problem with perfectly edible food that isn't "pretty" enough to sell. Why government doesn't take the "ugly" stuff and distribute it to the poor is just nuts. I will say, food banks take the ugly stuff. And it is eaten.
I may have mentioned this before, but this is another opportunity to raise it again.
Meat packaging "sell by" dates are not governed by any agency, but are local store or chain store practices. With meat prices so high, the sale bin, which can be gross green ham, or gorgeous steaks, all reduced for quick sale. Every day the bin contains a different batch of packages, some days unappealing, other days fantastic deals on high quality cuts of meat. Beef loses flavor when blood drains, and when the packaging cuts off oxygen, both flavor and color. (Hence, greenish pork chops.) It is more an indication of loss of flavor than "spoiled". Use discretion, catch a great deal when you take just a few moments to do some digging around in the sale bin. I have been taking a look and making purchases that way for 40 years.
I toy with the idea of composting, but really have no way to do it on a useful scale that would not be a nuisance from the odor. We do not throw much "food" away. We do toss peelings, that strawberry that grew hair, that sort of thing.
When I was growing up, tossed food went to hogs, chickens, or the neighbor's rabbits.
We all need to try harder to educate young people. And we need to do what we can to support food banks.
So interesting, Sima! Thanks!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Waste Not Want Not...
Exactly. I do the same with a roast as you do. Use the roast until it's gone, and use the fat and gristle trimmings to feed pets like dogs. I think that many schools have stopped teaching 'home ec' and that sucks. Basic economics, cooking, etc. These are things we all need to know!
I didn't know that about the meat packing/packaging. No wonder the meat sale bin is so variable in quality. I figure I can buy close to sell-by date meat and freeze it, but yes, it has to be examined closely. I mean, green ham? No way. Our local supermarket has a deli and onsite meat department. We always sidle by and ask for any clippings. They now sell chicken stock clippings, the parts they took off the chicken breasts, etc, before packaging. Those clippings are great and sell so fast! And they are so cheap! We make stew from the clippings, but also feed them to the dog.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
I have eaten many pork chops over the years that
had started turning vaguely green. Like some iridescent sheen. I did read up on it before I did so, and did not buy any that were, in fact, green! It is lack of oxygen.
One of my lifelong pals had a dad who ran a small grocery store my family drove 22 miles to shop in, as we did not have such a store in my hometown. She told me her family lived on "sell by" meat. Her dad brought all that "sell by" meat home, that she and her family lived on it.
This is something you and everyone should research before you feel comfortable you are not eating rotten food. Odds are, you are not, but learn the tricks. Anything unsold is destroyed, not fed to animals. It is a criminal act to remove it from a dumpster, and most stores do not dump it where anyone can reach it.
You can pay $12 for a rib eye one morning, $5 that afternoon, still be 3 days before the "sell by" date.
One of the main reasons I stopped cooking elaborate recipes was because of repetitive leftovers. If you cook meat, veggies, any breads, all separately, you can make something of the leftovers of each of them. A big casserole is a forever casserole. That said, if we make a big batch of beef tacos, we eat, then eat, then eat...
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Taco Beef...
First it's on tacos. Then maybe more tacos. Then nachos. And finally what's left is added to homemade chili. At least, that's how we eat it here
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
If we had leftvers after tacos,
it would go to chili. We are taco hogs!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Hi Sima
Thank you for the wonderful open thread.
I can see how one can get lost in this subject, reading about what people are creating with what would otherwise be wasted. Bruized is a great name for one of the places that contributes to this endeavour.
Hello!
And thank YOU for stopping by. It's good to 'see' you!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so