Shop right, store smartly, stop wasting all that food
There are two realities during this coronavirus crisis — pocketbooks are shrinking and people are trying to lengthen the time between their trips to the grocery store.
Both realities make wasting food a concern.
For the pocketbook, wasted food is money down the drain. For the shopping trips, improper storage of perishables could lead to needless waste of food and money. Experts say both of them are avoidable with just a little effort and willingness to be conscious of it.
Mary Alice Gettings, an educator in the Beaver County office of Penn State Extension, and Serina Gaston, executive director of PA Nutrition Education Network, offered some handy tips to avoid food waste during the pandemic.
Milk
Rather than let milk go sour, Ms. Gettings measures milk that’s nearing its expiration date into resealable bags in 1cup or ½-cup increments, marks the amount on the baggies, and stores the baggies standing up in the freezer with the sealed edge on top. The milk takes on a greenish cast when frozen, she said. But when it’s thawed in the refrigerator or the microwave, it turns white again and is perfectly good to use in baked goods.
Some fruits
Certain fruits can be bought when they aren’t yet ripe, and can be set out on the counter to ripen. Ms. Gettings sometimes buys both yellow and green bananas using some immediately and others later. Pears and peaches also are good for ripening on the counter, although peaches ripen quickly, Ms. Gettings noted.
Canned vegetables
“Canned vegetables are OK,” Ms. Gettings said. “They don’t have much less nutrition than fresh or frozen.” The only real concern with canned vegetables, she said, is the high sodium content, but rinsing them can help with that.
“Sometimes we want to be perfect with our nutrition, but right now we might not be able to do that,” she said. Canned vegetables can help to fill the gap between when your fresh vegetables run out and when you’re next heading to the store.
Fruits and vegetables
Most fresh fruits and vegetables can be frozen to avoid spoilage, Ms. Gettings said, but there are different instructions for each. Vegetables, for instance, should be blanched first — boiled briefly and then plunged into ice water to stabilize them for the freezer. But each vegetable should be boiled for a different time period, and some, such as tomatoes and sweet potatoes, should be cooked before freezing, she said.
“You need to be knowledgeable about certain steps so you end up with a good product,”
Ms. Gettings said. “You can’t just throw a bag of raw vegetables in the freezer.”
Ms. Gaston added that many fruits such as berries are best frozen by laying them in a single layer on a cookie sheet in the freezer for several hours and then transferring them to a container or freezer bag.
Ms. Gettings said Debbie Meyer GreenBags or GreenBoxes, available through online sellers like amazon.com, are best for storing fruits and vegetables as they help to delay spoilage. She uses them for all of her produce, including tomatoes, before placing them in the refrigerator. Only bananas stay out on the counter, she said.
Penn State Extension is now offering webinars about food preservation, including freezing, canning and pickling vegetables and fruits, Ms. Gettings said. Most are either free or $5, and information is available at extension.psu.edu/shopby/webinars?cat=390.
Penn State also offers videos on food preservation topics at extension.psu.edu/ food-safety-and-quality/ home-food-safety/foodpreservation/shopby/videos.
Proteins
Meats also can be frozen, and Ms. Gettings said a vacuum packager can be a handy implement because it sucks all the air out of the package, which can increase your freezer space as well as the quality of the frozen meat. She saves money on meat by buying it in larger quantities at warehouse clubs and then packaging it in sizes that can be thawed for individual meals.
Ms. Gaston added that you can also wrap meats in their original packaging with an extra layer of plastic wrap to make them airtight.
It’s not safe to thaw meats by leaving them out on the counter. Instead they should be thawed in the refrigerator or, if they are being cooking immediately, under cold running water or in the microwave.
U s i n g a l t e r n a t i v e proteins in place of meat can help to save money, Ms. Gettings noted. They are more shelf-stable than meats that might need to be frozen — an issue for those with limited freezer space.
Meat, seafood and dairy products are what dietitians call “complete proteins,” Ms. Gettings said. Vegetable and grain proteins, by contrast, aren’t complete, but they can be made into complete proteins by eating certain types in combination. For instance, Ms. Gettings said rice and beans together form a complete protein. Other complete proteins include a peanut butter sandwich, refried beans with tortillas, and pita and hummus. Tofu, too, is a complete protein, she said, and quinoa and amaranth are the only grain sources that constitute standalone complete proteins.
Bread
Bread can be frozen, Ms. Gettings said. So buy two loaves — one to use right away and the other to place in the freezer.
Ms. Gaston added that the bread can then be thawed on the counter or, if you’re in a hurry, in the microwave for a few seconds.
Aside from making suggestions about individual food categories, Ms. Gaston said an important strategy is meal planning. “That way you purchase the food items you need for each meal” and avoid buying foods you might not use, she said.
She also noted that “use by,” “sell buy” and “best if used by” dates are not “throw away by” dates. The only product she knows of that’s not safe to use after the date on the package is infant formula, she said, because the nutritional components deteriorate. Otherwise, the package dates tell a consumer when the product is at its best quality, but you can tell when you shouldn’t eat it by looking for signs of spoilage like strange odors or change in color.
Resources also are available on the PA Nutrition Education Network’s new website and include nutrition classes for those who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.
The PA Nutrition Education Network uses federal funding to help SNAP recipients make their food dollars stretch further and provide optimal nutrition. Other resources on the site include nutrition information, recipes, tips on meal planning and reading food labels and
budgeting guides.
Contest
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Presenters needed
Sustainable Agriculture Conference: Pasa Sustainable Agriculture is seeking presenters for its 30th annual 2021 Sustainable Agriculture Conference. The conference is slated for Feb. 3-6 in Lancaster and caters to farmers, food systems professionals, educators and gardeners. Proposals are needed by June 15. Prospective presenters must note whether they can offer an inperson or virtual presentation or both. pasafarming.org/conference/call-forproposals.