Latest news with #FoodWasteReduction
The Guardian
9 hours ago
- General
- The Guardian
How to turn beetroot tops into a delectable Japanese side dish
The ohitashi method is such an elegant way to enhance the natural flavours of leafy greens, while also reducing food waste. This traditional Japanese technique involves blanching and chilling leafy greens, then steeping them in a simple seasoned broth that imparts a wonderful and rounded savoury umami flavour. Most recipes for such greens use just the leafy part, but with ohitashi the stems are cooked first. Ohitashi is a wonderful way to prepare vegetables in advance, because the vegetables need to steep in a delicious broth for at least a few hours and up to five days, soaking up the marinade as they age. You can make ohitashi-style vegetables with just about any leafy greens: spinach, kale, chard, radish leaves, turnip tops or nettles. Cooking greens quickly, then blanching them in iced water, is a classic chef's trick that helps maintain their bright colour by halting the cooking process and preserving the chlorophyll. I cool blanched vegetables very quickly using a large tray of very cold water cooled with ice blocks (to save on ice) and prevent a loss of nutrients (and flavour!), which can happen when vegetables are steeped for an extended period. Normally, to make the dashi/broth for ohitashi, a piece of kelp or kombu is infused in cold water for several hours, or brought to a boil then taken off the heat. I've suggested using other seaweed varieties such as wakame, hijiki or even seaweed salad mix, if you have it. And rather than discarding the seaweed, I keep it in the broth, which is why I've reduced the amount used so it isn't overpowering; after all, seaweed is an acquired taste, so if you're not used to it, consider removing it after steeping or using less. Alternatively flavour the water with miso. 2g dried kelp (kombu), or other seaweed (sea spaghetti, wakame, seaweed salad mix), or 1-2 tbsp miso, to taste1-2 tbsp mirin, or rice-wine, white-wine or cider vinegar1-2 tbsp light soy sauce, to taste1 bunch beetroot leaves (about 250g), including the stalks, or other leafy greens (chard, kale, turnip tops), washedToasted sesame seeds, to serve If you have some seaweed, first make a broth by pouring 120ml water into a glass jar or bowl, add the kombu and leave to soak for at least one hour, and ideally for five hours or overnight in the fridge. (If you want to speed up this process, bring the water and seaweed to a boil, then take off the heat and leave to cool). If you don't have seaweed, stir miso to taste into 120ml water. Either way, once infused, add the mirin and light soy sauce to taste, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water (or steamer) to a boil and have ready a bowl of iced water. Hold the bunch of greens stalk down in the boiling water (or steamer), keeping the leaves out of the water, cook for 60-90 seconds, then gently drop in the leaves, too, and cook for a further 30-60 seconds, until they are vivid and bright green. Lift out into the ice bath to cool, then, once cold, transfer the leaves to a clean towel and dab to soak up any excess water. Keep the greens whole in all their glory or chop them into 5cm pieces for ease of eating. Lay them in a suitable container, cover with the broth, seal and refrigerate for at least a few hours and up to five days. To serve, arrange the greens on a plate, drizzle over a little broth and a sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
CNA
12-08-2025
- Business
- CNA
Mystery food boxes gaining popularity in Singapore, as merchants aim to cut food waste
SINGAPORE: Artisanal bakery chain Baker & Cook's 'surprise bags' have become so popular among their loyal customers that some wait daily to snag one via a mobile app. Within the past year, the company has sold more than 17,000 of these bags, which contain unsold pastries that would otherwise be discarded due to their short shelf lives. They go for half the usual price and are curated by the bakery's staff, who pack the orders based on what is available that day. Customers can then drop by in the evenings to collect their goodies from the outlet they ordered from. Baker & Cook's Singapore head Seah Ern Xu said the biggest boon of this initiative is being able to reduce food waste. 'Usually, for our croissants or pain au chocolat, these have to be thrown away after a day or two. But in this case, we can give it to a lucky guest, and they get to enjoy our quality bakes,' she told CNA. It is among several food businesses in Singapore that have jumped on the mystery box trend, selling surprise bundles of unsold food at a discount to bring in additional income and cut waste. An average of 750,000 tonnes of food waste was generated every year over the past five years, making up 11 per cent of the country's total waste. SELLING LIKE HOTCAKES These food mystery boxes – mostly sold via mobile apps – are proving to be a hit. Yindii, an app that allows users to purchase surprise bags, has seen around 160,000 sign-ups since it launched in August last year. Users can buy bags at the end of each day, which contain surplus food from eateries sold at between 50 and 80 per cent off the usual retail price. The app was founded in Thailand in 2020 before launching in Hong Kong about two years ago. Singapore is currently Yindii's biggest market, said the brand's country head of partnerships Terry Quek. On average, 70 to 80 per cent of the surprise bags get snapped up every day. There are about 80 brands and more than 400 stores on the platform currently, including Baker & Cook. 'We are looking to grow this tremendously because the demand is high, (but) it's also tricky for us, because it's our job to educate members of the public, our merchants and vendors, everybody about how they can recover costs and also prevent food wastage,' Mr Quek added. 'The problem we are having right now is trying to get a mindset shift on some of the merchants, because some of them are not (open) to such ideas.' Another similar platform, Treatsure, allows users to buy a box for S$10 (US$8) and fill it up with food from hotel buffets up to an hour before closing time. Treatsure has five partners so far that include the Grand Hyatt, Fairmont and Novotel. Separately, the firm started its Treatsure thrill box concept in January this year. It has seen a fivefold increase in demand for them since then, said its CEO and co-founder Preston Wong. Users are offered a mystery concept where staff at restaurants and retail outlets will select food items for them to bring home. Mr Wong said the surprise element can be a big draw for customers. 'As you know, some other mystery blind boxes offer toys, but for us, we decided to apply it in the food space and give consumers that same surprise,' he added. TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE Homegrown cake shop Emicakes, which has several outlets across Singapore, also began packing its leftovers into mystery bundles about two weeks ago. It sells them for 40 per cent off – S$14 instead of the usual S$24 – on the Treatsure app. The shop's general manager Madeliene Soh said she started doing it partly to increase sales, but mostly to reduce food waste and be more sustainable. 'Instead of … doing all the inventory management to dispose of all the stocks … we can use this platform to give to the customers in the form of rebates and stuff,' she added. In 2024, only 18 per cent of unwanted food in Singapore was recycled. Food waste that ends up in landfills releases greenhouse gases into the environment, adding to global warming. Yindii's Mr Quek said a user can offset an average of 2.5kg of carbon dioxide by buying a surprise bag. They can track this through a counter on the app. 'The same goes with the merchants on the totality of how much they have saved in terms of the bags as well,' he added. Moving forward, he said Yindii is looking to expand beyond food and groceries to include other perishables like flowers and pet food. 'It's our job to also educate the partners that some items still can be consumed after the best before date. So just use your senses - your nose to smell everything, your eyes to see whether it is safe to consume,' Mr Quek added.
