Hugh's War on Waste

NewShadow

Off topic (well not the topic of the thread, the topic of the current discussion)

Does anyone have a suggestion for the best way to keep carrots?

My white potatoes and squash keep for about 4 months in a cool dark cupboard, my onions keep about the same in a canvas bag.

My carrots don't seem to last 5 days before going black - I've tried wrapped in a cloth (to keep dry), in the cupboard (cool and dark), in the fridge (cold - they go bendy), in the bag on the counter top, out of the bag on the counter top (as sold).

I think my kitchen must just not like carrots!

martinsurrey

NewShadow wrote: »

Off topic (well not the topic of the thread, the topic of the current discussion)

Does anyone have a suggestion for the best way to keep carrots?

My white potatoes and squash keep for about 4 months in a cool dark cupboard, my onions keep about the same in a canvas bag.

My carrots don't seem to last 5 days before going black - I've tried wrapped in a cloth (to keep dry), in the cupboard (cool and dark), in the fridge (cold - they go bendy), in the bag on the counter top, out of the bag on the counter top (as sold).

I think my kitchen must just not like carrots!

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2003/jul/13/foodanddrink.features18

there is a guide on how the big suppliers do it

missbiggles1

NewShadow wrote: »

Off topic (well not the topic of the thread, the topic of the current discussion)

Does anyone have a suggestion for the best way to keep carrots?

My white potatoes and squash keep for about 4 months in a cool dark cupboard, my onions keep about the same in a canvas bag.

My carrots don't seem to last 5 days before going black - I've tried wrapped in a cloth (to keep dry), in the cupboard (cool and dark), in the fridge (cold - they go bendy), in the bag on the counter top, out of the bag on the counter top (as sold).

I think my kitchen must just not like carrots!

Dig yourself a root cellar.:D

Justamum

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Apples don't necessarily have to be fresh and most varieties can be stored happily for a couple of months. This may be the reason for the colour change you're seeing and rejecting them seems to be part of the "wanting everything to be perfect "problem.

I prefer my apples fresh, which is how I used to be able to buy them. If they're coming into the shops already going off then that's not fresh. I don't care if they're not perfect in shape, I don't mind nobbles, I don't want past it.

[Deleted User]

fuddle wrote: »

The farmers really would like to produce less because that would mean less overheads and more profit for them. They can't produce less because of the strict quality controls placed upon them by the supermarkets.

No, economies of scale mean that small businesses are less efficient than large ones, that's why big shops can put small ones out of business. Fifty years ago British farms were the most productive in Europe, but in the last 20 years there's been almost no increase in productivity at all, probably because there are too many small farms like the one in the program willing to carry on farming at a loss.

If supermarkets buy ugly fruit & veg, that puts a bigger surplus on the shelves of shops that are already wasting too much. If consumers then buy the surplus and make HFWs smoothies and soups with it, that puts more food in the bellies of consumers who are already too overweight.

Alternatively, if consumers stop buying what they can't eat, and supermarkets stop buying what they can't sell, that leaves the farmers to stop growing what they can't sell. The farms then have about 25% more staff than they need to feed us all, so if they keep the staff on out of charity they will go out of business because they get undercut by farms that make staff redundant, and if every farm cuts their staff, the smallest ones will go under because they don't have the economy of scale like the larger ones.

Mis-shapes are irrelevant because you're still left having to answer the question about whether you eat the surplus food, or stop growing it in the first place. Dairy farming has the same problem with oversupply as the veg farms, and there is no mis-shapen milk.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Justamum wrote: »

You've just jogged a memory in my brain! :T There is an 'apple orphanage' not far away so I've contacted them to see if they want them. You take your apples to them and get juice in exchange - and they do make cider! I don't care if I get any juice in exchange for them or not, if they want them I'm happy to let them have them. It's such a shame to see them go to waste

Fantastic! That's great news.

Hugh would be proud

Ken68

Perfect team......Martin and Hugh...should be on Strictly Come Dancing.

missbiggles1

Justamum wrote: »

I prefer my apples fresh, which is how I used to be able to buy them. If they're coming into the shops already going off then that's not fresh. I don't care if they're not perfect in shape, I don't mind nobbles, I don't want past it.

Apples that have been stored are not "going off" or "past it" any more than meat is when it's been hung for the correct amount of time.

Your attitude, I'm afraid, is part of the problem.

honeythewitch

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Apples that have been stored are not "going off" or "past it" any more than meat is when it's been hung for the correct amount of time.

Your attitude, I'm afraid, is part of the problem.

But apples, like meat, will taste different according to the method and length of storage? Wont they?

[Deleted User]

I think part of the problem with apples not being crisp and fresh for very long after you buy them is the fact that they are picked and put into cold storage which holds the ripening process but when they come back to room temperature they seem to ripen very quickly, that must affect the taste and texture of the apple regardless of the variety.