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Planetpro: No Time to Waste—More From Every Ingredient

Generations of cooks have learned to squeeze every ounce of goodness from their ingredients. And many time-honored techniques are also effective ways to cut down on kitchen waste.

Prepare to Please

  • Provide a range of portion sizes on the menu so guests can match their order to their appetite.
  • Cook dishes only on demand, or use past orders to forecast proper amounts.
  • Let guests choose their own sauces and side dishes so they won’t leave foods they dislike on the plate.
  • Train and mentor staff to avoid recipe and cooking mistakes and to follow serving size guidelines.

Getting More From Less

Spent Cooking Oil

  • Partner with a vendor who can equip your kitchen to trap spent grease and cooking oil, schedule pickups, and haul it away to repurpose it as biofuel or a supplement for animal feed.

Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs

  • Use only edible garnishes.
  • Add shredded trimmings and peels to stuffing, meatless burgers, or breads.
  • Chop stems, cores, and extras for slaws or quick pickles.
  • Use blemished pieces in salads or mashes.
  • Tie onion skins and peelings into cheesecloth and cook in broth to add color.
  • Mince or purée to flavor butter.
  • Purée starches to create a thickener.
  • Cook extra or overripe fruit in jam, sauces, pies, or cobblers.
  • Juice produce for smoothies or make syrups and infusions.

Protein And Cheese

  • Cut up trim scraps for salad, quiche, or soups.
  • Boil poultry carcasses with leftover vegetables to make stock that you can freeze.
  • Roast bones and cook with tomato paste, aromatics, and herbs to make fond de sauce.
  • Add cheese scraps and rind to flavor broth with umami.

Beverages

  • Add sugar to extra coffee grounds and use as a rub for meat.
  • Use extra dairy products in chowder or pudding.
  • Freeze juice or coffee for flavored ice cubes that won’t water down drinks

Planetpro: No Time to Waste—The Restaurant’s Role in Reducing Trash

Today many customers are also interested in your waste reduction efforts, as they begin to realize the environmental costs of waste. In this first issue of Planetpro, we will take a look at this topic and show you some practical ways you can manage waste.