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Wednesday, 4 November 2015

In defence of Parsnips!

A few nights ago, Monday night to be exact,
I must admit to being in moderate shock, but not really surprised, after watching Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's 'War on waste' on BBC 1.

The main subject of the programme was 'parsnips', an everyday run of the mill vegetable, but are you aware that there is a plot against the humble parsnip being perpetrated by the leading supermarkets? no?....well neither did I!

Hugh is leading the campaign within the UK against the unnecessary disposal of literally millions of tonnes of food needlessly dumped each year because the supermarkets claim that we don't want to buy them!



We are not just talking about things suitable for the compost heap either, we are talking about pre-cooked foods that are also disposed of if not sold within a certain time frame.....we're talking fast food outlets here whose policy my be that if an item is not sold within 90 minutes it is disposed of....regardless of its actual edibility....is there such a word?
The leading supermarkets and global food outlets are guilty of being the driving force behind the disposal of foodstuffs that could actually be sold to and quite happily eaten by the likes of you and me....if we were only given the chance!

But back to the parsnips....... supermarkets command that farmers/producers provide parsnips and other fruits and vegetables, that are a certain length, width, shape and colour, and that there are no blemishes like the odd bruise or brown spot on the skin.......which I remind you.......in most cases like the parsnip you would be peeling off anyway!......and may I ask you....would YOU buy a wonky parsnip?  and if not why not?........there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't.......if you grew a parsnip yourself as many people do, would you bin it just because it isn't perfectly straight? NO WAY!...you'd just peel it and get on with it!

The sight of a couple of tonnes of parsnips having to be disposed of at a farm that supplied one of the uk's main supermarkets featured, literally turned my stomach and yes, the guilt got to me straight away.......I began to consider my own wastage, which I think I do keep to the absolute minimum, and those who have difficulty affording the food they need.
I also began to wonder what is the percentage of wastage here in Ireland and do our own supermarkets dictate to their Irish suppliers the same way?
I for one would be interested to know because with the number of food banks popping up around the country someone somewhere is bound to make good use of what the supermarkets deem to be aesthetically unacceptable for sale!

So if you are out and about at a market or a veg stall then go for the 'wonky' veg, don't let them be cast aside! There are so many things to do with odd sized root vegetables, make soup from them, chop them up for casseroles and stews or roast them!

Peel and cut your veg into nice chunky shapes, be they squares, oblongs or hexagons, or just long sticks, toss in some olive oil, chopped fresh thyme or sprigs of rosemary, a little sea salt, black pepper and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup, roast in a hot oven about 180 for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and serve.......delish! can't beat roast veggies with your Sunday dinner.


You can find out more about Hugh's war on waste by clicking HERE! for waste-not-UK where you will find information on the campaign and some valuable tips on reducing your own food waste!

Do you have any good waste saving tips? then let us know by leaving a comment below.

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