15 practices of a waste-conscious home cook
Katherine Martinko, February 21, 2019

And how it really just comes down to one thing.

Whenever the topic of going zero waste in the kitchen comes up, the focus tends to be on grocery shopping – taking cloth bags and refillable containers to the store to avoid bringing single-use plastics into the home. This initial plastic avoidance step is crucial, but the challenge doesn't end there.

Waste-conscious, plastic-averse home cooks have a whole list of practices that they use to be more eco-friendly (and frugal, by extension) in the kitchen. Some of these habits develop over time, as one becomes a more proficient cook, but others require a conscious decision to generate less waste. These are some of the things I do and have seen others do:

1. Cook from scratch.
What convenience foods lack in nutrition, they make up for in packaging, which is precisely what a waste-averse home cook does not want; hence, a stubborn determination to make everything from scratch, whether it's pie crusts, mayonnaise, ketchup, bread, granola, baked goods, ricotta, or ice cream, to name a few.

2. Preserve their own food.
Whether it's canning tomatoes, making jam, or freezing seasonal berries, a waste-conscious chef makes a point of preserving food on their own terms for future consumption.

3. Scrounge for glass jars.
One can never have too many glass jars! These are used for shopping, storing leftovers, freezing, canning, and transporting foods and beverages.

(snip)