A chef posted an interesting Instagram Reel showing us how to repurpose our wilted herbs.
We often throw out our green vegetables when they no longer look good enough to eat, but this waste of food is unnecessary.
The scoop
Instagrammer and chef Mishka Murphy (@mishkamakesfood), who posts videos about food and "sometimes pictures of the dog," shows us the "best way to use up wilted herbs, scallions, and even herb stems."
The video begins with Murphy telling us how when he has "a bunch of wilted herbs or scallions that are rotting away in the fridge" he turns them into a "vibrant and delicious herb oil."
The recipe Murphy shows off is quite simple.
First he puts the old greens into a blender and pours enough oil to completely cover them, noting it can be the oil of your choice. He then blends it "until you have, like, a chimichurri type situation happening."
Then he puts the liquid on the stove on high heat "until it comes to a vigorous simmer, cooking for another 30 to 60 seconds-ish while stirring continuously."
After this is done, he places the pot into an ice bath and subsequently strains out all the solids.
Murphy says he likes to keep the sauce in a repurposed hot sauce bottle, which he can squirt onto his meals to "make them look classy as h***."
How it's helping
Murphy's Reel does a great job of teaching us how to prevent food waste, which is more beneficial than many people appreciate.
For consumers, the most direct benefit of preventing food waste is that it saves money. Studies have shown that avoiding food waste altogether could save the average American household $1,866 each year.
Now on to a broader problem of food waste, which is not necessarily related to money.
Around 8-10% of the human activities that are heating up the planet are the result of food waste.
Why? One reason is transportation, which requires the burning of oil and gas to get food from one place to another.
But possibly the biggest problem with food production, and hence, food waste, is related to the extensive amounts of land used, which means forests are cleared to make room for food production (animal-based foods are particularly land-intensive).
What everyone's saying
One commenter wrote how this information given was "lovely and useful."
Another added: "This is a brilliant hack! Thank you!!"
While others had their own tips to share. One said, "It works better to heat the oil first to 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit and then pour it over the herbs in the blender."
"You don't need to boil the oil after," another said. "Just keep blending for a good 5 mins and the heat of the blades will do the trick."
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