4 Ways You Can Use Vegetable Scraps

We commonly see sustainability as a task reserved for big corporations and governments, groups that can implement impactful initiatives that aim to improve environmental health, such as the eco-friendly straws or BYOB initiatives.

While these are definitely impactful, we often overlook another major contributor to environmental harm that begins right in our kitchens – food waste. Astoundingly, over one-third of the food produced globally is wasted, contributing heavily to the greenhouse gases that cause climate change. The good news? 

Sustainability doesn’t have to be a grand initiative. 

It can begin at home, with something as simple as repurposing vegetable scraps – the topic of today’s article. So let’s dive in and discover how we can breathe new life into these “waste” products.

What are Vegetable Scraps?

Vegetable scraps refer to the parts of vegetables that we often discard during food preparation. These include peels, ends, stems, leaves, seeds, or any other leftover bits that we view as inedible or unnecessary for cooking. Examples of these scraps include:

• Peels: Carrot, potato, cucumber, or onion skins.
• Stems: Broccoli, kale, or herb stems like cilantro and parsley.
• Ends: Celery, zucchini, or asparagus tips and bottoms.
• Leaves: Tops of carrots, beet greens, or outer cabbage leaves.
• Seeds or Cores: Squash seeds, bell pepper cores, or corn cobs.

As such, producing vegetable scraps is an inevitable part of the cooking process since it is highly unlikely that we would ever cook a vegetable whole without first chopping it up. And especially if you’re like me and tend to prepare at least one meal a day from home, that eventually does add up to quite a bite of “waste”.

Why should you save your Vegetable Scraps? 

While we might be inclined to think that these scraps are inedible and of not much use, thus belonging in the trash – that is far from the truth. On the contrary, vegetable scraps are actually often highly flavourful, containing concentrated flavors, which make them excellent for broths or as seasonings.

“Vegetable scraps tend to be highly flavourful due to their dense nature, making them more highly packed with nutrients when compared with other parts of the vegetable. Outer scraps like the peels also have greater sunlight exposure, which increases the production of flavour molecules.”

Some cuisines that you probably might have had before that make use of scraps include Vietnamese and Thai cuisines, where the Vietnamese Pho broth may sometimes make use of onion skins and ginger peels to increase the depth of flavour while in Thai cuisines, roots, stalks and peelings are often ground into pastes for cooking.

As such, these so-called “waste products”, actually very much have the potential to add depth and richness to your cooking – taking your flavours to a whole other level.

How to store your Vegetable Scraps?

To store your vegetable scraps, begin by washing them thoroughly to remove leftover dirt or debris before chopping larger scraps into smaller pieces for easier storage and use. You can then place your scraps into a resealable bag or airtight container for storage in the freezer (for long-term storage) or fridge (for short-term storage).

Storing these scraps into a container or bag which can be sealed and reopened multiple times is recommended as it may not be often that you collect enough scraps to use them. For instance, if you’re cooking portions for just yourself, the amount of scrap produced might be too little to use. Using a resealable container (or bag) will allow you to collect your scraps over time for usage.

“Apart from keeping vegetable scraps, wilted vegetables can also be kept for future use, provided they are not yet rotten. While we often view wilted vegetables as spoiled, they typically are not and only appeared spoiled due to the loss of moisture from improper storage.”

What can Vegetable Scraps be used for?

So now that you know why and how you should keep your vegetable scraps, here are some different ways that you can make use of them – both in and out of the kitchen.

#1 Turning scraps into soup stock

The most common way of using vegetable scraps is to turn them into soup stock or broth. As mentioned above, vegetable scraps tend to be flavour-packed, making them a terrific additive when brewing broths. There are two main ways that you can make vegetable broth from your scraps: (1) Directly simmer the scraps in water and bring them to a boil or (2) Roast your scraps before simmering and bringing them to a boil. 

The flavour profiles of both methods do differ where the broth made from raw scraps would retain a lighter and fresher taste – highlighting the natural flavours of the vegetables – while the roasted scraps would have a richer and deeper taste, as the roasting process caramelizes natural sugars within the scraps – changing their natural flavours.

The steps to make both broths are relatively similar, differing only in the roasting step:

1. Roast the scraps at ~400°F/200°C for 10-15 minutes (optional): Ensure to check on the scraps every 3-5 minutes to prevent them from burning as the thin scraps do roast quicker than entire vegetables
2. Add the raw or roasted vegetables into a pot with water and bring to a boil: Alongside the scraps, add small amounts of seasoning (salt, pepper). Avoid adding too much in the beginning and season to taste once the scraps have sufficiently simmered.
3. Allow the vegetables to simmer: After boiling, turn the heat to low-medium and allow the broth to simmer for thirty minutes to an hour. Ensure to occasionally check in on the taste of the broth and season to your liking.
4. Strain to remove the scraps: Once simmered to your liking, make use of a strainer to remove the scraps. You may leave the broth to cool for storage or choose to use it immediately. When storing, keep within an airtight container in the fridge (3-5 days) or the freezer (2-3 weeks).

“Some ways that you can make use of the broth for cooking include using it as a soup base, substituting water when cooking rice or for poaching vegetables or meats.”

However, it is also important to know that not all vegetable scraps will be good for making broth. Some vegetable scraps that you may want to avoid include starchy peels (such as potatoes) and cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage). Vegetable scraps more suited for broths include carrot and onion peels, herb stems and corn husks or cobs. A more comprehensive list can be found here.

#2 Regrowing vegetables from scraps

There is nothing that would scream “sustainability” more than regrowing your vegetables from scraps. While not all vegetables can be regrown, many of the common ones within our diet can be – making this a highly recommended side project that you can keep at home (or even get your kids to do).

Some of the common vegetables and herbs that can be regrown include:

• Potatoes
• Onions, garlic and leeks
• Carrots
• Leafy greens – including cabbage, bok choy and lettuce
• Basil, cilantro

1. Potatoes – to regrow potatoes, you will need sections of the potato peel that have an “eye” on them. While we often view the “eye” as inedible, they are very much edible, being new potato buds that sprout on grown potatoes. 

Regrowing potatoes from these eyes is as simple as planting them in soil with the eyes facing, ensuring to have also left them to slightly dry out the night before.

2. Onions, garlic and leeks – belonging to the Allium family of vegetables, onions, garlic and leeks are vegetables that can be easily regrown using the base of the bulb or stem which has the roots still attached.

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To regrow these vegetables, these sections (with their roots) can be either planted within the soil in a sunny location or in a dish (or bottle) of water, where the roots are fully submerged.

3. Carrots – To regrow carrots or other root crops, you will need their tops (where you will probably see a small stem sprouting from). Begin by placing these tops in water and allowing the green tops to grow further. Once the shoots have sprouted, harvest the tops and place them in the soil to allow the vegetable to fully grow. 

4. Leafy greens – similar to the root plants, leafy greens such as cabbage and lettuce can be regrown using their rooting section. By placing the rooting section into a container of water, the leaves of the greens can be regrown and the plants can then be transplanted into soil to allow for complete growth.

5. Basil, cilantro – interestingly, herbs such as basil and cilantro can be regrown from stems that are of sufficient length (~8-10cm) and have their leaves intact. These herbs can grow from the stem due to the presence of nodes, regions of the plants where new growth such as roots can occur under the right conditions.

However, this regrowing does not always reliably occur depending on factors such as the presence of indirect sunlight, warm temperatures and proper node submersion in water.

#3 From scraps to seasoning

Another edible use for your vegetable scraps is making them into seasonings such as flavoured salt. To make these seasonings, we will be primarily using the peels of root plants such as beets, carrots and ginger. Root plants are the preferred choice over scraps from other vegetables such as greens, for a variety of reasons:

• Higher concentration of flavours & aromas – the peels of root plants tend to be richer in sugars and aromatic compounds which are further intensified when dried and ground.
• Texture – when dried, root scraps become brittle easily and can be ground into fine powders, ideal for usage as seasonings. Scraps such as greens tend to become fibrous and flaky, making them difficult to finely grind.
• Shelf-life – root scraps tend to be lower in moisture when compared to leafy vegetables, making them less prone to spoilage and fungal growth. Their lower moisture content thus results in greater shelf-life stability.

Making these seasonings is a relatively simple process which begins with the peels of the root plants. These peels would have preferably been removed using a peeler, ensuring that the peels are as thin as possible with as little flesh attached. 

Spread these peels onto a baking sheet, once dried, and bake at ~300°F/150°C for about 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on the peels to ensure they do not burn and bake till their edges start to curl. Once baked, leave to cool completely before adding it to a food processor or grinder. Pulverise till fine and add salt to your liking, continuing to pulse till the mixture is of even fineness.

To allow the flavours within your seasoning to integrate (especially if you are using a mixture of scraps), it is important to allow the seasoning to rest for a few hours to a few days, where the flavours within would stabilize and intensify.

And most importantly, ensure that the seasonings are completely dry before storage within an air-tight container to improve shelf-life. 

#4 Nutrition for your plants (composting)

Finally, the easiest thing you can do with your leftover scraps is to turn them into nutritious foods for your plants, especially if you’re trying to regrow vegetables from your scraps. Being nutrient-dense, scraps are the perfect additive for soil enrichment to improve soil structure and fertility for growing plants or regrowing crops.

When composting, here are some important things that you should take note of:

• Scraps that you should compost include peels, tops & ends (carrots, stems) and wilted greens – these scraps decompose easily while contributing to a healthy balance of carbon and nitrogen in the soil, making them ideal for soil enrichment
• Avoid composting certain scraps – this includes cooked or oily scraps, bones or woody stems (unless finely chopped). These scraps tend to decompose more slowly and risk attracting pests or facilitating microbe growth, adversely impacting the health of your crops.
• Balance your compost – maintain a balance of nitrogen-rich scraps alongside carbon-rich scraps as having too much of either essential nutrient within the soil can be detrimental to plant growth.

Conclusion

From making flavorful broths and seasonings to regrowing herbs and enriching soil through composting, repurposing vegetable scraps enables us to embrace sustainability and minimise our waste, while also enhancing both our cooking and gardening practices.

With these practices, you’re not just reducing waste – you’re also contributing to a healthier environment in your own way. Small changes, like rethinking how you use vegetable scraps, can lead to big impacts on sustainability if all of us play our parts together. As the saying goes “A little goes a long way”.

And on a different note, if you’re interested in supporting efforts towards food sustainability outside your kitchen (or have ideas on what we can do with vegetable scraps commercially) and would like to collaborate with us, do shoot us an email (hello@themoonbeam.co) or drop us a message on our social media page.

We would love to have a chat and work together to bring your ideas to life!