UNS — Previously, the uns.ac.id has presented various readings on food waste. Starting from consumption patterns that can create food waste, reasons to prevent food waste, and prevention tips.
One of the prevention measures that can be taken is to reprocess leftover food as a different type of food. This time around, Dwi Ishartani, S.T.P., M.Si., a lecturer from the Food Technology Study Program, Faculty of Agriculture (FP), Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta shares tips on leftover food processing and things to consider.
First, leftover rice can be processed into Aking rice, dried leftover rice in the sun and to be cooked later on.This practice is common in the community. Dwi Ishartani, M.Si., considers this practice is profitable. The dried rice is long-lasting because the process can eliminate much water content in the rice. This type of rice will be richer in resistant starch compared to normal rice.
“Resistant starch is beneficial dietary fiber for our health,” she explains on Thursday (24/6/2021)
The second is fruits’ rind. When consuming fruits that need to get peeled, food waste from the peels is unavoidable. To tackle this problem, the fruits’ peel that has aromatic quality can be processed into syrup ingredients. Meanwhile, the rind of certain fruit and vegetable, which are rich in pectin, can be added in jam production or extracted to get the pectin. Moreover, some carrot peels are processed into flour as additional ingredients in cake making process because they still contain beta carotene.
The third is the overly ripe fruits. Overly ripe fruits are often discarded because people consider them less delicious when the fruits are not rotten. Responding to this, Dwi Ishartani, M.Si., recommends that those fruits are mashed into puree and frozen. The puree is a foodstuff, usually made from mashed fruits and vegetables, which can be used as additional ingredients in Complementary Foods for Breast Milk (MP-ASI), smoothies, cake mix, and many others.
Fourth is the bones, fish bones, shrimps’ shell, and crab shell, are among many components that usually become food waste. All those components can be processed into simple stock at home. The process started by boiling the material (with or without additional seasoning), filtered, and frozen at small cubes. The frozen stock will be available to use anytime. On the other hand, bones and fish bones can be extracted to get the gelatin, which can be used in the production of ice cream, jelly candy, jam, and other food with high economic value. Even further, based on research conducted by UNS students, powdered tuna fish bones can increase calcium content in cookies.
Fifth is sluggish cookies or biscuits with a bad smell. Even if the cookies are not moldy yet, people are doubtful and losing appetite to consume them. Dwi Ishartani, M.Si., recommends for these kinds of food to get dried and powdered. The powder can then be used as a mixture of cake or biscuit dough, also butter on the fried snack such as nuggets, Risoles mayo, and others.
Is there still nutritional content??
Reprocessed leftover food can still contain functional components and become a source of nutrition. However, some reprocessing actions can damage the nutritional content. There are some aspects to consider in processing leftover food such as checking the food condition to ensure that the material is not rotten yet or damaged due to microbial attack. Damaged materials potentially contain germs.
Importantly, the reprocessing step must involve a heating process. All processing that does not use a heat source must be handled cleanly and hygienically. This applies to all types of food processing.
“These points are important, thus the processed food will always safe and edible,” she added.
Concluding the information Dwi Ishartani stresses the importance of food waste prevention. Food leftover reprocessing can support food security by reducing waste and fulfilling the community food need.
“Food security is not about bulk food production, but also using the available foodstuff wisely,” she explains. Humas UNS
Reporter: Kaffa Hidayati
Editor: Dwi Hastuti