Leftovers Make a Comeback
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tir fry with veggies and rice. Stuff in an enchilada. Or when time is short just reheat and hope the kids will come down with temporary amnesia.
Finding ways to use up those leftover pieces of chicken is a culinary art of its own. Yet there was a time when eating leftovers wasn’t just the norm — it was a family’s patriotic duty. And today when according to the United Nations some 1.3 billion tons of food go to waste every year some consider consuming leftovers the ultimate foodie fashion statement.
Fast Food
“The Frenchwoman finds at market a division of every article of food into ‘portions.’ The smallest practicable amount per head is for sale… This is offensive to the American mind. Quantity with us is the first essential… Self-respect demands that three pounds be bought where one would suffice and then comes the question of leftovers.” (Our Continent April 26 1882)
It’s true that Americans tend to think big. But the problem of leftovers — a word that first appeared in print in the April 1882 issue of an illustrated weekly magazine called Our Continent — was not a new or exclusively American concern.
Of course Jews have always been aware of the importance of not wasting food thanks to bal tashchis — the Torah prohibition against waste. While the prohibition is first mentioned in conjunction with not cutting down fruit trees Chazal and Rishonim expanded it to include not destroying or wasting anything that could be of use to humans including food and energy resources.
As for the rest of the world the attitude toward leftovers was usually influenced by the availability of food and the ability to preserve it when fresh. People living in early hunter-gatherer communities came up with an equitable solution to the leftover buffalo or bear meat conundrum. Although just one member of the tribe might have killed an animal during the daily hunt the fresh meat he brought back was distributed to everyone. Not only did this solve the problem of what was for dinner for the entire community but it also meant the wife of the successful hunter didn’t have to worry about what to do with all the leftover meat.
In ancient and medieval times the rich had a ready way to dispose of food left uneaten at the end of a lavish banquet: it was given to the servants. What the servants didn’t want was given to the poor.
As for the poor their problem was finding enough food to eat in the first place. A peasant who lived during the days of theRoman Empire for example had a diet that consisted mainly of cereals legumes and a few vegetables. Those who lived near a body of water might also have fish. If a bit of meat came their way it usually would be consumed immediately not only because they were hungry but also because there was no way to keep perishable foods fresh. While it’s true that wealthy Romans had blocks of ice delivered to their homes this early means of refrigeration was a luxury out of reach for most people.
Societies that had greater access to fresh meat and fish tossed the remains of a meal into the stewpot where it became the next day’s entrée. Food no longer fit for human consumption was given to the goats dogs and other animals.
Thus even though smoking salting pickling and other means of preservation were known and used before the modern era perishable foods that weren’t preserved had to be eaten up quickly — and in a world where food was often scarce very few minded seeing last night’s beef in the next day’s beef stew.
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