Gleaning Those Supermarket Fields

Believe it or not, in the produce section at most grocery stores-hidden somewhere behind the $2.00 (a pound) broccoli and the 890 (apiece!) kiwi fruit-there's a veritable treasure trove of free-for-the-taking, nearly fresh vegetables and fruits. I'm referring, of course, to the boxes upon boxes of trimmings (consisting of discarded produce and bits of produce) that are regularly thrown out ... unless some thrifty person like yourself gets hold of them first!

Oh sure, the crates are partially full of limp lettuce and other fare that might be fit only for livestock consumption ... but you're also likely to find some people-pleasing tidbits (such as ripe tomatoes, barely browned mushrooms, and slightly-less-than-crisp celery). You see, most markets try to maintain a reputation for the freshness and quality of their goods. Therefore, any frost-bitten artichoke, sprouting onion, or rubbery bunch of asparagus that might damage that reputation is usually tossed out. And a lot of this discarded merchandise is of fine culinary quality ... in fact, in many cases it'll "eat" better than the cosmetically superior specimens on the shelf! (Furthermore, the produce that can't be served to your family can still be thrown to the chickens or pigs to help cut down on feed bills.)

ACQUIRING THE GOODS

Most of the time, supermarket fruit and vegetable trimmings can be had free for the asking. Just find out when your greengrocer does his or her "weeding", and appear at the store (with containers ready to take home any available booty) at that hour.

A word of advice, though: When asking for trimmings, it's a good idea not to mention that you want them for your family's supper. Many grocers suspect (and perhaps with good reason) that there must be some sort of official regulation forbidding the use of such discards for human consumption. However, if you explain that you've got a lot of hungry backyard animals at home, you'll probably be given whatever trimmings are on hand.