Callum MacBain, owner and chef at Thornbury’s Rat the Cafe has been employing ideas of minimal-waste and low-impact cooking for a while. The clue is even in the name – rat is an acronym for “root and tip”: a closed-loop operation where the whole vegetable is used. His menu changes weekly based on leftover ingredients, he sources the bulk of his produce from a farm in Keilor and favours minimal-intervention processes. He even uses yesterday’s bread for tomorrow’s French toast. It’s fair to say being environmentally conscious is the backbone of his operation.
“Buy locally,” says MacBain. “buy from people who prioritise things other than maximising the profitability of the product they sell. In the case of the farmers market that’s people who care about the system, the soil.”
But not everyone can switch providers on a whim or spend time sourcing the most carbon-neutral product according to the packaging on the shelf. So we asked MacBain for some no-brainer switches that are easy to make when shopping for home and help lower your impact.
Add alliums (like garlic and onion) to meat- and dairy-free dishes
Locating the same level of rich, savoury flavour can be difficult when prepping meat- and dairy-free dishes. MacBain says alliums (the genus of plants featuring garlic, onions, leeks) are excellent at building deep flavours in dishes. “What alliums bring is something you really need if you’re not using dairy or meat products – a savoury quality,” says McBain. “Caramelised onions in olive oil are a really great base for [some] plant-based [dishes].”
Embrace ferments and pickles alongside your fresh fruits and veggies
Shopping at farmers markets MacBain is a regular at Coburg offers a bounty of seasonal food. But rather than creating environmentally-damaging food waste from leftovers, MacBain says fermenting and pickling is an easy way to ensure everything you bring home is used.
Preserving vegetables in a 2% salt solution - that is, 2% of the total weight of vegetable and liquid is salt - is an easy way to get started. “I think if you can [learn] a few little techniques that help you avoid chucking stuff in the bin, at least you’re investing in your ability to divert waste,” says MacBain.
Use dashi and kombu in place of meat stock
Dashi is a great way to bring meaty flavours to a meat-free dish. A clear broth of Japanese origin, dashi owes its umami-packed flavour to dried kelp, or kombu. For those making meat-free choices more regularly, kombu can take veg-based stocks up a couple of notches, whether you’re doing proper dashi or not. “Vegetable stock on its own is great, but you [miss] a lot of the top [flavour] notes,” says MacBain. “But it’s incredible how much kombu dashi tastes like chicken stock.”
Replace egg with soy for mayonnaise
Traditional mayo uses egg yolk to emulsify water and oil into a thick, creamy condiment. But it’s possible to substitute the animal product with soy. “Egg yolk has something called lecithin in it, it’s the emulsifying component of egg yolks that basically holds water and oil together,” says MacBain. “It’s also in soy. So it’s possible to use soy milk to help build a very mayonnaise-like product.” Soy-based mayo is on the market, but for those used to making their own mayonnaise, the process is basically the same - just swap out the eggs.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Happy Happy Soy Boy. See the “climate stripe” packaging on new limited edition cartons of Happy Happy Soy Boy, which flag just how fast climate change is occurring – there’s never been a better time to make climate-smart eating habits.
