Collecting bones & scraps for stock

[TdeV]

Just emptied freezers of bags of duck bones to make a batch of stock. That leaves about 10 empty ziplock bags, carefully labelled "Duck".

 

It seems wasteful (and environmentally unsound) to toss the bags, just to start again with another pile. I've never had much success cleaning grease from inside ziplock bags (as well as making the bags no longer watertight). Square plastic box storage containers will consume too much valuable freezer space.

 

What practises do you use to collect bones and vegetable scraps for stock?

[heidih]

I just flatten the bags and put back in freezer for more scraps or for marinating & oiling things. So a scrap bag may have many uses over its lifetime. I also save non yucky bags like our tortillas come in - to freezer and great for storing things like last bit of onion - then to fridge, and if not messy - back to freezer. 

[TicTac]

It is critical more people start thinking along these lines - reducing plastic consumption, but for when we need to use it, how can we re-use it (safely, etc).

 

Like @heidih mentioned, I keep ziplock freezer bags in the freezer and continue to put things into them (as I take them out) - and if it looks like a little worse for wear, I will flip it inside out, wash under warm water with some soap and then air dry and re-use.

 

Though a bit extreme, I will also save plastic wrap that I have used (which has not touched food) and reserve it for future use.

 

[Smithy]

I wash (if necessary) and reuse plastic wrap and plastic freezer bags until they develop holes. I have two strategies: for things like meat or bones, I put them into one of the lighter gauge plastic bags from a produce or bread purchase, then seal that inside the freezer bag. For things that aren't terribly greasy, or if the freezer bag gets dirty anyway, I wash it in hot water with dish detergent, then air dry and reuse. I haven't seen a fat scum build up in them, even though I know plastic is lipophilic.

 

You may wonder whether I saved anything by using produce/bread bags inside the freezer bags. Well, this generally keeps the freezer bags from being messed up, and later I'll use the lightweight bags for collecting and disposing of garbage: possibly food scraps, more likely non-food waste that requires plastic for odor control. Someday I may be able to stop using those bags for that purpose, but I'm not there yet. 

 

Here's an example from my freezer, in case I'm not describing it clearly. When I'm done with that chicken, the interior bag will be used for garbage and the exterior bag will be fully reusable.

 

[heidih]

No you made sense on describing the inner/outer bag scenario. I should add when I do the back to freezer thing that bag has been out of freezer very briefly. Frozen scraps for example direct to pot and bag back "home"

[TdeV]

46 minutes ago, heidih said:

No you made sense on describing the inner/outer bag scenario. I should add when I do the back to freezer thing that bag has been out of freezer very briefly. Frozen scraps for example direct to pot and bag back "home"

 

Sadly I'm not that reliable.

[dcarch]

I use souv vide bags which can be boiled. There are many ways you can clean sous vide bags. I put then in the dish washer.

 

After they are cleaned, you can freeze food in them. Rubber bands are what I use to close them.

 

dcarch