508. mango cardamom ice cream

About time

       I am so glad that France is the first developed country to tackle the issue of food wastage and will be passing a law that supermarkets will be banned from throwing or destroying food that is still edible. It is believed that in France about 7.1 million tonnes of food is wasted per year. There a many poor families, students, homeless and unemployed people forage the bins for food. To prevent potential food poisoning, supermarkets have been dousing the leftover food with bleach. In 2012 UK threw away 7 million tonnes of food. How much is that? Well, fill Wembley Stadium nine times over. The law will require the supermarkets to donate the food to charities or as animal feed. While there is a lot of argument that that is not the solution of dealing with food wastage, its a beginning. An average French person throws away 20 -30 kgs of food of which 7 kgs is still wrapped. Food wastage has to be tackled at the home level too. People need to be made aware of buying what is required and not more. Consuming the faster perishable goods first, is a good way to tackle food wastage.Buying sensibly and perhaps supermarkets should really stop offering buy one 3 free or 2 free enticing gimmicks. People have a tendency to buy more than required just because its on sale. Think for a moment, why is that product on sale? Does it have a short expiry date? Did it have a problem at the production line? Does it taste good? Does your family actually consume that product or did you buy it because of the offer? 
       If people stop wasting food, filling up plates that’s just enough, it will have a ripple effect. More production of food means more land, more storage, more transport and more water is required. This all equates to energy wasted. Food wastage has an effect on the environment too.Disposed food filled in landfills emits methane which is a relatively damaging greenhouse gas. 
      When we were growing up, we were not allowed to waste food at all. We had to take a small serving and could always go for more.We lived as a joint family and I cannot remember anyone wasting or leaving food on their plate. When we went to restaurants, food was ordered sensibly. Dishes can always be re ordered. Its true for majority of the family that the person who cooks usually knows the likes and dislikes and the appetite of the members. 
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/22/france-to-force-big-supermarkets-to-give-away-unsold-food-to-charity
http://humansarefree.com/2014/08/everything-you-need-to-know-about-food.html




Today’s recipe is a creamy,easy and delicious mango ice cream. I love making ice creams at home because it allows me to make them with real fruit as opposed to artificial flavourings and colours. You can make this recipe into popsicles or paletas.

MANGO ICE CREAM
Makes about 1.5 litres

1½ cups evaporated milk 
1¼ cup fresh cream
3 cups chopped mango (I used 2 big mangoes)
1 tsp cardamom powder (elachi)
¾ cup sugar

1. Pour the evaporated milk into a blender.
2. Add mangoes and sugar. Puree till you get a smooth mixture.
3. Strain the mixture to remove any fibers that might be present in the mangoes.
4. Return the mixture into the blender. Add the cream and cardamom powder. Blend for a few seconds.
5. Chill the mixture for 2 hours if you are going to use the ice cream maker machine.
6. If not, pour the mixture into a tin with a tight lid. Put it in the freezer.
7. If you are using the machine, follow the instructions on the pamphlet.Mine takes about 15 minutes.
8. Remove the ice cream from the machine and put it into a tin with a lid. Put the tin in the freezer till required.
9. Remove the ice cream 5 minutes before you need to serve so that it is easier to scoop.
10. Garnish with nuts or fresh chopped mangoes and serve.

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