Farmer Florian Kuhn (34) is spending this Wednesday at Zurich main station. His companion: nine tons of apples. Some big, others small, they have misshapen apples with them, some that are not completely red – or too red. Kuhn says: “All my apples taste wonderful.” The retailers still don’t want them. Because they do not correspond to the given norm. That is why Kuhn brought these apples to the main station together with another farmer. The Swiss Farmers’ Association is giving them away together with the “Too Good To Go” food rescue app and the “Save Food, Fight Waste” foundation.
From 6 a.m. onwards, every passer-by is allowed to pack as many as can fit in a rucksack or bag and can actually be recycled. And thus form an opinion for yourself about these apples, which are called “not suitable for trade” in technical jargon. Because if the apples weren’t at the main train station, they would be processed into cider and schnapps or dried. Or they get stuck on the trees because the harvest is not worthwhile for the price of cider fruit.
A third of the food is lost
Food waste is when food is thrown away instead of being eaten. We have a lot of that in Switzerland: a third of all food is lost in this country. That is 2.6 million tons. So around 330 kilos per person. Each year. Around ten percent of it in agriculture. The biggest food wasters, however, are consumers: 40 percent of all food is lost in households. But food is also thrown away in the food industry, gastronomy and retail trade. The main reason for food waste among the farmers is the crooked carrot, the heart-shaped potato or the too little red apple. So vegetables and fruits that do not meet the norm.
Apples are also imported
Florian Kuhn runs his Sonnhaldenhof together with his wife Maria. The farm in Wohlen AG operates a dairy farm, and asparagus and berries are harvested. The amount of apples fluctuates from year to year, says Kuhn. What is the same every year: The apples are sorted. In first class and second class. “Only top goods make it into the trade.” Kuhn gets one franc for one kilo. But around every tenth apple does not meet the standard, i.e. it is too big or too small. For these second-class apples, there is just 40 cents per kilo, for cider fruit only 18 cents. If the number of second-rate apples rises in a year, it pays off less and less. “When 20 percent of apples are rejected, the air becomes very thin,” he says.
This is not a problem for retailers. If there are not enough perfect domestic apples, a few containers are simply imported from elsewhere. And exactly in the desired size, shape and color.
“My work has no value”
For the environment it is nonsense to import and at the same time not to eat local apples. Kuhn also finds it absurd that in this country, from an ecological point of view, standard fruit trees are desired, but then part of the harvest is thrown away. “If my products are of no value, neither are I nor my work,” says Kuhn.
He sees the apple campaign at the main train station as an opportunity to show the population “what’s going on in agriculture”. Because Kuhn is convinced: “We can only end food waste together.”
In case you need an idea what to do with the apples. Here is a recipe from chef and food waste pioneer Mirko Buri:
Apple recipe from chef Mirko Buri
dough
150g flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 DL apple juice or water
2x egg yolks
2x egg white
Cakes
1x lemon
1 tablespoon of sugar
600g apple cut into 2 cm thick slices
7 DL rapeseed oil for frying
1x sugar and cinnamon to turn
preparation
dough Mix all ingredients up to and including the egg yolk to a smooth dough.
Cover and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Beat egg whites just before baking until stiff. Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter.
Cakes Slice the apple and cut out the core.
Mix together lemon juice and sugar.
Drizzle the apple rings over them immediately after cutting.
Heat the oil in a pan to 170 degrees.
Pat the fruit slices dry in batches with kitchen paper and pull them through the batter.
Fry in portions on both sides in hot oil for a total of 4–5 minutes.
Drain on kitchen paper.
Turn the still warm fruit cakes in the cinnamon sugar and serve with a warm vanilla sauce.
Chef and food waste pioneer Mirko Buri makes deep-fried apple fritters.
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dough
150g flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 DL apple juice or water
2x egg yolks
2x egg white
Cakes
1x lemon
1 tablespoon of sugar
600g apple cut into 2 cm thick slices
7 DL rapeseed oil for frying
1x sugar and cinnamon to turn
preparation
dough Mix all ingredients up to and including the egg yolk to a smooth dough.
Cover and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Beat egg whites just before baking until stiff. Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter.
Cakes Slice the apple and cut out the core.
Mix together lemon juice and sugar.
Drizzle the apple rings over them immediately after cutting.
Heat the oil in a pan to 170 degrees.
Pat the fruit slices dry in batches with kitchen paper and pull them through the batter.
Fry in portions on both sides in hot oil for a total of 4–5 minutes.
Drain on kitchen paper.
Turn the still warm fruit cakes in the cinnamon sugar and serve with a warm vanilla sauce.