Growth in food past its expiry date, collected and redistributed by Tables Suisse project

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Forbes carries a wonderful article about food and expiry dates, where it goes, who buys it and whether or not they should all expect to die within hours (if you read no further, the answer is “no”).

The problem of old but still good food isn’t limited to the US, of course. Swiss supermarkets throw away massive amounts of food that have reached their expiry date, but Tables Suisses, run by volunteers and with 31 refrigerated vans, last year collected and distributed more than 3,000 tons of food  from the stores.

The food gathered must be past its sell-by date but in good condition and perfectly edible. Swiss laws were aligned with European Union ones in 2009 for food safety, and while both federal and cantonal governments have roles to play in overseeing food safety, expiry dates are generally determined by the point at which a product is at its best, not whether or not it is still safe to eat.

Swiss consumers throw away 36 kilos of food per inhabitant each year, a total of 250,000 tons, of which 25,000 tons is considered by law to be fit for consumption.

The organization is a project of the non-profit (and tax exempt) Espoir pour personnes en détresse/Hoffnung für Menschen in Not foundation and it just celebrated its 10th anniversary in December 2011. Stores in 11 cantons participate.

The project distributes via a number of social work and charity groups, rather than directly to the needy. About 15 percent of the Swiss population is below the poverty line, some 1.1 million people, and half of these are considered in serious need of material aid; this is the group targeted by Tables Suisses.

Credit Suisse and Coop have been among the major sponsors since 2001, with the supermarket chain providing cash as well as food goods.

TSR ran a television report on Tables Suisses in 2009, and most of the information is still current, despite the show’s expiry date.

This week’s foodie overview

I spend a lot of time reading, researching and tweeting about food and restaurants these days, so I thought I’d jot down my tweets from the last few days. These are from both The Rambling Epicure and Swiss Foodies and should give you an overview of what’s going on in the foodie world this week, in Switzerland and around the world.

These tweets are often focused on Switzerland, but also include a lot of links to Swiss, French, German, British, American, Canadian and other research on food.

Sometimes I couldn’t resist writing about the snow and skiing conditions, because that determines how a lot of us in Switzerland plan our weekends, and therefore what restaurants we go to or what recipes we cook up. And of course occasionally, watches and wine . . . and this week, the Vancouver Winter Olympics and those cute wooly pigs you see in the photo.

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Migros’s home delivery service is perfect during this period of icy, snowy streets

Since I live in the old town in Geneva, I walk everywhere. A few years ago, I had shoulder and wrist injuries from carrying too many heavy shopping bags, and ever since, I’ve had to do my heavy grocery and household shopping with a trolley. A couple of years ago, after regularly hearing the leshop.ch ads on WRS (formerly WRG), I decided to try and avoid pulling my heavy trolley, filled with milk, detergents, and other heavy products, up the hill from the Coop 2000 and the Boulevard Helvétique market to the Russian Church, so I tried leshop.ch. With the ice and snow on the streets over the last few weeks, home delivery can definitely be a godsend.

Online supermarket shopping, a luxury that fits every pocked

Although the leshop site is not the most user-friendly and not everything is translated into English, it is still quite functional for a non-French-speaker. The process is simple. Start by opening an account.  This allows you to have a shopping cart, which you can use just like a shopping list that you put on the front of the refrigerator, adding things as you run out of them (I just leave my leshop.ch shopping cart open on the screen and add things as needed). When you are ready to order, send it in before midnight, and it will arrive on your doorstep between 5 and 8 p.m. the next day.

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Label One offers home delivery of lots of hard-to-find goodies, including Gillardeau oysters (same as those served at the Brasserie Lipp), lobsters and crabs for holidays or special occasions, as well as rib-eye and sirloin steaks, wild fish, and other more common fare.

You can order online and if you order before 15:00 H, it will be delivered the next morning before 9:00 A.M. Delivery is free as of CHF 200, via ExpressPost or air. (My experience of food delivery by the Swiss ExpressPost system, using cold blocks, has always been problem-free.)

Products are packed in insulated bags, along with a cold block that maintains the temperature below 5° C/41° F.

Label One also offers catering of holiday meals, and such favorites as barbecue ribs and pancakes and maple syrup, as well as gift package delivery.

Their toll free number is 0800 LABEL 1 (0800 52235 1).

The age-old Geneva and Savoyard specialty called rzulé in the local dialect, better known today as rissole aux poires, was nearly extinct not so very long ago. The dish consists basically of pears braised until they caramelize, which are then used to fill a pastry. The result resembles a fried apple turnover or chausson, even though it is baked.

Very Easy Kitchen's beautiful photo of pear rissoles.

The nearly extinct Marlioz pear saved by Geneva woman

You don’t just use any old pear to make rissoles. You use a variety specific to the region: the Marlioz pear, which was saved by none other than Eliane Pottu, says La Tribune de Genéve. Jérôme Estèbe wrote a delightful feature, in French, on the fortunate revival of this dish. Traditionally, every family in canton Geneva and the Savoy had a couple of Marlioz pear trees in the garden, but this tradition has slowly dwindled away.

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If you didn’t have time to make your Christmas puddings last winter, there is still a solution: order luxury puddings online. Yes, you still have time!

Figgys Puddings makes high-quality Christmas puddings using only the best ingredients. They come in lovely ceramic bowls.

They ship overseas, but do not list the date for last order. In any case, it would be wise to order as soon as possible.

Figgys Christmas puddings use only top quality natural ingredients.

Harrods offers luxury Christmas puddings and brandy butter, with a delivery time of 5 to 7 days to Switzerland.

Fortnum and Mason in Picadilly in London also offers a wide variety of Christmas puddings and cakes, including chocolate-flavored ones, as well as mince pies. The puddings come in lovely ceramic bowls you’ll want to keep.

Rum and cognac butters are also available. For Switzerland, orders must be in by midday, Monday December 14.

Le 3 Rive Gauche, Grand Rue 3, 1204 Geneva

This reliable bistro is a real gem in the midst of the vieille ville, which is in dire need of more good but affordable restaurants.

It is beautifully decorated, the servers are pleasant, fast and efficient, and the food is reliably good. They offer a daily lunch special for CHF 20 or a 2-course daily menu for CHF 32.

After our conference on the history of Geneva today at the Société de Lecture, we hopped down the street and had a plat du jour, which consisted of a thick, perfectly cooked slab of salmon trout, steamed potatoes cooked to perfection, and steamed spinach.

They also have great baguette, which is another thing that is hard to find in local restaurants. Definitely an address to save in your telephone memory.

Opening hours: Monday through Friday, 12:00 to 14:00 and from 18:30 to 22:30. Tel. +41 022 810 29 29. Site. (Please note that the hours listed on the site are not correct.)

L’Office, rue Richer 3, 75009 Paris

Refined, modern, light cuisine for around 30 euros a head for a 3-course meal. Red bell pepper velouté with foie gras, duo of sea bass and scallops with a frothy, light cream sauce, and a to-die-for chocolate moelleux. Can purchase foie gras, onion jam, and other homemade goodies to take home with you. Short but sweet wine list.

Opening hours: closed Sundays and Mondays. Open for lunch on Thursday and Friday from mid-day – 2.30pm. Open for dinner from Tuesday – Saturday from 8 – 10.30pm. Tel. +33 01 47 70 67 31.  Metro Cadet (line 7) or Bonne Nouvelle (lines 8 & 9).

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The Intermarché Mousquetaires and Ecomarché supermarket chain now offers home delivery in certain locations.

Unfortunately, the choice is more limited than that of leshop.ch in Switzerland, and it is not in English, but the photos are easy to follow, even if you don’t speak much French. You won’t find as much variety as at  the supermarket, but it can still come in handy when you’re in a pinch.

You can also do your shopping online in locations where delivery is not available, and then pick it up at the store, or if you’re traveling, you can order it and have it delivered so it will be there on your arrival. This service can also come in handy when you or your children are sick and can’t go out to shop, and for senior citizens who might have problems of mobility.

Payment is either by credit card or check.

To find out if the service is available in your region, simply go to the ExpressMarché site and type in your postal code either in France or Switzerland. If it is available in your area, a timetable will be displayed showing the days and hours the service is available (this varies widely from one location to another, so check it out carefully).

The annual La Semaine du Goût started today in Switzerland, and runs until 27 September 2009.

Each canton offers an uncanny variety of activities for adults and children alike. From tasting workshops and cooking classes, to biodynamic growing techniques and wine making and tasting and even markets: there is truly something for everyone. Just click on the link above to see what is going on in your canton or area.

Every year, the main activities are focused on a “star” town or city. This year it is Delémont in canton Valais, where for CHF 50, 13 gastronomic restaurants will be offering a 4-course meal accompanied by the 4 Etoile d’Or wines that win the organization Les Vins du Valais‘s wine competition, which is headed this year by Marie-Thérèse Chappaz, Switzerland’s star female wine maker, whose vineyards are located in Fully in canton Valais.

Les Vins du Valais also offers special taste initiation events for young people between the ages of 16 and 25, allowing them to taste the award-winning wines and start training their tastebuds. Tasting events have also been organized in schools (ask at your child’s school for more detailed information; informational brochures are available for teachers on the sites listed above, under “Ecoles“).

The annual Swiss tasting week promotes local and Swiss products of all types: sausages, wine, herbs, fruit, vegetables, cheese, etc.

Marie-Thérèse Chappaz in her vineyard in Fully in canton Valais.

Erratum:

Every year, Association pour la Promotion du Goût, the Swiss association for promoting taste, chooses a Ville du Goût, or city of taste. This year it is indeed Delémont, as stated in our Swiss tasting week: La Semaine du Goût post of 19 September 2009, but Delémont is located in canton Jura, instead of in canton Valais. More about the gastronomic events in Delémont can be found on their website.

This includes tasting classes for children the week of 21 to 25 September. Please consult the site for more information.