Too Good To Go – Bagel Chips
From growing and processing crops to transporting food and dealing with waste, food production has one of the biggest environmental effects of any human activity. Impacts include habitat destruction and loss of biodiversity when we clear land for agriculture, water pollution associated with animal waste and synthetic fertilizer use, soil erosion from poor farming practices, the spread of invasive species, toxic contamination from synthetic pesticide use, development of resistant bacteria due to the overuse of antibiotics, and major contributions to climate change because of these activities and others. The United Nations (U.N.) estimates that about one third of all human-generated greenhouse gas emissions are linked to food.
While food waste is a relatively small component of this total, we still discard a significant amount of perfectly good food, with estimates on the order of one billion tons a year or 17 percent of the total produced worldwide. That number rises to 30 to 40 percent in the United States. If this food was not produced, processed, and transported, and if we could remove its decomposition from the picture, we would reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent, according to the U.N.
Food waste occurs at all parts of the chain from production to consumption. And while we cannot control waste generated during production and processing, we can limit it where we are, closer to the consumption end. For example, we can buy and cook less food so we discard less, purchase blemished or unattractive food that would otherwise be discarded, and donate excess food to hunger-relief organizations.
In response to this crisis, businesses that address food waste are starting to pop up everywhere. Companies that salvage “ugly” but otherwise perfectly good produce will deliver it to your home, and you can now rescue food from restaurants that would normally discard it at the end of the day. For example, the app Too Good To Go surveys participating bakeries, stores, and restaurants and offers “surprise bags” at deeply discounted prices just before the business closes for the day. Customers get food at a reduced price and the restaurant earns a little extra cash, all while saving perfectly good food from ending up in the trash.
My son Jacob and his girlfriend Amy, who live in Manhattan, frequently take advantage of Too Good To Go. Working late, it can supply a quick, inexpensive dinner that can be picked up as they walk home. They have bought full meals for five dollars, bags of baked goods, and boxes filled with desserts. They often discuss the recent deals they took advantage of on Too Good To Go, rating them as to which was the best in terms of quality and quantity.
On Long Island, where I live, the selection on this app is much more limited. While you can sometimes select a bakery or two for desserts, the choices are mostly limited to bagels and pizza. I have taken advantage of the app several times, more out of curiosity than anything else. The selection in all cases was exactly what you would expect, a bag full of bagels and rolls, with maybe a cookie or two thrown in, or a handful of slices of pizza, with whatever toppings they had left over at the end of the day. And while I saved a few bucks compared to the normal purchase price, the main reason to use Too Good To Go is to do my share of reducing food waste.
Bagel Chips
After eating your fill of a Too Good To Go bag stuffed with bagels, there will inevitably be leftovers. Of course bagels freeze perfectly well for breakfast on a future morning. But why not make bagel chips, which are as good a vehicle for a dip as they are to munch on their own?
Bagels should be sliced about a quarter of an inch thick for perfect toasting, and you can slice them any way you like; into rounds for dipping, vertically like bread, or into horizontal planks.
After slicing, when you bake them, a drizzle of olive oil helps them achieve maximum crispness. I recommend experimenting with toppings to get different results. I usually stick with a dusting of garlic powder or granulated garlic, however why not try everything bagel seasoning, Parmesan cheese, or cinnamon sugar if toasting cinnamon raisin bagels into crunchy chips?
35 minutes, makes about 6 to 8 cups
4 bagels, sliced into pieces about ¼-inch thick
½ cup olive oil
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ to 1 tsp. garlic powder or granulated garlic
- Preheat oven to 300 oF.
- Place bagel slices in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Stir until pieces are well coated.
- Arrange bagel slices in a single layer on two sheet pans. Sprinkle with salt and garlic powder or granulated garlic.
- Place sheet pans in oven and toast 20 to 25 minutes until the bagels are lightly browned, rotating pans halfway through.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Serve with dips or cheese, or eat them on their own like potato chips.
Max – thank you for highlighting our food waste problem. I had never thought of making my own croutons or bagel chips until a few years ago when my brother suggested it. I regularly make croutons but had forgotten about bagel chips. Thank you for the reminder and for your great writing.
Bagel chips are basically bagel croutons…a great way to use up stale bread/bagels. And delicious too. Thanks Anne.
Hi Max, How long do you think bagel chips or croutons last in a sealed container? Is that how they should be stored?
In a sealed container or plastic bag…they’ll be good as long as they don’t get soggy. Likely a few weeks if the container is really sealed.