10 Best Ways to Repurpose Kitchen Waste
Vegetable peels, coffee grounds, corn cobs, a lint dryer are all trash, but there is a treasure in this trash. You can compost it, obviously, but let’s talk about some smarter ways to reuse this kitchen waste before it ends up in the bin.
10. Turn corncobs into savory cream or broth.
Fresh corn is one of the joys in life, but once you’ve eaten all you can and left the cobs, or if you’ve removed the corn from the cobs and left the cobs, don’t throw them in the trash. Leftover corn cobs can turn a pot of water into deliciously savory sweet corn broth , and from a pot of heavy cream, rich corn cream that you can add to other recipes, or whip the tasty heavy cream into a savory sweet whipped cream. upstairs desserts.
Alternatively, you can always save the corn on the cob for roasting the chicken. We’re not kidding – lay the corncobs on the bottom of the baking dish, grill the chicken on top of the cobs, and the rest is delicious cooking magic . Seriously, give it a try.
9. Use a tumble dryer to light your grill or fire.
You should completely lint the dryer after each use, but if you are making your own survival kit, insect repellent bag, or maybe just planning a camping or outdoor trip in the near future, hold onto a few of them. this fluff. Dryer lint is incredibly flammable (which is why you want to remove it from air ducts and dryers as often as possible), making it ideal for starting a fire. Grab an old cardboard box for eggs and candle stubs and you have a waterproof firelighter you can take with you wherever you go .
Of course, if you are not planning a trip anytime soon, it is still worth saving some of this nap. Dryer fluff does a great job of cleaning up oil – be it cooking oil or garage oil.
8. Grow fresh vegetables.
We’ve mentioned this before, but before you throw away those vegetables, inedible leaves or roots, you may be able – with enough time and effort – to grow completely new, free, almost endless food . Okay, that might be promising, but it’s entirely possible to grow leafy greens like romaine and allum like chives from tidbits that you might otherwise prune and discard.
Some of these trimmings, of course, require planting and growing in season, but if you are short on space or if you want to try your hand at growing food using only a little water , well you can. it is too.
7. Use banana peels to flavor hot cocoa.
Bananas are great – they’re high in potassium, they’re delicious, and they’re pretty much all over the place ( at least for now ). But did you know that their rind is edible? Yes, people all over the world eat banana peels .
Even if it’s too much for you, you can still use them in your next batch of hot cocoa. Stewing cocoa with banana peels gives the cocoa a distinctly banana nutty flavor , and what could be better than chocolate and banana?
6. Turn vegetable skins and vegetable ends into pressurized broth.
The bottoms of the onions that you trim when you remove the skins, tops and roots of carrots, the garlic that is just starting to come off, are not trash, but they don’t have to be just compost. … Throw them all in a saucepan with some herbs (or better yet, some herb stalks or herbs that are a little sluggish), a little salt, pepper, and other spices that you may have already had in your hand, cover it all with water and simmer on low heat.
The picture will be even better if you have a pressure cooker . Instead of letting it all simmer all day and slowly subtracting it, you can quickly prepare a broth in minutes that can be used almost immediately from the leftovers left over from what you planned to cook overnight. This is a win-win.
5. Store cheese crusts for flavor in soup or broth, or for making cheese chips.
Large chunks of Parmesan Reggiano and other hard cheeses are perfect for almost anything in the kitchen. But when you get to the crust – you know, the back ends of the cheese, where there is nothing else to recycle, don’t just throw them away. These crusts offer a tremendous flavor enhancement if you add them to soups or stews , and if a crust remains after being discarded from every last bite of that flavor in your dish, it is likely to be smooth, easy to spread and ideal side to accompany him.
If soup is not in your future, you have options. You can just toss them in water and make a savory velvet broth out of those cheese rinds, and it works with any type of hard cheese, not just Parmesan Reggiano (think pecorino, romano, asaggio and others!) Finally, if you are really very lazy, turn this trash into treasure with your science oven. In about 30 seconds, you can eat some delicious cheese chips on one lazy afternoon.
4. Deodorize the dishwasher or refrigerator with citrus peels.
The next time you peel an orange, eat a grapefruit, squeeze lemon or lime juice, or accumulate the zest of any other type of citrus fruit, consider using them to deodorize the dishwasher . Sure, baking soda or vinegar can help, but throw in some citrus fruits and you have something that is both effective and enjoyable.
If your dishwasher is fine, thank you very much, consider putting the rind in the refrigerator instead, or protecting your plants from pet feline friends . Worst case scenario, pick them up and rub some sugar into them for the best lemonade / limeid / citrus you’ve ever tasted.
3. Use stems of herbs to add oil or vinegar, or grill them for a flavorful punch.
If you still have stems from herbs that you just cut or bought from the grocery store, you do not need to throw them away. Even if they are more woody, like rosemary stems or thyme stems, they are perfect for adding oil, vinegar, or even broth with a strong herbal flavor (just make sure you use them quickly to minimize your risk of foodborne illness.)
If that’s not exactly what you want , grab these stems the next time you touch the grill and toss them along with the rest of your meal. You get good smoke, great aroma, and a herbal bonus to anything grilled that day.
2. Turn edible peels and scraps into sauces, pastes and snacks.
Many peels and scraps are not inedible or unpalatable, they are simply useless. If you want to get the most out of everything, including the apples you peel for pie without letting those skins go bad, consider drying and seasoning them to make apple chips , or using those skins to flavor bourbon . You can do the same with other vegetable skins by making a quick and crunchy snack with potato skins, carrot skins, parsnip skins, and more.
Cucumbers, which usually don’t need to be peeled, are often peeled for salads, sandwiches, and of course smoothies (where you don’t need a bitter peel). Save these peels and turn them into a sandwich paste . Speaking of spreads, even strawberry tops – you know, chunks of greens – make great pesto .
1. Use coffee grounds as a household cleaner.
This wouldn’t be Lifehacker if we didn’t have tons of great ways to use coffee grounds. I mean, as much coffee as we all drink, we’d better have something, right? The good thing is that you can use coffee grounds to wash dishes or even kill fleas , get rid of annoying ants , deodorize and clean out sewers, or even garbage collection (your mileage may vary – I had plumbers telling me to definitely use them and never use them) and make cleaning easier .
Of course, since they are abrasive, they are perfect for cleaning sticky tools and other items that have glue or other dirt on them, and if none of this really applies to you, you can always turn them into starter pots for the spring. … plant and cheer your green friends. This is the best option after the compost heap.