Let’s talk about how can we save food! Here is a quick guide to help you get the better of fruits, veggies, burnt, overcooked, stale or salty foods.
Too many people have a habit of throwing away food at the very first sign of bruise or browning. If it happens to be your case, why not try to make a difference in the world and help reduce food waste? We should not be taking for granted all the wonderful foods that we have access to, even if there seems to be an endless supply of them.
Use lemon juice to slow down the browning of fruits and veggies
There are fruits and veggies whose skins protects what’s on the inside, but when we peel it and the fruits or veggies are exposed to fresh air, the oxidation turns them brown. It is the case for avocados, artichokes, apples, potatoes or bananas. However, there is no harm if you want to eat them. First, dip the browning surfaces in lemon juice for a couple of minutes, and then you can eat them again.
If honey has rough crystals
As you probably know, honey is a product that never expires and is safe for consumption even after decades. But if somehow it hardens and you want it to flow again, do the following trick:
- heat a pan of water on low heat;
- take the pan from the stove and place the honey jar in water, making sure to remove the lid;
- let the honey sit in warm water until it softens;
- honey has reached its liquid state? Put the lid back on and shake the jar;
- put the jar back in the warm water and wait for both honey and water to slowly cool together.
Afterwards, you will be able to enjoy liquid honey again.
If brown sugar gets hard
If your sugar got hard, no matter what container you used for storage, there is a simple way to save it: place a long sliver of orange or lemon peel in the sugar container and everything will be okay.
Wilted veggies? No problem.
In case your greens have wilted, the carrots have limps and tomatoes or peppers have wrinkled, it does not mean you have to throw them away. It is quite the other way around: this is a sign that the veggies have lost moisture and cannot keep their structure. The good part? There is a quick way of saving them.
A 50 to 10 minutes ice water bath is all you need to do in order to help your veggies come back to life. Carrots will straighten, lettuce will crisp and broccoli, tomatoes or peppers will look edible again. And even if you cannot eat them raw, they will taste delicious in a cooked dish.
Stale chips? Not anymore!
It happens frequently – you unpack a bag of chips or crackers, eat half of it, and the rest of it loses its freshness overnight. If so, just toast the old chips and crackers for a minute or two in the oven or fry them. You can do the same for bread. If you want to prevent the staleness from happening in the first place, the solution is simple: store the baked goodies in the freezer, because once thawed, they will have the same taste as before.
Salty dishes? There’s a “cure”!
The soup ended up too salty? You can „fix” the taste by adding lemon juice, brown sugar or vinegar. Another common method is to dilute the soup with water, unsalted broth or crushed tomatoes. A peeled potato added in the soup will absorb some of the salt. But hey, don’t forget to remove the potato before the serving!
Burnt food? We have a solution for that too.
If you are tired of throwing away burnt dishes, stop. Here are some alternatives you can try:
- remove the burned beans or stew from the heat, remove the edible portion and put it into a new pot and cover it with a damp cloth for 10 minutes. This will help you remove the burned flavor.
- add hot sauce, sweet chili or barbecue, to remove the burned taste of the dish.
Overcooked food? Puree it right away
You have overcooked your vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes or carrots? Turn them into a creamy puree. You can opt for either creamy soups or sauces. Get the blender, toss the vegetables in there, add some milk, cream or soup stock and in a few minutes you’ll get a delicious and ready to eat dish.
What do you think, will you try our methods to revive food? We sure hope so! And don’t forget to leave us tour tricks in a comment below.