Every day in the UK , we throw away 4.4 million potatoes, 1 million bananas, 20 million slices of bread, 3.1 million glasses of milk.
Let's not do that anymore.
BANANAS
Storage
Keep them separate from other fruit, unless you want the other fruit to ripen super-fast.
They go brown quite quickly so if you see them start to go speckled, you can peel and put them in the freezer.
Leftovers
You can use frozen bananas in smoothies, banana loaf or bake them in the oven with a bit of honey dripped on top for a lovely dessert.
Add them to a curry for fruitiness without being overpowering.
BREAD
Storage
‘Don’t get in a spin
It really is no teaser
Clip half the bag in a bread bin
And the other in the freezer’
To keep bread and rolls fresh and soft, keep them in a cool, dark, dry place like a bread bin or cupboard. Clean your bread bin or cupboard regularly to get rid of mould spores.
Only store your bread and rolls in the fridge if the weather is really hot, but don’t forget to bring them out of the fridge about an hour before you use them so they soften up again.
Once a loaf is opened, fold the wrapper under the loaf or retie it with the ‘best before’ tag, sucking out all the air first. Keep the end crust in place on top of the loaf to keep the next slice fresh.
You can freeze bread at any time up to the ‘best before’ date. It can stay frozen indefinitely, but for the best taste try to use them within three months. Frozen sliced bread can go straight into the toaster without defrosting first.
To refresh stale bread rolls or loaves, soak the bread under running water. When it’s really sodden reheat in a moderate oven until crisp and golden on the outside and light in the middle. For bread that’s a little stale, heat it in the microwave for a few seconds and it will soften up nicely. Not quite fresh, but the next best thing.
Leftovers
Old bread makes great breadcrumbs - you can freeze them to use for crumble toppings, stuffing, thickening for sauces, or bread sauce. You can freeze leftover bread sauce, as long as it hasn’t been frozen before.
Cut leftover bread into cubes, toss in oil and a little garlic and herbs and chilli powder, freeze on a tray and transfer into boxes once frozen. You have an instant crouton mix, wonderful shallow fried in oil straight from the freezer or baked in the oven. Add to any soup or salad.
Note: Don't eat mouldy bread (just in case you were thinking about it ...)
MILK
Storage
You can freeze semi-skimmed (fresh or long life) in full or part-finished bottles
Leftovers
Use up milk to make fabulous scones. Whip up a batch of scone mix and freeze it in scone sized portions until you are ready to use them.
POTATOES
Storage
Take your spuds out of the plastic bag and put them into a cloth or natural fibre bag. Store somewhere cool, dark and airy - not the fridge - and away from strong smelling foods such as onions.
The Food Standards Agency advise that once cooked, potatoes should be cooled as quickly as possible, ideally within 1- 2 hours, and then can be stored in the fridge for up to two days.
If you’re freezing, make sure they’re not touching each other when they freeze so they don’t stick to each other – otherwise you’ll have to defrost them all at once.
When potatoes are exposed to either artificial or natural light, they can go a green colour due to chemical changes. The green bits aren’t suitable to eat but you can simply cut them out. It’s safe to cook potatoes that have sprouted but they may not keep well and are more likely to go black when cooked. Whatever your choice, always remove the sprouts before eating.
Leftovers
Potato peelings - sprinkle with salt, pepper, chilli or whatever flavour takes your fancy and poop them in the oven. Free crisps the children will love!
They can be used to thicken soups or thinly slice and add to omelettes.
If you have potatoes you need to use, boil them up, make mashed potato and freeze it in portions. It can also be frozen and then used for bubble and squeak or shepherds pie topping.
And finally ... in case you needed anything else to make your day much better, we are happy to inform you that there is a Potato Council and it has its own Love Potato site: www.lovepotatoes.co.uk