Nobody likes having to throw away food that’s gone bad in the fridge, even though sometimes it can’t be avoided. This is especially true amid the current cost of living crisis, where every penny counts for many people.
A staggering 9.5 million tonnes of food is thrown away each year in the UK, which is why it’s so helpful to have a few tricks up your sleeve to reduce waste and save money.
And it turns out you can make your own butter at home by using one surprising ingredient you might think nothing of chucking in the bin. That’s according to lead recipe developer Sophie Nahmad from recipe box service Gousto, who has shared some ingenious ways to repurpose your food waste.
And one of these involves whipping up the classic cooking staple in less than 30 minutes using double cream that’s a couple of days out of date.
To do this, simply pour your double cream into a bowl and use an electric whisk to start mixing it up so that the texture becomes thicker – this will usually take around 5-6 minutes.
“Eventually, you should see the texture begin to thicken, and the milk solids should begin to separate from the liquid whey, with the solids becoming yellow in colour,” Sophie said. “You should see a clear separation from the solid butter on the whisk, to the liquid remaining in the bowl.
“Next, you want to remove all the butter from the whisk and mould it together. The left-over liquid is your buttermilk, which is delicious in pancakes.”
Then, just put the butter in a bowl and it’s ready to use. Sophie added that this should last you a ‘good few days’, and it’s the ideal way to make the most out of any spoiled cream.
As well as this, you can also grow extra vegetables using common kitchen scraps from the likes of onions, spring onions and garlic – which are another real kitchen staple.
To begin, all you need to do is save the bases of the vegetables, making sure the roots are still attached. Place these roots in a shallow dish of water near the window sill, and soon enough you should see green shoots begin to appear.
Sophie said: “Spring onions are super easy as you can keep the roots in water, and then harvest the fresh green shoots as they resprout. Other types of alliums such as garlic and onions will need to be planted in soil in the garden or in a pot to produce a larger crop.”