Turn gone off food good: 7 tricks to revive spoiled grub

Don’t waste it: Revive it! Here’s some surprising ways to turn gone off food good again!

We’ve all been there: You go to pour milk over your cereal in the morning only to find it’s become a stinking mess, but soured milk, soggy crisps and stale bread may still be useful and edible with a few cunning tricks.

Icky lettuce

Soak lettuce in ice cold water for 30 minutes, adding a splash of lemon juice if you have it handy.

Bruised fruit

Cut off the bruised bit and eat the rest – it’s perfectly fine! – don’t throw out the whole thing.

Brown bananas

Use going-off bananas in recipes such as banana bread or banana cake. Alternatively, cut into slices and freeze to eat later as part of an ice cream treat. You can also use them to make a brilliantly easy banana pancakes recipe

Stale bread and biscuits

Turn stale bread into breadcrumbs: Bake on a low heat until brittle then store them in an airtight container. They can also be frozen. You can use breadcrumbs in all sorts from burgers to crispy chicken. You do the same with stale biscuits and use them in desserts such as apple crumble and cheese cake.

Soggy crisps

Put crisps under the grill or under a medium heat in the oven for 10 minutes or so until crispy again – keep an eye on them! Also works for cereal.

Cheese

Grate cheese that’s going off and freeze it for use in meals like Lasagne at a later date. Even better, stop cheese going off in the first place by rubbing a bit of butter on the end when you cut it to stop it drying out in the fridge by the next time you want a slice.

Make friends with your freezer

Most things that are about to or just starting to go off can be frozen for use at a later date when you want them. Check the label to make sure they’re suitable for home freezing and transfer any contents to airtight, freezer safe containers.

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