The cost of the weekly food shop has soared, with prices of many items unrecognisable from just a year or two ago. This makes stretching every pound spent on groceries and reducing waste more crucial than ever, particularly in light of the climate crisis.
Supermarket giant Tesco has offered some valuable advice that could help your wallet as well as cut down on waste.
To stop us from prematurely discarding kitchen essentials, Tesco has shared some handy tips on its website, including milk.
“Using your freezer for just ice cubes and a packet of frozen peas?” Tesco poses on its website, adding: “Freezers are the most efficient when they are full, so make the most of the space to prevent food waste and have ingredients ready to go.”
And, perhaps surprisingly for some, one of the essential kitchen staples Tesco advises you to freeze is milk. It says: “Overestimated how much milk you’re going to get through? Unsure if you can freeze milk? Pop your milk in the freezer and you’ll never need a last-minute dash to the supermarket again.
“If full or unopened, pour a little bit out of the container before freezing so that it has room to expand as it freezes, or tip into an airtight container. Defrost overnight in the fridge and shake well before using to mix the milk and fat back together, then use as normal.”
Bananas
Peel ripe bananas and freeze whole or in slices. These can be used straight from the freezer, perfect for cold, thick smoothies or snacking on with these easy 3-ingredient fruit and nut bananas. You can also use it to make ice cream.
Cheese
Hard cheeses like Cheddar, Red Leicester or Comte all freeze well if you are clearing out the fridge.
Eggs
You can freeze eggs. Crack into a small bowl and whisk together, then freeze in a freezer bag or individual ice cube trays defrost for omelettes and baking whenever you need. You can also freeze just the whites ready for meringues.
Potatoes
If you’ve got too many to use before they start to sprout, peel, roughly chop and blanch until just cooked, then spread out on a tray so they’re not touching. Freeze until solid, then tip into a freezer bag roasties ready to go!
Yoghurt
You can easily freeze your spare yoghurt at home. If you’ve got kids, pop a lolly stick in mini yogurts ready for summer snacks at a later date.
Wine
If you don’t finish a bottle of wine, pour the remainder into ice cube trays (or a freezer bag if you have a larger amount), then add as cubes to recipes as needed.
Herbs
Roughly chop soft herbs, place in ice cube trays and top up with water, then simply defrost when ready to use, or drop whole into pasta and curries.
