How to get the most out of every ingredient

We regularly throw away these common ‘waste’ ingredients. Instead, turn them into delicious dishes.

Helen White, Special Advisor on Household Food Waste at WRAP says "the average UK family with children wastes £730 of food a year. Over 70 percent of wasted food in the UK comes from our homes," she adds: "A UK household wastes on average the equivalent of eight meals a week."

"You might be surprised by our most wasted foods," says White. "Fresh potato takes the number one spot with a staggering 710,000 tonnes wasted every year – the equivalent of 4.4 million whole potatoes a day. Bread is in at number two."

"Our most wasted food group in the UK is fresh vegetables and salad and a big reason for it going to waste is ‘not used in time’," says White.

"Grating a bendy carrot or that half-courgette into a family favourite is a clever way of using up items lurking at the bottom of the fridge at risk of going to waste (and getting extra goodness into the kids). Pasta sauce, curry, chilli, and soup are all the better for a bit of veg," she adds.

With so much food going to waste in the UK, we asked for your suggestions on how to put food waste items to good use.

Here are your tips, together with expert advice…

In 2019, North London Waste Authority discovered that "43 percent of households are throwing away crusts, 15 percent don't eat the ends of sliced loaves and one in 10 reject the ends of fresh loaves."

If you fall into the trap of binning stale bread then instead grate it and you will have your own breadcrumbs, ready to use in stuffing, fish cakes or fish fingers.

Alternatively, tear bread into rough cubes, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Air fry or bake them for 10 minutes and you’ll have crisp croûtons to top soups and salads, like this easy wedge salad.

Leftover bread is the basis of many traditional puddings, such as bread and butter pudding and Northern classic bread pudding.

"One of the reasons the humble potato sits at the number one ‘most wasted’ spot is because the whole of a potato is edible, so if you do not eat all of it, what is left is considered ‘wasted food’." says White.

Dietitian Tai Ibitoye points out that when we peel potatoes we are throwing away one of the main health benefits – it's packed with fibre, as well as Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, potassium, folate, and iron.

White explains: "The skin of many root vegetables is edible. There is no need to peel, just give them a scrub before preparing in the usual manner. The bigger and older the veg, the tougher the skin, so you probably won't want to eat it then (if you use a peeler instead of a knife, you’ll create less waste)."

However, if you prefer the taste without the skin then, you don't need to dispose of the peelings. "You can make vegetable crisps from potato, carrot, parsnip, and beetroot peel," says White.

While you can oven bake them, if you have an air fryer, it could speed up the cooking time from 27 minutes to 10, says expert, Jenny Tschiesche. She recommends: "Toss them in a little bit of oil, season, and then air fry until they're nice and crispy. They take 10 minutes at 180C."

"Clean peelings can also be used to make stock for soups and sauces," says White, before adding: "I am realistic: you are not going to want skin-on all of the time, but you might be surprised to learn that there are some old favourites where you can leave the skin on, like mash and fries."

Many readers recommended using the water that you cook potatoes in for other dishes. This is something White also recommends: "You can use it to make gravy (the starch will help to thicken it), add it to mash or even make bread [it tends to be substituted in for some of the milk in a bread recipe] with it.

Cooking water from cauliflower or broccoli can be added to the cheese sauce, to reduce the amount of milk.

"The water that has been used to boil pasta can often be used to loosen and flavour the accompanying sauce," says White.

In addition, the water that comes in cans of chickpeas is particularly good for cooking with. Also known a aquafaba, it's frequently used in place of egg. For example, fancy a vegan meringue or mushroom and ale pie? You can create both substituting in chickpea water.

"We waste about 100,000 tonnes of poultry (mostly chicken) from our homes every year," says White. "And one of the reasons so much chicken ends up in the bin is that we do not use all the meat from whole birds."

There are plenty of leftover chicken recipes, from fajitas to curry. But using the carcass for stock is one Sunday tradition that could get even more meals from your bird.

"At this time of year, it is all about comfort food - soups, stews, and slow-cooked favourites - the foundation of which is a well-flavoured stock," says White.

When making your stock you’ll need to add a few veg (perhaps using the leftover veg ends in the freezer], seasoning and cold water, then it's a case of letting it simmer for at least an hour and a half. If you have a slow cooker or a pressure cooker the process becomes easier as you won't have to monitor it.

"The bit at the end of your piece of Parmesan is too good to waste and can be used to infuse soups, sauces and risotto with a rich, savoury flavour," says White.

You can re-use the brine once but then it's recommended to discard it.

There weremany recommendations for using broccoli and cauliflower stems and White adds: "Cauliflower leaves are edible (you might not want to eat the very outer leaves) so I just add them to the rest [of the veg] in a cauliflower cheese. Peeling the tough skin of a broccoli stalk does help keep it from being too tough.

Pumpkin and other squash seeds are a great shout for roasting and BBC Food editor, Emily Angle, points out they are very quick to cook in air fryers.

"Preheat the machine to 180C. Add the unoiled pumpkin seeds to the basket and cook for 1 minute to dry them. Tip them into a bowl and coat with oil, salt and spices (if using). Return them to the basket and cook for a further 3-4 minutes or until golden-brown. Tip onto a plate and allow to cool and crisp up before eating."

Originally published December 2022.