One of our long-standing customers has offered to share her wisdom with us about what she makes from the things she picks up at Food Works. While her Patron Box provides the high-quality staples for her week, Miranda loves the challenge of making something delicious out of food that would otherwise be left on the shelf.
Miranda is a real sustainable food hero and she has got some great ideas of what is possible. Thank you so much for sharing these fantastic ideas with us!
The “ugly” oranges become juice and a citrus crumb
These oranges were in the free section at the end of the day. I assumed they probably weren’t going to get taken by anyone based on their appearance. So I took them all! These small satsuma/tangerine type oranges are not great for eating anyway when they’re not in season.
I juiced them, which gives a much nicer result than eating the fruit whole.
However, to salvage a bit more from them I also removed any leftover pulp from the skins. I then dried the remaining peel, pith included until brittle.
I blitzed them in a blender to make citrus crumb. It’s brilliant sprinkled on things like cereal, yoghurt or ice cream. It keeps in the cupboard for months, if not longer.
Lemons and limes become cordials and microwave curd
Recipe – Cordial
Lemons and limes past their best can be frozen in an ice cube tray or made into a refreshing drink by mixing 100ml juice with 30g sugar and 300ml water. Once the juice is mixed with the sugar it will keep bottled in the fridge to use as a cordial for a couple of weeks.
Recipe – Citrus curd
Citrus curd is also an easy use up and can be made quickly in the microwave:
- 3oz sugar
- Juice and rind of 1 lemon
- 2 eggs
- 2oz butter melted
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and microwave in short bursts (30 seconds) mixing in between. Do not rush this or you can end up with lemon scrambled eggs!
The never-ending bananas
A lot of people avoid bananas with brown/black skins, but there is rarely a banana that cannot be eaten in some way. The skins are deceiving as bananas naturally get browner as they age, but this is usually in the form of ‘freckles’. If bananas have been jostled about this will create ‘bruising’ on the skin, but often only on the skin. The fruit inside is still perfect!
For the ones with soft or mushy parts, this is probably not rotten, it’s more likely been squished. This brown squishy part can be used in baking as recipes often involve mashing them anyway so it saves you a job!
Recipe: Curried banana chutney
A great recipe for mushy bananas is curried banana chutney and it uses 12 whole bananas!
- 12 bananas
- 12oz raisins
- 8oz sugar
- 2oz salt
- 12g cinnamon
- 25g curry powder
- 1 pint white vinegar
Chop or mash the bananas and heat in a pan with the vinegar until it looks like porridge. Add the rest of ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes until thick. Spoon into jars; it does not need refrigerating and will keep for months.
Creative fruit combos: plums, rhubarb and apples
The Plum & Banana Crumble: Hard, sour “ripen at home” plums make a great crumble when mixed with bruised bananas, dark brown sugar, and a sprinkle of cornflour.
Stewed Rhubarb: I stewed this with a splash of water and sweetener to have with my breakfast cereal mountain!
The Apple & Raspberry Mix: I peeled and cooked both cooking and eating apples together with some frozen raspberries. The cooking apples go mushy while the eating apples keep their shape for texture.
Sweet potato “resurrection” fries
I found some sweet potatoes looking a bit sad with mushy ends. However, once trimmed and peeled they were as good as new and transformed into fries, made crispy by coating in cornflour before deep frying.
The moral of the story is never judge fruit or vegetables by their skin!
Are you a sustainable food hero too?
We love seeing the ingenious ways our community uses their Food Works finds. Whether it’s a family-favourite recipe or a clever rescue hack, why not share your creations with us?
Your tips could be the inspiration someone else needs to try something new!
Send your ideas and photos to sarah@thefoodworks.org
