When bottling apples I keep all of the peelings and cores to use as a base for jams. Boil them for 3-4 hour and then strain them through a muslin cloth or sieve. If you’re not going to make the jam straight away it can be frozen until you need it.
By: Raewynne, Napier
Try roasting chunks of apple with potatoes, onion and lots of sage leaves. I usually add the apples later in the cooking time. Works best with apples that hold their shape, but still nice if they break down a bit. Delicious when you come across the tangy sweet apple amongst the potato! I don’t eat meat but I think it would be great with roast pork, or sausages.
By: Lorraine, Christchurch
When your children eat apples at home, or you use them in baking, collect the cores and skins etc in a container or snaplock bag in the fridge. When there is about half a cup or more, simmer these in a water to cover them, wait for them to break up a bit and turn slushy. Pour contents of the pot into a sieve over a jug or bowl, freeze this pectin stock in ice cube trays and add a couple of cubes to low pectin fruit jams such as strawberry. You can also add these to sauces and marmalade etc which need to set to a thicker consistency.
By: Caroline, Levin
When I make apple pies, crumbles, sauces etc I wash the apples really well, then put the peelings into freezer bags, and freeze them. They make a great addition to smoothies with berries and yogurt.
By: Paulette, Matarangi
1. Take your leftover food home to show mum and dad so they can pack you less if you can’t eat it all.
2. Keep potatoes and onions seperate.
3. Store apples in the fridge.
4. Keep bread in the freezer.
By: Libby MacGregor, Wellington
I usually steam vegetables and drink the water I used with a bit of added lemon juice and apple cider vinegar
By: Hans titze
Always have a basic frozen pizza in your freezer – margarita works well. When you have certain things leftover (most cooked veggies, pineapple, any meat), and can’t be bothered or don’t have time to cook, just put your leftovers on the pizza and shove it in the oven for 20 minutes.
By: Sela, Wellington
I love making seedless, skinless jam.
One of my favourites uses things that normally go straight into the compost; apple peel and orange peel.
I remove and freeze the zest of the orange for cakes and scones, then add the peel to a bag and freeze it. I peel apples for various needs and freeze the washed peel. Then, when I have enough, I take it out, add it to the orange peel and a nub of ginger and add enough water to bring it to a rapid boil. I leave it to cool, so the ginger infuses more. Then strain the juices off. Add the required sugar (usually jam sugar or fructose) and make jelly-jam in the usual way. Apple, orange and ginger make for a lovely taste and on average, from 1kg sugar, I get 6 – 8 decent sized jars, that last many months. All from fruit waste. The left-over pulp goes back to the compost and rots down extra fast.
I also freeze any juice left when my husband cooks his fruit to go in his yoghurt. (otherwise the yoghurt gets too slack and doesn’t keep well.) The little cubes of juice (often many different fruits, including stone fruit when in season) soon mount up and get used to make a mixed fruit jelly-jam, two or three times a year. I don’t buy jam often at all. And using the right fruits means I can reduce the sugar content and still get a good result.
Much less waste and real fruit flavour on your toast or scones! Delicious!
By: Liz, Dunedin
