Kitchen tips

OILY RAG
INDEX

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Bacon

• Bacon (and other) stock adds flavour without the expense - especially in soups and stews. If you do purchase bacon, ask for ends, they are much cheaper. - M.N.

Butter

• To make butter go further I mix light olive oil into butter and whip it. It almost doubles the amount and still tastes like butter. I can put it in the fridge and still be able to spread it as needed. - Helen, Sunshine Coast Qld.

Cheese

• Buy cheese in a 1kg block because it is cheaper that way. Then cut off half and grate it up to put in small bags in the freezer for use in sandwiches and casseroles, etc. - P.B.
  
  
• Keep your grated cheese in the freezer. I get a big block (on special) grate and freeze it in a container. A quick shake frees it up and it is ready to use in sandwiches or as a topping. Pop it back into the freezer once you have taken out as much as you need. No more mouldy, disgusting lumps of cheese in the fridge and more importantly no waste.- Vikkin, Auckland

Chokos

• Chokos are good source of amino acids and vitamin c. All the plant, leaves, stems, shoots and roots are edible. Puree the flesh and add it to anything, sweet or savoury as a thickener. It is a very useful.  The internet has heaps of good recipes. - Jan King, Whangarei

Egg replacement

• Egg replacement powder (great for egg allergies, but cheap as well!). It's cheaper than eggs and very convenient for meat loaves, pikelets, etc. - M.N.

Freezing fruit

• My daughter (14 months) loves grapes but a bunch goes off before she can get through them. I freeze them now and give them to her as a frozen snack for morning tea.  She absolutely loves them and I'm sure she thinks they are lollies!  Can do the same with mandarin segments. - Angela

Freezing lemon jiuce

• If you have lots of excess lemons, juice them and freeze the juice in ice cube containers. When frozen shake out into plastic bag. Instant fresh lemon juice cubes all year!  One of these cubes added to a glass of fruit juice reduces the sweetness and adds a Vit C boost. Also, always handy when you need a lemon and honey drink for a sore throat or cold. - Allie, Nelson.
  

Freezing

• When you are harvesting basil, as well as making pesto, freeze some leaves in very small plastic bags. They will last all year in the freezer. Just take one out, crumble it (while it is still crunchy) into pasta dishes. It keeps all the fragrance and flavour of fresh basil. - Allie, Nelson.
  
  
• Purchase large packet of bacon slices on special, get large area of glad wrap, lay each slice, cover with gladwrap, and continue, finish with an all over wrap and freeze with date; each comes apart easily as required. - BMD, Christchurch.
  
  
• If you need to keep food cold when travelling by car, here's a tried and true tip. Save the plastic bladders from empty wine casks and fill them with enough water so that they lie flat like a brick and freeze them a few days before travelling. Then pack frozen bladders on top of your food in the chilly bin and your food stays cold between destinations. - Carol, New Plymouth.
  
  
• Want to freeze cream without it becoming a watery mess once it's defrosted? The secret is to whip it before you freeze it. Defrost it naturally and you would never have known it was frozen. This method lets me buy brand name cream when it’s on sale, usually as it's reaching its use by date. I whip it up, portion it off into 100ml containers and throw it in the freezer. I no longer have to worry about buying a full container of cream, then trying to think of how to use it all up before it reaches its expiry date. No more waste! - Rebecca F.
  
  
• If you buy larger amounts of meat and then break these down into smaller packs ready for freezing, don't throw out the wrap that it came in. It can be used to wrap one of the smaller packs that you have created - no need for an extra piece of glad-wrap for that pack as it all ready came in it. - Diane, Papakura

Garlic

• Preserving garlic can be tricky, you don't want top get botulism poisoning. So Maggie Beer suggests mixing white vinegar with your minced garlic, about 1 part vinegar to 2 parts garlic. This balances the pH so botulism doesn't exist. Put in a clean jar and top with olive oil. - Dayla, Croydon, Victoria,  Australia.
  
  
• Garlic can be stored traditionally by harvesting and drying in the sun for a few days with the leaves still attached. Then simply plait the leaves together and hang from the ceiling in a cool dry place. Alternatively, you can add a few cloves of garlic to a bottle of oil for a delicious garlic taste without the expense. We used to do this in the restaurant I worked in and added 1 tablespoon of garlic per 5 litres of oil. Leave for a week then use just as normal oil. Cheap and easy. -  J.Y., Dannevirke
  
  
• Years ago I investigated preserving garlic. All of the info I read in books and on the net said to be very careful as they are grown in soil, and therefore could harbour botulism. This is an anaerobic bug. Search, which is highly toxic and has no odour or taste. So I decided to just dry it yearly instead. crushed garlic from the supermarket is irradiated to stop bugs growing. - Donna, Auckland.
  
  
• If you keep garlic in the deep freeze it is easier to peel but it tastes the same. - R.W.
  
  
• In relation to Helen's query on preserving garlic, there's more useful information here:  www.ehow.com - B.W., Auckland

General

• I brought up six hungry kids and we didn't have much money to spare. (my husband would give me about $30 a week for groceries - it was enough  40 years ago) My brother-in-law was a butcher and we would get meat cheaply from him. I would get mince  and chop up onions  and saute them in the electric frypan then add mince and brown and season it. Add water and some frozen veges or fresh ones when the garden  was plentiful. Then let it all simmer until cooked Then I would add a large tin of Baked Beans  to build it up.  The kids loved it and would look for more. My eldest daughter still makes it for her kids.  It made the mince go a lot further and lots of fibre from the beans was good for them.  Chilli beans are good too.  I would also make a big wheel bread with flour, salt and baking powder, mixed together with water and milk. then rolled out and cooked on a griddle. There was never any left over. - Nana-C, Christchurch.
  
  
• Go vegan!  Nuts, oats, beans, lentils, chickpeas, miso, tofu and pulses are packed with protein and far cheaper than meat. If is also better for your health, the animals and the environment. - Michael Morris, Upper Hutt.
  
  
• I only ever buy meat if it is on special. - Nicola C Frame, Ashley.
  
  
• I keep a small glass jar in the fridge with a good lid. In it I put some Olive Oil, one or two cloves of Garlic. I buy three 1 inch paint brushes, bristle. Dip in the oil for putting on steaks. one brush for salad bowl, one as a pastry brush. Mark brushes with permanent marker. Keep Garlic one in ziplock bag. - J.S.
  
  
• Since I splurged on a cheapy $80 microwave and $30 rice cooker from the warehouse, my food bill has gone down considerably. - K.S.
  
  

• Go raw and save for years to come! We started eating mostly raw fruit and veges and found that our groceries bill is easily half of what it used to be. We have heaps more energy and strength. On raw food we get hungry less quickly and eat a smaller volume per meal. Raw food also saves time and energy! It requires less preparation, less electricity, less clean-up and uses less packaging. There is more nutrition in raw food than in cooked food. Heating food at more than 40 degrees destroys enzymes which we need for all body processes. Heating also destroys vitamins and makes food less absorbable, which means a person will need to eat much more cooked food than raw food to get the same nutrition. Food that doesn't absorb well stays in the body too long, causing toxicity, disease and weight gain. So... By eating raw food you could be saving on medical bills for years to come... Some people also find their existing health issues and excess weight disappear after going raw... Just Google "raw food" for some examples and advice. - RJ
  
  

• For a family of 8 ( 6 children 4 teens, one school age and a preschooler) we spent $140 per week on food including toilet paper, washing powder etc with a $500 stock pile for 2009. This year our aim is $150 per week as groceries have gone up a lot. Planning your meals and shopping with a list is very important. In the past two years I think I've only seen one other person shopping with a list!!! We eat very well and never go to the doctor. Cutting back on cold breakfast cereal is a great place to start. Read what is actually in all these breakfast cereals. We eat cooked oatmeal 6 mornings per week which saves a lot of $$$. I buy the homebrand oats now from Countdown or Woolworths at $2 per kg this is great healthy family eating. My daughter makes up a big pot every morning and we have a hot plateful each- yum!   - reader, Hamilton

Herbs

• If you have a glut of herbs in your garden such as parsley, mint, basil etc, don't leave it to get past its best but pick, wash, dry and put all together in plastic bag in freezer.  When frozen, it becomes crisp and easy to just crush up and store in freezer. and is all ready to put a handful in endless recipes such as omelettes, casseroles, sauces, muffins etc. - KEW, Auckland.

Iceblocks

• To make chocolate ice blocks that turn out exactly like the expensive store-bought ones, at a significant savings. First make a chocolate custard. Place 500ml milk in a saucepan (I use fresh whole milk, but you can use reconstituted powder milk for extra savings) and bring it to the boil. Then add a tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of cocoa, and a tablespoon of cornflour. Stir constantly until thickened, then cool. Second, pour the cooled chocolate custard into pre-moistened ice block moulds. Freeze for at least three hours. Cost to make one ice block (if using powdered milk): approx 6 cents. Cost to make one dozen: approx 80 cents. Savings: $27.60 per dozen (based on the price of a dozen chocolate ice blocks at the corner shop). - LTB, Auckland

Ice cream

• I have an ice cream churn and make my own. - Helen, Sunshine Coast Qld.
  
  
• This ice cream recipe doesn't cost much and it's easy to make.  The kids would love to get involved too. Use 3 bowls. Place four egg whites in the first bowl. Beat till stiff then add ¼ cup of sugar and beat again. In the second bowl beat 4 egg yolks with another ¼ cup of sugar until frothy. In the third bowl, beat 300ml of cream until fairly stiff. Use a metal spoon to fold in the contents of the first and third bowls into the second bowl.  Pour the mix into a 2 litre ice cream container and freeze approx 6 hours. No need to beat again.  How easy is that! - BW from Auckland. 

Meat

• I buy cheap steak and pound it, cut up, and dip in a flour/egg/milk mix and then into a cheap seasoned stuffing mix to coat it for crumbed steak. - Helen, Sunshine Coast Qld.

Milk

• Milk powder is half the price of fresh milk.  Lots of people don't like the idea or the taste of it but if you keep complaining about milk prices you will do it. Or alternatively find a local farmer that will sell fresh wholesome raw milk to you. We sell it for $1 litre. It is legal and I can't understand why more people don't pursue this.- Farmer, Opotiki. 

• T.G. from Hamilton has sent in this excellent research [6/6/11]. "I thought you might be interested in my small survey conducted in Hamilton over the last few weeks on milk prices.

   Standard blue top 2lt bottles from Countdown:

  •  Anchor brand       $4-80   per litre $2-40

  •  Signature range   $4-08   per litre $2-04

  •  Home Brand        $3-60   per litre $1-80

  The cheapest milk seems to be at dairies where you can get 2 x 2lt for $6-20 which is $1-55 per litre.

  Powdered milk in 1kg bags (whole milk powder) is a different story (NB they all make 8lt except Home Brand which makes 7lt):

  •    Anchor brand     Countdown   $15-10   per litre $1-88

  •                            New World   $14-49   per litre $1-81

  •    Home Brand      Countdown   $9-70    per litre $1-38

  •    Pams                New World   $9-49    per litre $1-18

  •                            Pak n Save   $8-99    per litre $1-12

  Powdered milk also has advantages - there are no heavy bottles to carry, no space taken up in the freezer for emergency supplies, no waiting to defrost the bottles in the freezer, and no worries about best by dates. I haven't had any problems with powdered milk in my baking and the cats like it.  

  I hope these figures are of interest to you and your readers."
  
  

• Don't buy expensive skim milk products just buy full fat and water down milk, equates to a 50% saving on a basic item easy. - Craig, Hamilton
  
  

• The taste of milk powder is never quite the same as milk. But what you can do is do half and half - by a 2 litre - pour half into another 2 litre milk bottle. Mix up your powder as per recipe and then add. That way it tastes more 'milky' - you can freeze one of the 2 litres if you don't get through that much. Make sure you refrigerate the milk powder mix before using it - helps with taste. - T.A., Auckland.
  
  

• Early last year, when dairy farmers (& Fonterra) were making a fortune from record export prices, our local retail prices, for milk, butter and cheese were high.  We were told that the reason was that we had to match export prices. Since then, retail milk has remained costly (although cheese has since cheapened). Why hasn't the price of milk fallen, to reflect a distinct drop in milk-fat export  prices?  Fonterra's "argument" now seems very flimsy! - RonD, North Shore.
  
  

• No microwave and the oven uses too much energy so I reheat lasagna, quiche, pie, etc in the double boiler or steamer. For things such as  quiche put lunch paper, foil or similar so it held in the top pot. Yummier as all moisture is retained. - Heather Reynolds, Omokoroa.
  
  

• I buy 1L plastic packet(s) of milk @ $1.34 each from Pak N Save, Tamatea, Napier or City store, Napier. This is more than the 600 ml container (@ $2.70 Mad Butcher or $3.25 Pak n' Save shops) - M.F., Napier
  
  

• PAK "n SAVE in Hastings sell 1 litre plastic sachets of Dairy Dale milk (full cream homogenised pasteurised standardised) for $1.29  ("special"  -  $1.64-0.35 - limit 6) - Reader, Napier
  
  

• I was given this tip many years ago. I always buy 1kg packets of skim milk powder, any brand , whichever is the cheapest at the time, which makes up to 10 litres of milk and unless someone sees you make it they do not know the difference. The cost of 1 kg pkts can get as low as $9.99. The last time I purchased some was at Woolworths home brand at $10.95. The beauty of milk powder is that you can store it for a long time and do not have to run to the dairy every day . NB I am talking about SKIM milk powder. I would not drink milk made from whole milk powder. Try it and you may be pleasantly surprised. - Reader, Katikati.

Onions

• I buy bulk onions when cheap and chop and freeze, saves time and money and wastage from onions sitting in the cupboard, also slice up mushrooms and freeze in a plastic bag, great for a quick spag' bowl meal. - D.N.,Tauranga.

Oranges

• Being a traditional oily rag type of person I don't like to throw things away. I even ‘recycle’ citrus peel! I dry the peel on a plate when using the oven. After it is dry I grate or crush it and store the "spice" in an air tight jar and use it in baking to add flavour. - Kris, Kerikeri.
  
  
• When I buy oranges, I always grate the skin and use it for adding to recipes (muesli, puddings, cakes, muffins etc). I freeze any grated zest I haven't used for a later date. - Heather, Owaka, South Otago

Ovens

• My oven is rarely turned on and has become a storage space for my bake ware. - Helen, Sunshine Coast Qld.

Pre-cooking 

• With meals I will cook up a storm and make a fortnight’s worth of dinners and freeze, same with deserts. As I tend to cook from my mums old cookbook I have found some wonderfully cheap meals. - Helen, Sunshine Coast Qld.

Preserves 

• To get the labels off commercial jam jars use hot water. Heat water in the kettle as the water from the hot tap isn't hot enough to soften the glue. Pour the hot water in the sink but not directly on the jars with a few drops of detergent and soak for a couple of minutes then wearing rubber gloves and a vege knife try to peel the labels off. Stubborn glue residue can sometimes be removed with cooking oil. Jar lids can be reused to seal the jars. Steralise using the same method as for preserving jar seals. - Sweetpea, North Shore.
  
  
• After buying tins of fruit for years, I have found glass jars of fruit in the supermarket. I pay a little more, but it's for more fruit and I get to use the jar afterwards. Now I have lots of empty jars I use for storage or for preserving. - K.A., Hamilton.
  
  
• Use glass jars with pop-up button lids to preserve fruit. If you don't yourself buy jams, pasta sauces etc., ask friends and neighbours for the jars they might otherwise recycle. As long as lids and jars are undamaged they can be used again and again. Sterilize both jars and lids in boiling water, fill with piping hot stewed fruit, plum sauce etc. and screw on lids while hot. Once the lids have popped down you can literally keep these preserves for years. Old stick-on labels can be soaked and scraped off and residue glue removed with eucalyptus oil. - Thirties Depression Baby, Auckland.

Pumpkins

• Pumpkins freeze well. Cut into meal sized pieces, clean the pulp from the centres and freeze in plastic bags. Do not thaw before using. Straight into the water or roasting dish for cooking. Alternatively, pulp the pumpkins – freeze in ice cream containers, and use for soup or jam as the time permits – G.B.

Rabbit 

• A great way to get fresh healthy meat is to go rabbit shooting, many farmers are more than happy to allow you to shoot on there property if you ask. Rabbit meat is very healthy with little or no fat, with the added bonus of knowing where your meats from and knowing its fresh. - Chris L., Napier.
  
  
• Like Chris, I shoot rabbit for fresh meat. It takes only a couple of minutes to skin and gut, so from shooting to cooking takes about 10 minutes. Can't get fresher than that! - John, Wanganui.

Shopping

• Always have a drink of tea or coffee before shopping for groceries (don't buy groceries if you feel hungry) - P.B.
  
• Use a pocket calculator to keep an eye on prices. - P.B.
  
• Check out coupons received in the mail. Sometimes they are not bargains at all. - P.B.

Tomatoes

• Have you noticed Tomatoes are always dearer as we head to Christmas. I buy green ones with their spiders on and pack them in a box between layers of newspaper. Buy them about first week in December. You will then have ripe ones over the holiday. - J.S.

Using less

• Here’s a tip to help you use less product. Write on the product (dish-washing liquid, hair shampoo, etc) the date the product was bought. Challenge yourself to see how long it lasts – and try to set a new record. It will encourage you to use as little as possible. This is a “bought by date”, the opposite to the “use by” date shown on perishable products.

Vegetables

• When vegies I like are a good price I buy more then blanch and freeze them. - Helen, Sunshine Coast Qld.
  
  
• When vegetables become wilted (carrots, brocoli, lettuce, beets, celery, etc) trim the stem end slightly and soak the limp vegetable(s) in WARM water for an hour or more. You will find the vegetables will become firm and freshend up ready for use. - D.B
  
• When I have vegies left over I put them in the pot with other vegies for the last 5 minutes the next day. – J.O. Christchurch