Tips and tricks from grandma's day

Cooking tips

1. “To save egg whites, just freeze them! Mark a freezer bag with how many egg whites you have. Perfect for pavs.
2. Sick of rancid-tasting walnuts and almonds? Just pop them in the freezer and use as needed. They last about two years this way – a lot longer than having them in the pantry.
3. And if a recipe calls for a red onion and you don’t have one, simply cut up a brown onion, sprinkle liberally with salt, leave for 30 minutes and then rinse in cold water. The salt takes away the bitterness leaving a milder onion.”

J McCabe, Wellington

Uncooked chutney

“Here is a recipe for all those who don’t cook. It is quick and easy and really good. I’m in the older age bracket and am saddened to see how many people are unable to cook from scratch. Not that there is too much wrong with having it done for you, but I hate to see all the additives, colouring and preservatives that so many people swallow without a thought.

You’ll need

• 1/2 kg granny smith apples, cored and chopped small
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups chopped stoned dates
• 1 1/2 cups sultanas
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt (preferably sea salt)
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 large cup apple cider vinegar

Step 1 Pulse apples, onions and dates in a food processor to get small pieces but not puréed.

Step 2 Put sultanas, sugar, ginger, salt and cayenne in a large glass or china bowl and stir well. Add vinegar and stir.

Step 3 Add mix from processor and mix well. Cover with a tea towel and leave for 36 hours on the bench. Stir when you think of it.

Step 4 Bottle in sterilized jars.

It should keep for a year easily, though never sticks around that long in our house. You can put in and leave out ingredients to suit your taste. I put in a good teaspoon of cayenne but I think that would be too much for some people.

Kate Hall-Kenney, Auckland

Homemade apple jelly

“You can start making apple jelly with the first windfalls, although I think the best jelly is slightly later in the season. I have never seen apple jelly in the supermarket so this is the only way you will get it.”

Step 1 Gather all the windfall apples and wash off any dirt, but don’t peel, core or debug. The skin helps the jelly set, and all solids are strained out later.

Step 2 Cover with water and boil until all mushy.

Step 3 Hang the mush in a jelly bag – a large bag made out of muslin, but a pillowcase will do – for 24 hours, with a bowl underneath to collect the liquid.

Step 4 Measure how much you have and bring this to the boil. Add sugar. Although it is meant to be 1 cup of sugar for every 1 cup of liquid, I prefer 2 cups of sugar for 3 cups of liquid

Step 5 Boil until it sets in a saucer. There is a stage where it swaps from a frothy rolling boil to tiny wee bubbles on top. When it does this, I know it will set.

Step 6 Pour into hot sterilised jars and cover.

Step 7 Enjoy!

Rachel Hoskins

Mighty marmalades!

Misers’ marmalade

“I learned to make everything possible as a young mum with little income and found it quite easy. This is a way to make use of your mandarin skins. There’s no waste and you can use other peels too, so weigh the peel first time around to get a rough idea of the correct amount.”

You’ll need

• 6 mandarin peels (if small, use more)
• 2 lemons
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups sugar

Step 1 Shred or finely slice the mandarin skins.

Step 2 Pulp and juice the lemons, removing some white pith if thick.

Step 3 Place lemon pulp and juice with mandarin peels in a bowl and leave overnight (this softens the peels). Cover with water and leave overnight.

Step 4 The next day, transfer mixture to a pan and simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes. Add sugar, stir well, and boil slowly until it shows signs of setting on a cold saucer.

Step 5 If setting is slow you can add 1/2 teaspoon citric acid or 1 teaspoon lemon juice and boil a bit more. Adding citric acid or lemon juice really helps if your jam doesn’t set well due to low pectin content.

Step 6 Bottle in clean, sterile jars. A quick way to do this is to boil the jars in a pan of water or half fill them with water and microwave until boiling.

Grapefruit marmalade

“And this is an old recipe for grapefruit marmalade.”

You’ll need

• 3 grapefruit
• 2 lemons
• 12 breakfast cups of water
• 12 breakfast cups of sugar

Step 1 Slice all the fruit (a processor will make it quicker).

Step 2 Cover with the water overnight.

Step 3 Boil for 20 minutes the next day until peel looks soft and opaque.

Step 4 Add sugar and boil for 30 minutes, or until setting point is reached.

Step 5 Put into clean hot jars.

Lesley Burns, Dunedin

Keeping cooked meat warm

“The best tip for keeping meat warm before guests arrive is to cook the meat well ahead. Then when it’s ready, wrap it in tin foil and then a good thick wrapping of newspaper. There’s no need to reheat or keep it warm in a warming tray, and it gets an extra dose of steaming and comes out juicy and tender. I use this for chicken, pork, beef, whatever...”

Ailene Frear, Auckland

Save on soap

“If you want liquid soap, it is very easy to make it using bar soap. Pour 3 cups of hot water over 3-4 tablespoons of grated soap (I prefer to peel it). If you leave it overnight to set it becomes a firm jelly, which you can liquidise using a stick blender. This makes a smooth, nice looking liquid soap that costs far less than a supermarket version and no one would know otherwise. You can put it in a recycled bottle and you have the best of both worlds.”

Llyvonne, Green Ideas reader

In season

“Freeze excess lemons whole after washing them, then grate them over soups, stews, salads or into drinks!”

Marie Greenwell, Aramoho

Share your ideas!

We’re celebrating the little things our readers do to live more sustainably because big changes start with small steps. If you’d like to share some of your own tips, tricks or recipes, email them to [email protected] (preferably with a photo) and we might include them in the magazine.