We never waste bread now.

I tried freezing veg peelings once but just ended up with a sludgy tasting stock after defrosting! I think I probably hadn’t scrubbed the veg really clean before freezing the peelings!

Yes I find if I have bread and milk in the freezer I don’t need to shop as much as nipping out for “just” bread or milk usually results in a full carrier bag (or3!)

I freeze milk for emergency use in ice cube trays - that way they take no time at all to defrost and I can remove as many or as little as I need as required

I’ve discovered Nancy Birtwistle on Instagram (GBBO winner). She has so many brilliant ideas for eco friendly, waste free ideas

I bake my own wheat loaves and rolls, and either bake a size or quantity I know we will eat before it becomes stale, or halve the portion of risen dough, putting half into the freezer.

Any bread that is left over, I cut into croutons and dry. Usually, once they are dry, I put them through an old-fashioned manual mincer to make breadcrumbs, but I do sometimes serve croutons with soup. Dried bread that has been soak in water, and had crusts removed can be used for thickening soup, so sometimes I use my supply of this, too.

We buy rye bread in small packets that we know we will use up while it is still fresh.

Both wheat loaves, rolls and breadcrumbs are much too expensive here for me to want to buy them. And of course, shop-bought bread from the supermarkets is factory made and fairly tasteless. Bread bought in a bakery is so expensive that I wonder who on earth can afford it on a regular basis.

I also buy filtered milk, it keeps for so much longer than ordinary milk and I prefer the taste to longlife.
I did try freezing milk but found it often split the pack, went off more quickly when defrosted and the taste was a bit odd.

I freeze egg whites if a yolk is needed for something else. Then I always have whites ready for meringues. We also freeze bread in bags, each with 2 slices. As we have a jam packed freezer 2 slice bags can always be squeezed in somewhere where a whole loaf wouldn't fit.

I just keep a loaf in the fridge - I know that we're often advised that this makes it go dry and stale, but since we mostly eat toast it really doesn't make much difference to us.

I'll often freeze half a loaf/ful loaf as we don't eat that much bread. Any left that's nearing staleness and has bit of mould that's too much to be cut off!! I'll blitz it to breadcrumbs and freeze for baking etc. Waste? Never have never will. We're pretty comfy financially but brought up not to waste food. I still will drink any bits of milk in jugs/bottles as it's anathema for me to pour away!!! I even scoff milk in jugs in restaurants/cafés rather than waste it! Nobody bothers and some ask so I tell!

Ziplok

That’s a different bread pudding recipe to the one I make Franbern. I don’t use suet, it’s just bread very lightly buttered (or breadcrumbs for an even lighter version, no butter), some dried fruit, spices, 2 eggs mixed with semi skimmed milk, and only a sprinkling of sugar on the top, then popped in the oven for 30 minutes until the custard has set.
I’m intrigued by your recipe, would you mind posting it?

That sounds more like a bread and butter pudding, I love both types but usually make the stodgier bread pudding as I am on my own and it keeps for longer.

Funny tale: we forgot to take six plastic pint bottles of milk one year self catering nso I text #1 son to go and freeze the bacon and stuff left in fridge......so he did....milk and all!! It was perfectly ok when we returned.i originally thought he'd taken it to use and found it about a week after we came back when I went in big freezer🤣🤣

I just buy sliced brown bread in a plastic bag wrapper. Pop it in the fridge and use as required. Perhaps just toast towards the end, but that's all. It tastes fine. Obvs, you have to seal the bag every time.

We always keep a white and a wholemeal sliced loaf in the freezer, plus a section of rolls and baps, and a baguette cut up into pieces to go with soup or whatever so we always have a choice.

The only milk you can freeze withouyt it separating uponthawing is breast milk.

I never waste any food.

I use pre-sliced bread straight from the freezer. Crusts are grated into crumbs, stored in the freezer and used as gratin topping with grated cheese.

Veg and salad past their best get made into soup. Inedible bits of fruit and veg get chopped up and composted for my kitchen garden. Citrus peel goes in a spray bottle with white vinegar and a drip of fairy liquid for cleaning.

If I’m not going to use milk or cream or cheese before it spoils, I decant and freeze it. I whip double cream and open freeze in spoon-sized blobs, or piped into rosettes if I can be bothered.

I seldom eat meat or fish but any trimmings that I’m not going to eat either get made into stock, or go to the dogs! Only after making stock would the fish or cooked meat bones go out to the green bin.

I try not to buy more food than I can eat or freeze, but sometimes I get a Too Good To Go bag and there might be some surprises than beef creative menu planning!

Tanjamaltija

The only milk you can freeze withouyt it separating uponthawing is breast milk.

I’ve never had a problem with skimmed or semi skimmed milk!

I keep bread in the fridge. There’s only 2 of us and we have 2 slices a day each. So far the bread has kept well in its plastic bag

twiglet77

Tanjamaltija

The only milk you can freeze withouyt it separating uponthawing is breast milk.

I’ve never had a problem with skimmed or semi skimmed milk!

The only problem we had was when the container split slightly and it leaked so we stand it in a plastic box now.

I have always made my own bread. With a machine now. I have always been interested in yeast cookery making buns, Danish pastries etc and years ago given demonstrations at WI.
Used to buy fresh yeast by the pound and freeze it in portions.
When I was unable to make any because of illness got my help to buy a sliced loaf and was shocked at the long list of chemicals in it. Put me off so gave it to my help.
Regarding milk have always kept a carton of long life or some dried milk in reserve. Now that Oatley is available now use that for my porridge.
My mother used to make bread pudding with spices and dried fruit etc.
Does anyone remember when the baker called every day as well as the butcher and the milkman came with a churn and you took your own jug to be filled? No need for freezers then.

Yes, Riverwalk, I freeze milk and it works perfectly if defrosted overnight. (I only buy pint size ).
Just a warning, I use very little milk so had only a tiny drop left when friends rang to ask if they could call in after dropping their son at Heathrow. I said, yes, of course, and then later realised that I didn't have enough milk for cups of tea/coffee and no time to go to the shop. So I took out a frozen bottle and dunked it in a bowl of hot water and kept replenishing the hot water as it cooled. That certainly speeded up the thawing process, but even though it was skimmed milk it separated into curds and whey - or whatever the constituents are. We managed - but it was certainly not the best cup of tea I've ever made!!

Does anyone remember when the baker called every day as well as the butcher and the milkman came with a churn and you took your own jug to be filled?
The loaves etc would be upon a big wooden tray as far as i remember.
DH said he used to help the milkman do his round and would pour the milk from the churn into the jugs for customers.

Have always done that with bread, also if short on freezer room
I take the food out of there boxes, if needing the instructions
I cut that part out and store with the food items, or can store the instructions together in a little box.

We don't use much milk at all, not even in hot drinks so I divide a pint up into some small (Lakeland) plastic boxes I have and freeze them. They defrost quickly and one fills my small milk jug so I have something to offer in tea if the neighbours pop in.
My friend freezes some in ice cube trays and puts a frozen "milk cube" in her very hot tea to cool it down!

@Callistemon21 I do remember taking a jug to the milk man each morning and he would fill it with a metal dipper thing. I also remember the huge chestnut dray horse that pulled the cart. I was scared of it as it was so big and I was so little.

I am new to mumsnet, so interesting to read these comments. I am going to look every day on here for tip