A savvy home cook is serving up a delicious lesson in reducing food waste and saving money, and social media is eating it up.
In Reddit's r/budgetfood community, one user shared a thrifty trick for turning simple kitchen scraps into liquid gold.
The post, titled "Scrap soup!", asked fellow budget-conscious cooks if they save vegetable ends and scraps to make free or low-cost broth.
The Redditor explained their process: "I save mine in gallon bag in my freezer til I have enough for a big batch. (I'll throw in bones/canned veggie water/turkey neck etc. and save that too!)"
An accompanying photo shows a freezer bag stuffed with colorful vegetable trimmings, including ends of carrots, broccoli, and celery.
This simple yet effective method of repurposing food scraps can help home cooks save at the grocery store. Families can cut down their grocery bills and add nuance to their cooking by transforming would-be waste into flavorful broth. Homemade stock can play a part in many dishes, including pasta, soups, stews, and rice, enhancing each dish's flavor without enhancing its cost.
Beyond the financial benefits, this practice has a positive environmental impact. By repurposing vegetable scraps, less organic waste ends up in landfills, where it would generate harmful methane pollution as it spends hundreds of years breaking down. This very small change in kitchen habits can reduce individual carbon impact and overall household waste.
The Reddit community enthusiastically embraced the idea, with many sharing their own experiences and tips.
One commenter exclaimed, "Been doing this for years. It's way better than anything store bought."
🗣️ What's your biggest motivation in trying to reduce your personal food waste?
🔘 Saving money 💰
🔘 Helping the planet 🌎
🔘 Not being a wasteful person 😇
🔘 I don't think about reducing food waste 🤷
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Another user chimed in with their waste-reducing philosophy: "I can't waste perfectly good, edible vegetables."
A third offered additional advice: "I save it all. Veggie scraps and bones. Make a bunch of stock every two weeks. Toss in the instapot for 40 min on high pressure. You should look into adding gelatin to your stock by the way. It's an insane flavor booster."
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