Yup, I mooched off of Phoebe and used her post title a bit :P She wrote a really great frugal post here, and I just wanted to add to it. I don't have much to say, really.
She talks about all the 101 things you can do with juice that you drain off canned fruits and veggies. She doesn't really list 101 things, but she's got a pretty good list going over there!
My addition would be "don't forget homemade bread!!" Just use them in place of the liquid called for in the recipe. Vegetable juice adds a whole new realm to the flavor, and fruit juice pumps up the sweetness a bit. If your using "heavy" syrup from canned fruit, you might even want to cut back your sugar amount a bit - or don't and just enjoy sweet bread. No, your not going to eat the bread and think "uggh, who put GREEN BEANS in this??!!". I promise, you won't taste green beans, potatoes (water from cooking potatoes), noodle water (from cooking pasta!) or your fruit cocktail. Why is it called cocktail? Wouldn't cock-tail be the tail of a rooster? Anyway.
So yeah. In addition to all those great things she listed that you can do with your juices, you can also put them in bread :) A few things to note: You just store the juices in the frige until you're ready to use them. I keep 'em until they get a "mother" - and that's only if I have way too much and can't get it used up fast enough - and then I'll toss it. Heh heh, my mom didn't hesitate to dump the stuff in mother and all. I don't. You can come eat my bread and not worry about it. I promise. All of us kids are still alive, so maybe it didn't hurt us any. I just prefer to use it BEFORE it gets a mother :P Fruit juice will also curdle your milk if you use powdered milk. It doesn't do it to "real" milk, and either way it doesn't effect the end result.
So start saving your juices and stop pouring your money down the drain :) Once you get used to the "fuller" flavor of bread made with the juice, if you make a batch without it, it will taste bland. I promise. We could always tell when Mom didn't use juice. And think of all the additonal vitametavegamins your getting!!
PS: With Easter coming up, this would be the perfect time to make a batch of white bread and use the juice from canned beets. Beautiful PINK bread. Yes, we had pink bread from time to time growing up, too. Or you can use it in wheat bread and not really notice the pink.
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5 comments:
I never thought about bread! Great idea!
Now, what in the world is a "mother"? And, I've never in my life eaten a beet--I might just have to this Easter.
Thanks, Miriam! :)
Phoebe (and everybody else that will probably wonder), here's what Wikipedia says: "Mother of vinegar is a substance composed of a form of cellulose and acetic acid bacteria that develops on fermenting alcoholic liquids, which turns alcohol into acetic acid with the help of oxygen from the air. It is added to wine, cider, or other alcoholic liquids to produce vinegar.
Mother of vinegar can also form in store-bought vinegar if there is some non-fermented sugar and/or alcohol contained in the vinegar. While not appetizing in appearance, mother of vinegar is completely harmless and the surrounding vinegar does not have to be discarded because of it. It can be filtered out using a coffee filter, or simply left in and ignored."
Great idea! I have always felt a little pang every time I dump that veggie water down the sink, ever since I heard that the majority of a vegetable's vitamins get boiled out into the water!
...So is Lucille Ball now advocating this kind of bread, as well? ;-)
Uhhhh, this is all fine as long as you want to do it and enjoy the "fuller" flavor. I limit my bread juices to fruit juices. Yep, the rest hit the drain. I'll have to check out that link to the list you posted when I get a chance. You're a strong woman, kid! (And do you add the moldy sour cream and the old jelly to your bread too?)
lol!!! and I wouldn't say that you can't notice the pink in wheat bread. I think that's a slight understatement. Have fun with your un-mothered juices! I think Ron and Caren would have a cow if I started doing that out here!
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