From making giant ice cubes in a muffin pan to keeping a fry-up’s fat at bay with a colander, here are four clever new uses for old kitchen items.  

Colander as an oil splatter blocker  

Who says you only need to use your colander to strain rice and pasta? A metal colander is a great way to block oil splatters when frying eggs, bacon or chicken in an open skillet. Turn your metal colander upside-down on top of your open pan to block grease spray. Plus, the holes of the colander will still allow steam to escape from your fry-up.  

Meat baster as a pancake shaper 

Put your old meat baster to good use to make perfectly round flapjacks. Fill your baster ⅔ of the way with your delicious flapjack mixture. Then, gently squeeze the mixture in a circular motion in the middle of your pan. Do you have little ones at home? Use it to make different shapes. They’ll look forward to heart, star and animal-shaped flapjacks every time.  

Empty paper towel as linen organisers 

Keep your smaller table linen, like cloth napkins, tea towels and placemats, neatly stored (and without wrinkles) using empty paper towel tubes. After washing and ironing your linen, gently roll your wrinkle-free cloths around the empty tubes. Smooth out any bumps in your rolling process. Then, pack it away in their usual place and unroll with the help of your paper towel holder. A clever tip for larger linens like runners and tablecloths is to use empty wrapping paper tubes instead. 

Silicone muffin tray as an ice tray for jumbo ice blocks 

Want (really) big ice cubes? You don’t have to run to the shop to get a large ice tray, simply head to your baking cupboard. Fill your silicone muffin tray with water and leave in the freezer until completely frozen. To remove the cubes, run warm water over the back of the tray for a couple of seconds to pop them out. And voila! The huge ice cubes are perfect to keep your jugs of water and iced tea cool on a scorching summer day. A great tip is to place different pieces of fruit like cucumber, lemon and berries in the water before freezing it. The fruit will instantly add a touch of grandeur to your drink. 

@house.becomes.home Lemon ice cubes!!! Perfrct fhot summer days!! #healthadepopit #summer #summervibes #summerdrink #lemon #lemonwater ♬ Gold (Remix) – Kiiara

The giant ice blocks are perfect to use in these yummy iced tea recipes. 

Image: Shutterstock

The post 4 new ways to upcycle kitchen tools  appeared first on MyKitchen.

We are all about upcycling, getting the most use out of our bits and bobs and being kind to the environment. These nifty tips and tricks will have you thinking twice before you toss that plastic bag. Here is our list of items that you can reuse and repurpose!

By Erin Starr

Butter wrappers
Calling all avid bakers! Once you’ve removed a block of butter from its wrapping, keep the packaging in a draw. Use the waxy paper for greasing baking trays with ease.

Cereal bags
Pull the inner cereal bag out, fill it with a scrumptious home-made icing or whipped cream, snip off the corner and use it as a piping bag. This is cheap and easy to do! And as an extra tip, try adding a sqeeze of lemon to your icing to cut the sickly sweetness cut the sweetness. Trust us!

Glass Jars
It should be criminal to toss a beautiful glass jar. Soak the jars in warm water to easily remove the labels. Use these as tea-light candle holders, fill with soil and add a hardy succulent or reuse to store your homemade jams.

Lemons
Use your juiced lemons rinds to clean and disinfect wooden cutting boards and counter tops. Lemons have wonderful anti-bacterial properties. And if you have extra lemon juice, whip up a home-made all-purpose kitchen cleaner made up of one part vinegar, one part water and the juice from half a lemon.

Wine bottles
Wine bottles make the most beautiful, rustic candle holders. Tie a ribbon around the bottle, pop in a dinner candle – and voila!

Tell us what your favourite food packaging upcycling tips are!

The post Trash to treasure: recycling and upcycling food packaging appeared first on MyKitchen.