Other Uses for Food Items

[Shel_B]

In another thread it was suggested that dried Cherimoya seeds can be used as a roach repellant. Toots and I have used cinnamon powder to stop ants from invading. She also puts coffee grounds into her garden. And vinegar can be used to make a window cleaner.

What uses for food items have you tried (other than eating and cooking), and what were the results?

[Mjx]

Sugar is supposed to effectively remove onion smell from hands; I haven't tried it, but I mentioned it in a recent topic on that, and someone else tried it, and said it was effective.

[andiesenji]

I've been using yogurt with rolled oats (crushed to powder) for a facial scrub for decades and everyone says my skin tone is exceptional for my age. If I have a bit of a rash from wind exposure, I use honey and yogurt as a facial mask.

I use diluted white vinegar as a disinfectant, corn meal to get rid of unwanted ant colonies in the garden (a non-toxic approach).

There are numerous uses for food items for household tasks.

Cornstarch will lift moisture out of carpets, also oil and grease.

[Beebs]

Extra virgin olive oil or almond oil for dry skin, especially if your skin is sensitive to fragrances and chemicals. Takes a little longer to absorb than skin lotion, so for the first 10 mins or so, careful not to touch anything that you don't want greasy.

[andiesenji]

Extra virgin olive oil or almond oil for dry skin, especially if your skin is sensitive to fragrances and chemicals. Takes a little longer to absorb than skin lotion, so for the first 10 mins or so, careful not to touch anything that you don't want greasy.

I've been using argan oil on my face and neck for the past six months or so and have noticed improvement in the lines around my eyes and corners of my mouth.

One of the ladies who does facials at my hair salon advised me to hold a warm, wet cloth on my face for several minutes and then apply the oil and that makes it easier to apply and spread evenly.

I also use it for food - it's food grade from ChefShop - so for cosmetic purposes I transfer some to a small bottle with an eyedropper as a little goes a long way.

I've been adding a bit to my breakfast yogurt also as it has been touted as having significant antioxidant properties and I did ask my internist before using it.

I don't know if it is the effect of this oil or other (minor) dietary changes but my cholesterol (never very high) dropped 23 points since last tested a year ago (was 184, now 161) and I'm still eating butter, yogurt made with whole milk or half&half and bacon, etc., etc...

Edited March 1, 2012 by andiesenji (log)

[msiferllc]

I have used coffee grounds in my rock beds to keep cats from using them as their personal litter box. However, it didn't work that well...

[thirtyoneknots]

Coarse salt is an effective way to clean the insides of wine decanters or other glass vessels to narrow to get a hand into.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Coarse salt is an effective way to clean the insides of wine decanters or other glass vessels to narrow to get a hand into.

Or to pull up spilled wine from a carpet! But not too coarse for this purpose; kosher is fine.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I've found that crushed mint springs at the doorways and windows work better than hot pepper powder for deterring ants; salt and beer are both effective against slugs, and a little olive oil goes a long way to silencing squeaky hinges.

[Dakki]

Ballistic gelatin.

[jrshaul]

Toothpaste isn't technically a kitchen ingredient, but if you need an extremely mild abrasive it works very well. I've used it to buff minor scratches out of various plastic items on multiple occasions. Works great on copper, too.

[Toliver]

^^Speaking of copper...lemons and salt for cleaning copper pots.

edited to clarify

Edited March 5, 2012 by Toliver (log)