Kitchen Alchemy for Pennies

Stretching groceries with slow-living magic

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🌿 Introduction

Every kitchen has quiet potential for transformation—where peels, stems, and ends once destined for the trash become the base for nourishing broths, tangy vinegars, vibrant cleaners, and small-batch preserves.

This is kitchen alchemy at its folkiest: practical, seasonal, and soul-satisfying. With a little planning and a lot of love, the leftovers from one meal become the building blocks for another. Waste becomes wonder.

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🍋 1. Citrus Peel Cleaner

Use for: Kitchen surfaces, glass, stovetops

What you’ll need:

• Peels from 2–3 lemons, oranges, or citrus fruit
• 1–1½ cups white vinegar
• Optional: 1 sprig rosemary or 1 tbsp dried lavender
• 1 cup water
• Quart-size glass jar + spray bottle

To make:

1. Fill a jar with citrus peels and herbs (if using).
2. Pour vinegar over the peels until covered (about 1–1½ cups).
3. Let steep 7–14 days.
4. Strain and combine 1:1 with water in a spray bottle.

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🧅 2. Scrap Broth (a.k.a. Freezer Gold)

Use for: Soups, risottos, grain cooking

What you’ll need:

• 4 cups frozen veggie scraps (onion skins, carrot tops, celery ends, etc.)
• 8 cups water
• 1 bay leaf (optional)
• ½ tsp sea salt

To make:

1. Simmer scraps in 8 cups water for 1–2 hours.
2. Strain into jars and let cool.
3. Store in fridge up to 5 days or freeze in portions.

Optional Bonus: Add clean eggshells for a calcium boost (use in garden water after).

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🍎 3. Fruit Scrap Vinegar

Use for: Salad dressings, hair rinses, surface spray base

What you’ll need:

• 3 cups fruit scraps (apple cores, pear peels, soft fruit)
• 2½ cups filtered water
• 2½ tbsp sugar or honey
• Quart-size glass jar with cloth cover

To make:

1. Fill jar ¾ full with fruit scraps.
2. Dissolve sugar in water and pour over scraps.
3. Cover with a cloth and secure with a rubber band.
4. Stir daily for 5–7 days, then ferment undisturbed for 3–4 weeks.
5. Strain and bottle when tangy.

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🥬 4. Regrow from Scraps

Use for: Infinite greens + herbs

Try regrowing:

• 1 celery base
• 1 romaine lettuce core
• 3 green onion ends
• 1 sprig of mint or basil

To do:

1. Place scraps in shallow dish of water with roots facing down.
2. Set in a sunny windowsill.
3. Change water every 2 days.
4. Once new growth appears, transplant into soil.

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🫙 5. Fermented Veggie Ends

Use for: Gut health, side dishes, anti-waste snacks

What you’ll need:

• 3 cups chopped veggie scraps (carrot peels, cabbage cores, garlic slivers)
• 2 cups water
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• Quart-size jar

To make:

1. Dissolve salt in water to make brine.
2. Pack veggie scraps into jar, leaving 1 inch headspace.
3. Pour brine over to submerge.
4. Use ferment weight or folded cabbage leaf to hold scraps down.
5. Loosely cover with a lid.
6. Let sit at room temp for 3–10 days.
7. Taste and refrigerate when desired flavor is reached.

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🍯 6. Herb-Infused Honeys + Syrups

Use for: Tea sweeteners, cough remedies, dressing bases

What you’ll need:

• ½ cup fresh herbs (lemon balm, rosemary, thyme) OR ¼ cup dried
• 1 cup honey or simple syrup
• 8 oz glass jar

To make:

1. Lightly bruise herbs or zest.
2. Place in jar and cover with honey or syrup.
3. Let infuse 5–7 days in a cool, dark spot.
4. Strain and store in pantry.

Folk Favorite Combos:

• Lemon + thyme (for sore throats)
• Orange peel + rosemary (for dressings)
• Mint + honey (for tea or lemonade)

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🌻 Why It Matters

• Reduces kitchen waste
• Saves money by repurposing scraps
• Cultivates awareness + intention in the kitchen
• Brings back seasonal, ancestral habits
• Turns “trash” into treasure, one jar at a time