Most commonly thrown away food

Just under half of avoidable food and drink waste (worth £5.6 billion) is classified as ‘not used in time’ – thrown away because it had either gone off or passed the date on the packaging.

If you find you throw away dry bread or sprouted potatoes, try these tips and recipes to help your food – and money – last that bit longer.

Bread

Whether it’s a baguette or sliced loaf, stale or mouldy bread can creep up on the best of us.

To keep bread fresh for as long as possible, wrap it in plastic or foil, to combat moisture loss and store at room temperature (www.wikihow.com/Store-Bread).

Avoid keeping bread in the fridge as this dries it out quicker.If you know you’re not going to eat it in the next couple of days, freezing is the best option.

Slice the whole loaf first so you only defrost what you need. Defrost at room temperature, toast from frozen or wrap in foil and heat through in the oven – the latter gives a nice result for French bread.

If your bread has already gone dry, don’t bin it! Dry bread works wonders in these sweet and savoury dishes – and many more!