With Coffee Week taking place this month, Paul Dickson shares ways to repurpose used coffee grounds in some new and surprising ways, saving waste and cutting costs.
The UK alone consumes approximately 98 million cups of coffee per day¹ and in Ireland, over half of adults consume coffee daily². As caterers, we know that coffee is big business, but just think how much flavour we’re throwing away every day, when the spent grounds could be used in practical and delicious ways, maximising your profits even more. Here are some ideas to get your started and after reading these, you may never throw your coffee grounds away again!
Rub it in
If you haven’t used coffee as a dry rub for meat, this is your sign to try it. Mix used coffee grounds with dried herbs and spices to add a deep, smoky flavour which can also have a tenderising effect on tougher cuts of meat. It works particularly well on steak, pork, lamb and chicken. I’ve recently used this rub on the new Country Range Steam Cooked Chicken Wings and finished them with a sticky glaze. The result is the perfect balance between deep umami smokiness and a touch of sweetness.
Let them eat cake
You can swap spent grounds into any cake recipe that calls for coffee. Add dried grounds to your dry ingredients or add water to revive them to add to the liquid ingredients. You can even use them to make a coffee flavoured icing or glaze. Try this cappuccino cake for the ultimate in comfort food this autumn.
Stylish Syrup
How about serving an espresso martini with house coffee syrup? Mix equal parts used coffee grounds with granulated sugar (experiment with darker sugars for deeper flavours) and set aside to macerate for 24 hours. Use even more used coffee grounds to brew some coffee and add this before straining to create your syrup. Customise your syrups by adding flavours such as cinnamon sticks, orange zest or vanilla. Add Signature by Country Range Chocolate Dairy Ice Cream to your espresso martini for a decadent dessert fit for any festive menu.
Other waste saving tips
Coffee grounds can be used in all sorts of ways, not just in recipes. Here are five of my favourite tips:
- Fill a jar with spent grounds and place it, uncovered, at the back of the fridge to neutralise food odours.
- Use coffee grounds as an abrasive to remove stubborn food from pots and pans.
- Add directly to your compost or use as a fertiliser for plants such as hydrangeas, roses and azaleas.
- Sprinkle grounds around your plants to deter pests.
- Coffee granules act as an abrasive, turning a bar of glycerin soap into an exfoliator. Melt the bar of soap and add one third coffee grounds, pouring into a silicone mould to set.
¹ The British Coffee Association
² Liquidline Ireland