Repurpose Your Leftover Potato Water By Making A Delicious Gravy

Nowadays, as we all realize the importance of sustainability, more and more people are repurposing leftover ingredients into new dishes to cut down on food waste. For example, you can use leftover wilted greens to make a tasty green sauce or even use leftover potato water to make gravy. Wait, potato water?

While it may seem a little weird at first, the water that is left behind after boiling potatoes actually makes a great base for a delicious gravy. This is because the potato starch present in the water can act as the perfect natural thickener. Also, potato water just so happens to be packed full of vitamins. 

According to Healthline, potatoes actually lose water-soluble nutrients (like vitamin C and potassium) during the boiling process. To prevent wasting those beneficial nutrients, you can either boil your potatoes whole with the skin on –- which will take longer –- or just reuse that vitamin-rich water in another dish, like soup or gravy!

Making gravy from potato water is not only easy, but it can also help you use fewer pots, and therefore, have less to clean up at the end of a big cooking holiday. To start, when you are done boiling your potatoes for another dish (because who doesn't love buttery mashed potatoes or a creamy potato salad?) take a look at the leftover water and decide how much you need for the gravy. The potato water will essentially be replacing all of your flour or cornstarch and some of your liquid in a regular gravy recipe. If you have too much potato water, set some aside –- but don't throw it away just yet! We'll discuss how you can use the leftovers of the leftover potato water soon.

Once you have the right amount of water for the gravy you'd like to make, simply add in the drippings from your roast or turkey along with your preferred broth, salt, and pepper. Then, simmer until the mixture thickens. If you aren't cooking meat, you can use beef or chicken bouillon toasted in butter as a replacement for the drippings.

If you are making a big batch of boiled potatoes, you likely won't be able to use all of the leftover water to make gravy. What should you do with the remainder? Luckily, there are quite a few options.

One great way to use potato water is to feed plants. Because of all of the vitamins and minerals present in the water, pouring it on plants can help them grow and give them some of the nutrients they need. Make sure the water is unsalted and has cooled completely before doing this. Of course, if you have some weeds to get rid of, using hot potato water is a good way to kill the plants without getting your hands dirty. However, even if you are trying to kill a plant, use unsalted water. If the salt gets into the soil around the weed, you can end up accidentally killing other plants, too.