A milk carton that is thick, hard to crush, and has excellent waterproof properties. After it's empty, it's standard to send it out for recycling, but it's also a good idea to have another job done in the kitchen. Here are three useful ideas that take advantage of the features of milk cartons.

1. 1. For sushi and sweets molds

Pressed sushi that looks much better when shaped properly. Even if you don't have a special mold, you can easily finish it with a milk carton.

Mix green laver and salmon flakes with vinegared rice and pack them in a milk carton cut to a height of about 10 cm in order to make pressed sushi with beautiful steps. Decorate the surface with brocade eggs, salmon roe, shrimp, silk pods, etc. to make it look perfect for Hinamatsuri and birthday celebrations. It is also recommended to stuff simple vinegared rice to make mackerel and salmon pressed sushi. If you stuff rice, ingredients, and rice in that order and wrap it with seaweed, you can make beautiful rice without the rice that was popular a while ago.






Milk cartons are also very useful as a mold for sweets. Mix fresh cream, jam and biscuits, freeze in the freezer, and you'll have a rectangular ice cake with a click. It is perfect for hospitality as it can be carved neatly. Commercially available ice cream can be transformed into a much more elegant appearance simply by adding nuts and cereals and repacking it in a milk carton. For detailed recipes for ice cake, please refer to the previously published articles " Easy ice cake made with milk pack " and " [3 ingredients] Easy recipe for Cassata-style ice cream ". It is also useful as a container for frozen desserts made from jelly or agar ( a recipe for a simple fruit milk can without a mold ).

2. In a freezing container

Curry often made in the summer. In fact, there is a high risk of food poisoning, and it is said that it can be stored refrigerated for about two days. If you have any leftovers, store them in a freezer as soon as possible. If you put it in a plastic container, you will be worried that the sticky oil and color of the curry will transfer. That's where disposable milk cartons come in.

First, wash the inside of the milk carton and cut it to an appropriate height. After adding curry roux, seal it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. If the amount is large, it will be difficult to thaw, so it is recommended to divide it into one person. Put more in the freezer bag before transferring to the freezer to prevent odor transfer. When eating, move it from the freezer to the refrigerator, slowly thaw it naturally, and then reheat it. It's a convenient way to store not only curry but also excess tomato sauce and minced meat sauce.

3. 3. For ice packs

Lastly, I would like to introduce the idea of "making the whole milk carton alive" without cutting it with scissors. If you add plenty of water and freeze it as it is, it will be a reliable ice pack that is perfect for a large cooler box. Choose between 500mL and 1L sizes according to the capacity of the cooler box. As an aside, if you put cut flowers in water and freeze them together, you will get "icicle flowers" that are cool to look at and touch. Why don't you put it on the summer table to create a refreshing atmosphere?




We have introduced the above three ideas, but there are many other ways to use milk cartons! At the author's house, I use a milk carton spread flat to cut raw meat and fish. It is strong enough as a cutting board and can be thrown away as it is after use, which is very convenient because it saves the trouble of cleaning and disinfecting. There is also an example of using old frying oil in a milk carton and throwing it away. Let's make full use of the advantage of being durable and disposable for household chores ♪