This article was written by Talia Ralph and repurposed with permission from Food52.
So your delicious summer fruit is past its prime? Don't toss it in the trash just yet! Even with a few blemishes, there are still delicious ways to use these foods. Fruits (and vegetables) that are slightly banged up can still taste just as good as if they were fresh, depending on how you prepare them. Here's how to put your bruised ingredients to good use:
Make a Juice or Smoothie
Nicks and bruises disappear into delicious juices like this Champagne-worthy strawberry sipper or this pretty concord grape and lemon soda. For a hearty summer breakfast, bust out the blender for a green smoothie (perfect for your roughed up mangoes and avocados), or set up your dates with slightly mushy bananas.
Jam Out
If your fruit is already on its way to mashing itself up, there's no need to keep it from its ultimate fate: delicious jam. Tomatoes get bruised, too, especially if you get a little too overzealous about their seasonality and buy a few too many. Since they're technically fruit, we're going to go ahead and say this jam is par for the course. The same treatment can be used on strawberries, apricots, and other fruits. Make extra, use it in this chic shortbread tart, and give your fruit a third life.
Fire Up the Oven
If you're okay with turning up the heat, you can bake your bruised fruit into cakes and crumbles. Because everything tastes better in a pastry.
Freeze 'Em
Sweaty from all that baking? Good thing you put some homemade ice pops in the freezer first. Bananas, strawberries, mangoes, and more all make deliciously refreshing desserts.
More from Food52:
How to Make Any Ice Pop Without a Recipe
How to Make Any Veggie Burger Without a Recipe
The Essential Techniques That Every Home Cook Should Know
