In many households, bread ends up in the garbage can once it becomes dry. However, this shouldn’t be necessary, as dry bread, unless turned moldy, can be used for many purposes. For example, not too long ago, dry bread used to be routinely ground up for breadcrumbs.
If bread is not dry yet, but it is a few days old and we don’t feel like eating it, we can use it in case a glass has shattered on the floor. It is notoriously difficult to collect every tiny shard so they don’t cause injuries, but they can be efficiently picked up if bread is rubbed over the potentially hazardous area.
Our grandmothers’ old and well-tried habit, as some of us may know, is to place a piece of older bread in the top of the pot during cooking. The bread will soak up the steam that would spread food odors in the kitchen and other rooms in the house.
If brown sugar starts to harden, put a slice of bread in the bag; the sugar will become completely soft again.
If there is too much fat on top of the soup, we can soak up the excess fat quickly with a slice of bread.
If you hold a piece of dry bread in your mouth while chopping onions, the bread will soak up the substance that causes tears before they have the chance to reach the eyes.