Beyond baking: Unconventional uses for flour

Flour. It’s not just for baking anymore.

This week, The Kitchn shared an unexpected use for flour: a sink polisher.

In a few simple steps, your stainless steel sink can be as shiny as new, perfect for impressing dinner guests or future buyers.

"In my own home, I use this trick once a month. The flour buffs the micro-grooves in the sink’s surface and also pulls out residual dirt and grime that your basic sponge and soap can’t get to. It just makes things feel extra special," writes The Kitchn’s Sarah Rae Trover.

Here’s how it works:

Simply wash the sink as usual — with either your standard kitchen cleaner or hot soapy water — then buff it try with a clean towel.

Next, cover half or one side of your sink with a thick dusting of flour.

Start buffing. Using a paper towel or soft cloth to buff the flour into the sink and all its grooves, the rim, drain, knobs and handles.

Do it again. Repeat with the other half of the sink. Buff and remove any excess flour.

Voila: cleaner than it’s ever been.

The flour-as-polisher tutorial left us wondering if there are any other clever uses for flour. (Answer: yes.)

Here are a few of our favourite uses:

Get crafty. Flour is an essential ingredient in these recipes for homemade play dough, craft glue and spray adhesive.

Polish copper with a mixture of equal parts flour, salt and white vinegar. Apply the paste to the metal, let it dry, then buff it off for an as-good-as-new shine.

Put some flour along the rims of older plastic containers if they’re always sticking to the lids.

To keep the bugs away, sprinkle flour on the plants in your garden. After two days, be sure to rinse off the plants.

Refresh an old deck of cards by dropping the loose cards into a bag with about 1/4 cup of flour and shaking them around a bit. The flour will soak up those oils from fingers (and late-night snacks), making them easy to shuffle again.

To speed up ripening, put hard avocados in a bag or bowl and cover with flour. They should be guacamole-ready in a day or so.

Flour can be used in DIY beauty treatments, too. Try a homemade red grape face mask or yogurt-and-turmeric skin brightener. Or dare use flour as dry shampoo.

Do you know of any other clever uses for flour? Share in the comments.