How To:

1. 1

   Tenderize meat. To keep your roasts moist, place a ripe banana peel on top of the meat before it goes into the oven. That way, you’ll be able to cook the meat properly without sucking away any of that juicy flavor! This works for chicken, beef or pork.

2. 2

   Shine silverware. To get your silver shiny, first blend your banana peel with water until it forms a paste. Rub the paste onto your silver with a soft cloth and then rinse the silver thoroughly with warm water. Make sure you dry your silverware before tucking it back into your drawers to prevent mold growth!

3. 3

   Polish leather. Remove any leftover, stringy material from the inside of the peel. Then, rub the inside of the banana peel on the surface of your leather furniture. Buff it away with a soft cloth. Tip: Test a small area before taking on a whole chair to make sure the leather and banana are going to be friends.

4. 4

   Protect roses. If aphids are a common problem near your rose bushes, slice up a banana peel into small pieces and bury them deep in the soil around your plants. The scent of the banana will repel the aphids and keep your roses healthy and beautiful.

5. 5

   Attract butterflies and birds. Poke a few holes in a ripe banana peel, then place it in your garden. Butterflies and birds will love it! Remove the peel when the sun sets to make sure you’re not encouraging raccoons or other hungry nocturnal creatures to make a pit stop in your garden. You can also bury the peel to create a potassium rich fertilizer.