Alton Brown knows his stuff when it comes to cooking. Take a look at some of his handy tricks for helping you out with thriftiness in the kitchen:

1. Perfectly dice avocados for guacamole with a potato masher

2. Don’t waste the brown bits on the bottom of the pan:

3. Use a waffle iron to make bacon

4. Use a coffee grinder for whole spices to make your own blends

5. Tap on a butchers knife with a mallet to cut through hard squash

6. Top your sangria with ice to hold the fruit down

7. Prevent asparagus heads from burning by making a tin foil pan that folds over