- Simple Substitutions
for Common Ingredients
- By: Thomas Jorgensen
Even the most accomplished
and well organised cooks sometimes go to the cupboard and find
that whatever they needed desperately and immediately is not
there. Some of us live close to a grocery store and we can nip
out, whilst for others it can be quite a challenge. Below are
a few very common ingredients for which there are substitutes.
Some of the most commonly
used ingredients have very simple substitutions available when
you are in a bind. One teaspoon of baking powder can be replaced
by 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda plus 5/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
or 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda plus 1/2 cup of buttermilk. One
cup of butter can be substituted with 7/8 cup of shortening or
1 cup of margarine. Oil is not an exact substitute for butter
especially if butter is needed in baking products.
It's difficult to always
stock all types of sugar but there are alternatives that you
can choose from. for one cup of light brown sugar, use one cup
of white sugar and one teaspoon of molasses and for one cup of
dark sugar use one cup of white sugar and one tablespoon of molasses.
Instead of one cup of white sugar you could either use one and
three quarters of a cup of powdered (confectioners') sugar or
one cup of packed brown sugar. If you need a sweet liquid like
corn syrup you could use one cup of sugar plus a quarter of a
cup of liquid or honey.
If you need chocolate
you'll find that one ounce of is the same as three tablespoons
of unsweetened cocoa and one tablespoon of fat. Instead of one
tablespoon of cornstarch you could use two tablespoons of flour;
instead of one tablespoon of flour (for thickening) try half
a tablespoon of cornstarch; and instead of one cup sifted flour
(for cooking) you could be really radical and try one and a half
cups of bread crumbs or one cup of rolled oats. Lastly, instead
of one cup of shortening you could use one cup and two tablespoons
of butter or margarine.
If you want to add flavour
to your meals with spices you can try stocking dried herbs and
spices rather than fresh. For instance, instead of one clove
of garlic you could substitute one eighth of a teaspoon of garlic
powder or one teaspoon of chopped garlic. Instead of one teaspoon
of dry mustard you could use one tablespoon of prepared mustard;
one tablespoon of onion powder is the same as either one medium,
or four tablespoons of freshly chopped onion.
Remember that some of
the best recipes around have been 'cooked' up by people desperately
trying to cover their tracks; so the advice would be 'be bold,
be daring, but use your initiative!'
_______________________________________
- Thomas Jorgensen is
the editor and webmaster of "Cooking Flair" www.cookingflair.com a premier cooking and
cooking school information site on the Internet. For more information
following this article please pay a visit.
- _______________________________________
ARTICLE POSTED
February 21, 2007
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