Post by Admin Vicky on Apr 14, 2023 11:58:07 GMT -5
Ingredient Substitution Guide
The next time you're missing an ingredient in a recipe, don't panic. Many recipes are flexible and will still come out delicious when you improvise. Plus, many non-vegetarian recipes can be tweaked to create a new veg version.
JUNE 22, 2007
VEGETARIAN TIMES EDITORS
Use our suggestions below as a starting point, and start asking yourself questions such as:
What do I really want this dish to taste like?
What textures do I like?
Why did the recipe developer put all of these ingredients in here, anyway?
Here are some general guidelines about making substitutions in recipes: Try to keep ingredients within the same ethnic category. Ethnic flavor combinations have been developed over centuries and blend together naturally. If you are making over a Mexican dish without meat, use traditional Mexican proteins and starches such as pinto beans, black beans, and posole (hominy), not Asian mung beans or Indian lentils.
Dissect the basic flavors of the dish. If you’re missing a certain flavoring, ask yourself if it is basically sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or spicy? Think of something from your cupboard in the same category. Substituting starches and proteins makes less of a difference in overall taste than spices and flavorings.
Try the pantry approach to cooking: If you find yourself continually missing key ingredients, analyze your pantry and consider restocking it. Assemble complementary herbs, spices and flavoring in groupings in your pantry. That way, when you are experimenting with a dish—Italian, for example—your Italian seasonings such as basil, parsley, garlic, and oregano will be grouped together, and you can substitute accordingly.
Keep staples such as flours, oils, beans, and grains on hand so you don’t have to run out to the store at the last minute.
Make It Meatless
Ingredient: Meat
Substitute: Beans, cheese, seitan (wheat meat), tempeh (cultured soybeans), textured vegetable protein (TVP), tofu
Ingredient: Meat/Seafood Stocks
Substitute: Vegetable stock, water in which beans, pasta, or vegetables have been cooked, vegetable bouillon cubes, miso (fermented soybean paste) diluted with water
Ingredient: Seasoned for Smoked Meats
Substitute: Flavored soy meat substitutes, crumbled tofu seasoned with fennel, parsley, and garlic, canned chipotle chiles, roasted vegetables, toasted nuts, smoked tofu, smoked cheeses
Ingredient: Gelatin
Substitute: Agar-agar (powder or flakes), arrowroot (powder), guar gum (made from seeds), xanthan gum (made from corn), kudzu powder
Make It Vegan
Ingredient: Buttermilk
Substitute: Clabbered soymilk (1 cup soymilk mixed with 2 tsp. lemon juice or white vinegar)
Ingredient: Cheese
Substitute: Soy- and nut-based cheeses
Ingredient: Cheese or Ricotta Cheese
Substitute: Crumbled tofu
Ingredient: Eggs
Substitute: Ener-G Egg Replacer, 1 mashed banana or 1/4 cup applesauce per egg (best for baked goods); 1 Tbs. agar flakes whisked into 1 Tbs. water and chilled for 5 minutes (for an egg white substitute), 1 Tbs. ground flaxseeds simmered in 3 Tbs. boiling water for 2 minutes
Ingredient: Mayonnaise
Substitute: Soy-based mayonnaise
Ingredient: Milk
Substitute: Nut milk, rice milk, soymilk
Make It Low-Fat
Ingredient: Creamy Soups and Sauces
Substitute: Nonfat strained yogurt, soymilk, puréed roasted vegetables, cooking rice in soup then puréeing it
Ingredient: Oil in Baked Goods
Substitute: Applesauce, puréed bananas, puréed cooked prunes
Ingredient: Oil For Sautéing
Substitute: Vegetable stock, wine, vinegar
Ingredient: Salad Dressing
Substitute: Vinegar or citrus juice thickened with puréed roasted red peppers, carrots, onions, or garlic
Ingredient: Sour Cream
Substitute: Strained nonfat yogurt
Ingredient: White Sauce
Substitute: Puréed white beans
Make It Allergen-Free
Ingredient: Butter
Substitute: Clarified butter (milk solids have been removed), olive oil, sesame oil
Ingredient: Chocolate
Substitute: Carob
Ingredient: Cow’s Milk
Substitute: Goat’s milk, soymilk, rice milk, nut milk
Ingredient: Cow’s Milk Cheese
Substitute: Goat cheese, sheep cheese, soy cheese, nut cheese
Ingredient: Eggs
Substitute: Ener-G Egg Replacer, 1 mashed banana or 1/4 cup applesauce per egg (best for baked goods); 1 Tbs. agar flakes whisked into 1 Tbs. water and chilled for 5 minutes (for an egg white substitute), 1 Tbs. ground flaxseeds simmered in 3 Tbs. boiling water for 2 minutes
Ingredient: Peanuts
Substitute: Almonds
Ingredient: Wheat Flour (For Baking)
Substitute: Flours made from barley, buckwheat, corn, kamut, oats, rice, rye, spelt
Ingredient: Wheat Pasta
Substitute: Pasta made from corn, spelt, kamut, quinoa, rice
Make It Ethnic
Origin: Americas
Ingredient: Cactus Pads (Nopales)
Substitute: Green beans, okra
Ingredient: Chayote Squash
Substitute: Yellow or green pattypan squash or zucchini
Ingredient: Poblano or Anaheim Chiles
Substitute: Minced jalapeño chiles and green bell pepper
Ingredient: Posole (Dried Hominy)
Substitute: Canned white hominy
Origin: Asian
Ingredient: Bok Choy (Chinese White Cabbage
Substitute: Beet greens, kale, Swiss chard
Ingredient: Chinese Cooking Wine
Substitute: Dry sherry
Ingredient: Chinese Five-Spice Powder
Substitute: Mixture of anise seed or star anise, fennel seed, cinnamon, black peppercorns, and cloves
Ingredient: Galangal (Thai Ginger)
Substitute: Fresh ginger
Ingredient: Lemongrass
Substitute: Lemon zest
Ingredient: Lotus Root
Substitute: Jicama or water chestnuts
Ingredient: Mirin (Japanese White Wine)
Substitute: Sweet white wine
Ingredient: Nam Pla
Substitute: Soy sauce and lime juice
Ingredient: Rice Wine Vinegar
Substitute: Cider vinegar, white wine vinegar
Ingredient: Sesame Oil
Substitute: 1 Tbs. sesame seeds fried in 1/2 cup vegetable oil
Ingredient: Thai Basil
Substitute: Italian basil
Ingredient: Water Chestnuts
Substitute: Jicama
Origin: Indian
Ingredient: Atta (Chapati Flour)
Substitute: 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour plus 1/2 cup sifted whole-wheat flour
Ingredient: Chana Dal
Substitute: Split yellow peas
Ingredient: Curry Powder
Substitute: Mixture of ground ginger, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, turmeric and fennel
Ingredient: Garam Masala
Substitute: Mixture of 1 tsp. cardamom seeds, 1 Tbs. cumin seed, 1 Tbs. coriander seed, 2 tsp. black peppercorns, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. cloves, and 1 tsp. nutmeg
Ingredient: Jaggery (Course Palm Sugar)
Substitute: Date sugar or brown sugar
Ingredient: Toor Dal, Urad Dal, Mung Dal
Substitute: Red lentils
Origin: Mediterranean
Ingredient: Broccoli Rabe
Substitute: Broccoli plus arugula or dandelion greens
Ingredient: Cannellini Beans
Substitute: Great Northern beans, navy beans, red kidney beans
Ingredient: Fava Beans
Substitute: Lima beans or butter beans
Ingredient: Fennel
Substitute: Celery plus some fennel or anise seeds
Ingredient: Parmesan Cheese
Substitute: Any hard, aged grating cheese such as Asiago, Romano, or aged Monterey Jack
Ingredient: Pine Nuts
Substitute: Walnuts or a mixture of walnuts and almonds
Make It Alcohol-Free
Ingredient: Red Wine
Substitute: Pomegranate juice or 1/2 cup water with 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
Ingredient: White Wine
Substitute: Vegetable stock, apple juice, carrot juice
Ingredient: Wine or Beer
Substitute: Non-alcoholic wine or beer
The next time you're missing an ingredient in a recipe, don't panic. Many recipes are flexible and will still come out delicious when you improvise. Plus, many non-vegetarian recipes can be tweaked to create a new veg version.
JUNE 22, 2007
VEGETARIAN TIMES EDITORS
Use our suggestions below as a starting point, and start asking yourself questions such as:
What do I really want this dish to taste like?
What textures do I like?
Why did the recipe developer put all of these ingredients in here, anyway?
Here are some general guidelines about making substitutions in recipes: Try to keep ingredients within the same ethnic category. Ethnic flavor combinations have been developed over centuries and blend together naturally. If you are making over a Mexican dish without meat, use traditional Mexican proteins and starches such as pinto beans, black beans, and posole (hominy), not Asian mung beans or Indian lentils.
Dissect the basic flavors of the dish. If you’re missing a certain flavoring, ask yourself if it is basically sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or spicy? Think of something from your cupboard in the same category. Substituting starches and proteins makes less of a difference in overall taste than spices and flavorings.
Try the pantry approach to cooking: If you find yourself continually missing key ingredients, analyze your pantry and consider restocking it. Assemble complementary herbs, spices and flavoring in groupings in your pantry. That way, when you are experimenting with a dish—Italian, for example—your Italian seasonings such as basil, parsley, garlic, and oregano will be grouped together, and you can substitute accordingly.
Keep staples such as flours, oils, beans, and grains on hand so you don’t have to run out to the store at the last minute.
Make It Meatless
Ingredient: Meat
Substitute: Beans, cheese, seitan (wheat meat), tempeh (cultured soybeans), textured vegetable protein (TVP), tofu
Ingredient: Meat/Seafood Stocks
Substitute: Vegetable stock, water in which beans, pasta, or vegetables have been cooked, vegetable bouillon cubes, miso (fermented soybean paste) diluted with water
Ingredient: Seasoned for Smoked Meats
Substitute: Flavored soy meat substitutes, crumbled tofu seasoned with fennel, parsley, and garlic, canned chipotle chiles, roasted vegetables, toasted nuts, smoked tofu, smoked cheeses
Ingredient: Gelatin
Substitute: Agar-agar (powder or flakes), arrowroot (powder), guar gum (made from seeds), xanthan gum (made from corn), kudzu powder
Make It Vegan
Ingredient: Buttermilk
Substitute: Clabbered soymilk (1 cup soymilk mixed with 2 tsp. lemon juice or white vinegar)
Ingredient: Cheese
Substitute: Soy- and nut-based cheeses
Ingredient: Cheese or Ricotta Cheese
Substitute: Crumbled tofu
Ingredient: Eggs
Substitute: Ener-G Egg Replacer, 1 mashed banana or 1/4 cup applesauce per egg (best for baked goods); 1 Tbs. agar flakes whisked into 1 Tbs. water and chilled for 5 minutes (for an egg white substitute), 1 Tbs. ground flaxseeds simmered in 3 Tbs. boiling water for 2 minutes
Ingredient: Mayonnaise
Substitute: Soy-based mayonnaise
Ingredient: Milk
Substitute: Nut milk, rice milk, soymilk
Make It Low-Fat
Ingredient: Creamy Soups and Sauces
Substitute: Nonfat strained yogurt, soymilk, puréed roasted vegetables, cooking rice in soup then puréeing it
Ingredient: Oil in Baked Goods
Substitute: Applesauce, puréed bananas, puréed cooked prunes
Ingredient: Oil For Sautéing
Substitute: Vegetable stock, wine, vinegar
Ingredient: Salad Dressing
Substitute: Vinegar or citrus juice thickened with puréed roasted red peppers, carrots, onions, or garlic
Ingredient: Sour Cream
Substitute: Strained nonfat yogurt
Ingredient: White Sauce
Substitute: Puréed white beans
Make It Allergen-Free
Ingredient: Butter
Substitute: Clarified butter (milk solids have been removed), olive oil, sesame oil
Ingredient: Chocolate
Substitute: Carob
Ingredient: Cow’s Milk
Substitute: Goat’s milk, soymilk, rice milk, nut milk
Ingredient: Cow’s Milk Cheese
Substitute: Goat cheese, sheep cheese, soy cheese, nut cheese
Ingredient: Eggs
Substitute: Ener-G Egg Replacer, 1 mashed banana or 1/4 cup applesauce per egg (best for baked goods); 1 Tbs. agar flakes whisked into 1 Tbs. water and chilled for 5 minutes (for an egg white substitute), 1 Tbs. ground flaxseeds simmered in 3 Tbs. boiling water for 2 minutes
Ingredient: Peanuts
Substitute: Almonds
Ingredient: Wheat Flour (For Baking)
Substitute: Flours made from barley, buckwheat, corn, kamut, oats, rice, rye, spelt
Ingredient: Wheat Pasta
Substitute: Pasta made from corn, spelt, kamut, quinoa, rice
Make It Ethnic
Origin: Americas
Ingredient: Cactus Pads (Nopales)
Substitute: Green beans, okra
Ingredient: Chayote Squash
Substitute: Yellow or green pattypan squash or zucchini
Ingredient: Poblano or Anaheim Chiles
Substitute: Minced jalapeño chiles and green bell pepper
Ingredient: Posole (Dried Hominy)
Substitute: Canned white hominy
Origin: Asian
Ingredient: Bok Choy (Chinese White Cabbage
Substitute: Beet greens, kale, Swiss chard
Ingredient: Chinese Cooking Wine
Substitute: Dry sherry
Ingredient: Chinese Five-Spice Powder
Substitute: Mixture of anise seed or star anise, fennel seed, cinnamon, black peppercorns, and cloves
Ingredient: Galangal (Thai Ginger)
Substitute: Fresh ginger
Ingredient: Lemongrass
Substitute: Lemon zest
Ingredient: Lotus Root
Substitute: Jicama or water chestnuts
Ingredient: Mirin (Japanese White Wine)
Substitute: Sweet white wine
Ingredient: Nam Pla
Substitute: Soy sauce and lime juice
Ingredient: Rice Wine Vinegar
Substitute: Cider vinegar, white wine vinegar
Ingredient: Sesame Oil
Substitute: 1 Tbs. sesame seeds fried in 1/2 cup vegetable oil
Ingredient: Thai Basil
Substitute: Italian basil
Ingredient: Water Chestnuts
Substitute: Jicama
Origin: Indian
Ingredient: Atta (Chapati Flour)
Substitute: 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour plus 1/2 cup sifted whole-wheat flour
Ingredient: Chana Dal
Substitute: Split yellow peas
Ingredient: Curry Powder
Substitute: Mixture of ground ginger, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, turmeric and fennel
Ingredient: Garam Masala
Substitute: Mixture of 1 tsp. cardamom seeds, 1 Tbs. cumin seed, 1 Tbs. coriander seed, 2 tsp. black peppercorns, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. cloves, and 1 tsp. nutmeg
Ingredient: Jaggery (Course Palm Sugar)
Substitute: Date sugar or brown sugar
Ingredient: Toor Dal, Urad Dal, Mung Dal
Substitute: Red lentils
Origin: Mediterranean
Ingredient: Broccoli Rabe
Substitute: Broccoli plus arugula or dandelion greens
Ingredient: Cannellini Beans
Substitute: Great Northern beans, navy beans, red kidney beans
Ingredient: Fava Beans
Substitute: Lima beans or butter beans
Ingredient: Fennel
Substitute: Celery plus some fennel or anise seeds
Ingredient: Parmesan Cheese
Substitute: Any hard, aged grating cheese such as Asiago, Romano, or aged Monterey Jack
Ingredient: Pine Nuts
Substitute: Walnuts or a mixture of walnuts and almonds
Make It Alcohol-Free
Ingredient: Red Wine
Substitute: Pomegranate juice or 1/2 cup water with 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
Ingredient: White Wine
Substitute: Vegetable stock, apple juice, carrot juice
Ingredient: Wine or Beer
Substitute: Non-alcoholic wine or beer