Cooking Diva: Simple Substitutions

I’m sure I am not the only one who knows how frustrating it is to find the perfect recipe, start making it, and then realize that I am out of a crucial ingredient. (What’s that? You don’t make recipes without double-checking that you have all the ingredients on hand? Well, aren’t you special.)

By Carly

Because there is nothing more annoying than having to run to the grocery store and leave your raw cookie batter sitting on the counter, I took the liberty of putting together a handy-dandy substitution cheat sheet of things you can use when you find yourself without the genuine article.

For self-rising flour, substitute flour with baking powder and salt. Self-rising flour is really just a fancy name for flour that already has baking powder and salt added, so you can cheat the system by adding those things yourself. For each cup of flour, just throw in 1 ½ tsp baking powder and about ½ tsp salt.

For cream/half-and-half, substitute milk. Keep in mind that this will only work sometimes. Milk is a lot thinner than cream and has a lot less fat (added health bonus), but that also means that it doesn’t behave the same way. For a recipe in which you’re mixing everything together anyway (quiche), it will work fine, but it’s not going to get you anywhere if you pour it in a bowl and try to whip it into real fluffy cream. If you don’t have regular milk, try using buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream.

For eggs, substitute bananas, yogurt, or applesauce. Mmmmm… you won’t even realize the eggs aren’t there, and you’ll get a nice bit of extra flavor and texture with any of these substitutions. If you’re making something savory rather than sweet, try substituting some oil mixed with a little bit of flour.

For a thickener like cornstarch, substitute flour or tapioca. Tapioca might give kind of a funky texture to whatever you’re brewing up, but it will be great in something like a pie or a cobbler. For a casserole or another non-sweet dish, flour will work like a charm.

If you’re searching for a specific ingredient and you really don’t want to go to the store, try Googling it. There are a lot of cooks and bakers out there, and chances are, somebody has already done the work for you so that you can enjoy your delicious dish without ever having to leave the kitchen.

[Image courtesy of chickspeak.com.]