|
|
Emergency Recipe Substitutions
or
Cooking
Equivalents
Suddenly discovering you don't
have an important
ingredient is no fun
when you are in the middle of cooking your
favorite recipe. Knowing
an ingredients' equivalent or substitution can save the day. Mom
helps cooks with a few easy recipe tips.
|
|
Mom's Cooking Tips on Milk, Cornstarch and
Arrowroot for Creamy
Sauces &
Thickeners
When it is crunch time in the
kitchen, running out of a crucial
ingredient is no picnic. Neither is running out to the store at
midnight. If you are missing an ingredient knowing its
"equivalent" or substitution can save the day.
Adapting recipes
from antique cookbooks can also cause confusion. What is
arrowroot and must I consult a wizard?
Today, Mom helps cooks
with tips on milk, cream and other sauce thickeners.
Milk: If you don't have one cup of fresh
milk substitute 1/2 cup of evaporated mile plus 1/2 cup of water.
Or follow the directions on a box of powdered milk.
It’s a good
idea to have a can of evaporated milk handy for emergencies. If
you don't use it during holiday baking, keep it for your other
emergency kit.
Buttermilk: Also called sour milk, is
used to give recipes a little zip. Substitute 1 tablespoon of
lemon juice or vinegar plus enough whole milk to make 1 cup (let stand
5 minutes before using), OR use 1 cup whole milk plus 1 3/4 teaspoons
cream of tartar OR use 1 cup of plain yogurt.
Whipping Cream: Whipped cream from
scratch is worth the work. If you don't have time, just use
frozen dessert topping. 1 cup whipping cream equals 2 cups
dessert topping.
Light Cream: if you don't have 1 cup of
light cream use 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons of milk plus 2 tablespoons of
butter.
Cornstarch: Great for thickening sauces;
if you don't have 1 tablespoon of cornstarch use 2 tablespoons of
flour. Always dissolve it in a little water, broth or juice
before you add it to your sauce to avoid lumps.
Arrowroot: Not a mystical ingredient but
another thickening agent for sauces and soups. Substitute 2
tablespoons of regular flour or 1 tablespoon of cornstarch instead of
arrowroot.
Dissolve it in a little water or broth first for easier mixing and to
avoid lumps.
As a general rule if you are baking in
the oven, you must follow the
recipe as closely as possible.
Not only do your ingredients add
flavor, they also serve a specific function like making your bread
rise, or binding ingredients together.
If you are using milk or
cream in a sauce, you have more
flexibility. For example, if you
are making gravy, a splash of milk instead of cream is fine. The
fat content should only effect the flavor of your sauce, not the final
product.
Good luck and happy cooking!
|
|
