[1]Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images
Has this scenario ever happened to you? You wrote out your menu [2] and grocery list [3], went shopping, and your week is on track. Then your plans change, and you need to make a dish for work or to help a family in need.
You piece together a plan and start to prepare the dish only to discover that you are missing one ingredient. In using time wisely, you don’t want to go to the store or find a neighbor that has a spare cup of sugar. What’s a girl to do?
For those of you cooks, who can change the recipe to fit what you have on-hand and the dish comes out perfectly, you might not need this list. But the bakers [4], who tend to ruin the entire dish when making a substitute, will appreciate this tip.
I found the following fantastic list of ingredient substitutions originally presented by Mary Jo in Denver, Colorado through the Krazy Coupon Lady network:
- Eggs (baking) – applesauce, mashed banana, yogurt.
- Eggs (cooking) – mayonnaise.
- Ketchup – 1 cup = 1 cup tomato sauce, 1 tsp. vinegar and 1 Tbsp. sugar
- Prepared Mustard – 1 Tablespoon = 1 Tbsp. dried mustard, 1 tsp. water, 1 tsp. vinegar, 1 tsp. sugar.
- Hot Sauce – Three-quarters tsp. cayenne pepper and 1 tsp. vinegar.
- Red Wine – Beef broth, apple cider, vinegar, or just plain water.
- Milk – Thinned out yogurt, water, cream, half-and-half.
- Buttermilk – One cup of milk plus 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Let it sit for five minutes after mixing.
- Sour Cream – Plain yogurt, drain water off in a sieve.
- Soy Sauce – Kosher salt and granulated sugar dissolved in hot water.
- Vinegar – Lemon and lime juice or white wine.
- Bread Crumbs – Cracker crumbs, oatmeal, or matzo meal.
- Cottage Cheese – Farmer’s cheese or ricotta cheese.
- White Sugar – Brown sugar, confectioner’s sugar, honey or corn syrup.
- Jam – Canned fruit drained and mashed.
- Baking Soda – Baking powder but triple the amount.
- Molasses – Three-quarters cup of brown sugar and 1 tsp. cream of tartar (per cup of molasses).
- Mozzarella – For pizza or lasagna, jack cheese and Parmesan.
- Pepperoni – Salami.
- Allspice – Half tsp. cinnamon, quarter tsp. ginger, and quarter tsp. cloves (per teaspoon of allspice).
- Beef or Chicken Broth – Bouillon mixed with 1 cup of boiling water or vegetable broth.
- Butter – Margarine, shortening or lard.
- Unsweetened Chocolate – 3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa plus 1 Tbsp. shortening or vegetable oil.
NOTE: When I first read Mary Jo’s post, dated June 5, 2012, I starred the post in my Google Reader [5]. Later, I clicked the link, and the post was gone. Since it was a great article to which I cannot link, I copied and saved the article. Now you can read Mary Jo’s article Put Me In, Coach: Hit a Savings Home Run With Recipe Substitutions [6] from my unedited copy.
As you continue using time wisely and prepare to feed your family, reach for this list of substitutes when your plans change. I know this list will save the day for me because one of my favorite marinade recipes calls for soy sauce which I ran out of twice last summer. (I did stockpile, but we still ran out more than once. :-)) Happy saving!
Question: What substitutions would you add to this list?