Substitutes For Cooking

There are substitutes for spices, there are substitutes for sauces. There are substitutes for bakery and dairy products. Gosh, there are alternatives for so many things in cooking.
Nothing can be substituted for; some say. But that doesn’t seem to be true in case of cooking and eating. “If not this, then that”, is the general human tendency there. We try to find substitutes for everything in life, although somewhere at the back of our minds, we know that’s not really possible. Substituting everything in life is impossible and so be it!
But, when it comes to food, there are substitutes for almost every food ingredient. But there is one thing that cannot be substituted for, it’s the taste. Why do similar recipes made by different people have different tastes? It is because the taste of a recipe does not depend only on its ingredients and method of preparation. It also depends on who cooks it. It’s not just the ingredients that go into a recipe and give it the taste. And if ‘only’ they did, mother’s recipes wouldn’t taste different! When mom prepares food, perhaps her love sneaks into the recipe and adds to the ingredients! And that is why nothing can substitute for the flavor of something that’s mom-made. There can be substitutes for ingredients but there’s no substitute for the taste.
Why recipe substitutions? We need them when certain ingredients are unavailable at home or in the market. When we forget to buy the stuff we need, that is when we need to get hold of something that is handy. Using margarine as a substitute for butter and vice versa is a common example of the use of substitutes in cooking. Vegetable oil and vegetable shortening can substitute each other; grape juice can substitute wine. It’s common sense to use foods of similar flavor as alternatives for one another. Obviously, you won’t like the substitutes to bring about a radical change to how your recipe tastes. Or you will find yourself finding a substitute for what you have cooked!
Cooking is an art, for some, a hobby, a stress buster. I am sure you wouldn’t want to alter the taste of what you are planning to prepare, just because you are using substitutes. The use of substitutes in cooking is an adjustment with the availability of foodstuffs. It’s definitely not a compromise with the taste. So, choose the substitutes right and go for them only if you don’t have the originals at hand. Mostly, when you are short of time to buy the ingredients or when you don’t have them in the required quantities, you need to opt for their substitutes. Here is a list of the different substitutes in cooking. It will help you find the right alternatives in cooking and still retain the near-original flavor of the dish. With this list handy, you won’t have to cook up stories of the unavailability of ingredients. You will be able to cook; if not with the actual ingredients, but definitely with their readily available substitutes!
Here we give you tables for ingredients falling under different categories. Each table gives you a list of recipe ingredients along with their substitutes. In some cases, the substitute is the one most commonly used; in some cases, it’s one of the many that are used. There can be many alternatives for a given ingredient. For other alternatives apart from the ones given in the table, you can refer to the ‘also see’ column and start planning what to cook next and how; with the actual ingredients or their substitutes? Whichever way you choose, be happy while you cook; it will reflect in the recipe. That’s another thing that can’t be substituted for.
Substitutes in Baking
Given here is a substitutes list for ingredients that often get into the oven or the microwave and come out baked and delicious. Take for example cakes and bread recipes, that most of us love to eat. Can you imagine anything substituting for bread flour? Do you think there can be an egg substitute in cake? Well, if you don’t, you are wrong. There are alternatives for so many things in baking. Read on to find out.
Food Item Substitute(s) Also See
a. Egg Tofu Egg Substitute in Baking
b. Sugar maple syrup, honey, molasses Sugar Substitutes for Baking
c. Cocoa carob powder Cocoa Powder Substitute
d. Kirsch Cherry syrup Kirsch Substitute in Baking
e. Oil in Baking apple sauce, butter Oil Substitute in Baking
f. Baking Powder baking soda with cream of tartar, buttermilk or lime juice Baking Powder Substitute
g. Baking Soda baking powder Baking Soda Substitute
h. Cream of Tartar baking powder Cream of Tartar Substitute
i. Shortening butter, margarine or oil Shortening Substitute
j. Cake Flour all-purpose flour with cornstarch or pastry flour Cake Flour Substitute
k. Bread Flour all-purpose flour Bread Flour Substitute
l. Self Rising Flour all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt Self Rising Flour Substitute
Substitutes for Milk and Milk Products
Condense it, it’s tastier; evaporate it, it can still be used; powder it, it’s still not useless; extract all its fat or make it sour; process it in the way you like; its usability won’t diminish at all. Well, I am talking about milk! Milk in all its forms and their substitutes…that’s what the following table gives you. Take a look.
Food Item Substitute(s) Also See
a. Milk plant milk, grain milk Milk Substitute
b. Evaporated Milk dry milk and water, soy milk or fresh milk Evaporated Milk Substitute
c. Condensed Milk mixture of dry milk, boiling water and butter, with sweetener added Condensed Milk Substitute
d. Powdered Milk regular milk or coconut milk Powdered Milk Substitute
e. Heavy Cream a mixture of milk and unsalted butter Heavy Cream Substitute
f. Sour Cream butter added to sour milk of buttermilk Sour Cream Substitute
g. Butter margarine or olive oil Butter Substitute
h. Buttermilk yogurt or cream of tartar added to plain milk Buttermilk Substitute
Substituting for Sauces
Sauce, derived from the Latin word salsus, which means salted, is an important element of every cuisine. Be it a French food recipe or a pasta from the Italian cuisine; be it Chinese, Peruvian, Korean or British, sauces are a part of every kind of cooking. They are a must-haves for the saucy flavor they render to recipes. But what if the sauce is not available with you every time you need it? The simple solution is to opt for its substitute. Here is the table of substitutes for some of these commonly used sauces.
Food Item Substitute(s) Also See
Oyster Sauce soy sauce or fish sauce Oyster Sauce Substitute
Soy Sauce concoction of garlic vinegar, onion powder, ground ginger and blackstrap Soy Sauce Substitute
Tomato Sauce tomato paste or tomato juice Tomato Sauce Substitute
Hoisin Sauce a paste of prunes and sherry, soy sauce and garlic added Hoisin Sauce Substitute
Worcestershire Sauce steak sauce or soy sauce Worcestershire Sauce Substitute
Substitutes for Food Additives: Spices, Herbs, Sweeteners
The table that follows enlists the substitutes of ingredients that spice up food – the herbs and spices and of ingredients that sweeten food recipes – yes, the sweeteners; all of which are categorized as food additives as they make a value addition to the taste of food.
Food Item Substitute(s) Also See
a. Anise Seed star anise seeds or fennel seeds Anise Seed Substitute
b. Bay Leaf thyme or ground basil Bay Leaf Substitute
c. Cardamom mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves or brown cardamom(lesser expensive substitute) Cardamom Substitute
d. Fennel celery Fennel Substitute
e. Celery Seed celery salt or dill seed Celery Seed Substitute
f. Celery Salt ground celery seeds Celery Salt Substitute
g. Cumin caraway or anise seeds Cumin Seeds Substitute
h. Coriander Seeds a mixture of caraway, cumin and fennel seeds Coriander Seeds Substitute
i. Galangal ginger root Galangal Substitute
j. Nutmeg cinnamon or mace Nutmeg Substitute
k. Paprika cayenne pepper, red pepper or chili powder Paprika Substitute
l. Vegetable Oil applesauce, coconut oil Vegetable Oil Substitute
m. Cooking Oil applesauce Cooking Oil Substitute
n. Sesame Oil peanut oil or toasted sesame seeds; light sesame oil for the dark one Sesame Oil Substitute
o. Canola Oil vegetable oil, olive oil Canola Oil Substitute
p. Safflower Oil canola oil, soybean oil Safflower Oil Substitute
q. Grape seed Oil safflower oil, sunflower oil Grape seed Oil Substitute
r. Xanthan Gum guar gum Xanthan Gum Substitute
s. White Wine Vinegar white vinegar or cider vinegar White Wine Vinegar Substitute
t. Powdered Sugar blended mixture of granulated sugar and cornstarch or blended plain sugar Powdered Sugar Substitute
u. Brown Sugar mixture of granulated sugar and molasses Brown Sugar Substitute
v. Corn Syrup honey or molasses Corn Syrup Substitute
w. Molasses corn syrup, brown sugar Molasses Substitute
x. Agave Nectar sugar syrup, honey, maple syrup Agave Nectar Substitute
y. Vanilla Extract maple syrup, almond extract, Fiori di sicilia extract or vanilla essence Vanilla Extract Substitute
z. Vanilla Bean vanilla extract Vanilla Bean Substitute
Other Foods and their Substitutes
There’s always this ‘others’ category in everything. Something that does not belong to any particular foodchem category is conveniently made a part of ‘others’. The table below enlists substitutes for all those food items that could not be made to belong to any of the aforementioned categories. But they are important in their own right.
Food Item Substitute(s) Also See
a. Dry White Wine dry white vermouth, apple cider vinegar(non-alcoholic) -
b. Coconut Milk combination of hot water or milk and coconut cream Coconut Milk Substitute
c. Cornstarch rice flour, arrowroot, potato flour or all-purpose flour(double the qnty) Cornstarch Substitute
d. Tapioca Flour arrowroot powder Tapioca Flour Substitute
e. Cocoa Powder baking soda added to unsweetened chocolate Cocoa Powder Substitute
f. Cream Cheese French Neufchatel, ricotta cheese or fat-free yogurt Cream Cheese Substitute
Remember, substitutes in cooking serve the right purpose only when you know what not to substitute for.