Have you ever found yourself making a recipe and realize that you don’t have an ingredient that it’s calling for? Here are a few ingredient alternatives that you might have on hand instead.
Mayonnaise
For 1 cup of mayonnaise use 1 cup sour cream or 1 cup plain yogurt with a pinch of salt.
Honey
For 1/4 cup of honey use 1/4 cup maple syrup or light corn syrup.
Buttermilk
For 1 cup of buttermilk use 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice mixed with enough milk or plant-based milk to reach 1 cup.
Butter
If butter is used for baking or in a solid form, solid coconut oil is a good 1 to 1 substitution. If it’s melted or for cooking use olive oil.
Oil
When it comes to oil for baking, applesauce is a great substitute. For 1 cup of oil, use 3/4 cup applesauce mixed with 1/4 cup melted butter. In cooking, any neutral refined oils like canola, olive, vegetable, corn, and peanut oils are interchangeable.
Breadcrumbs
For 1 cup of breadcrumbs use 1 cup of cracker crumbs, finely crushed potato chips, tortilla chips, or pretzels pulsed in your food processor.
Brown Sugar
For 1 cup of light brown sugar, use 1 cup white sugar plus 1 tablespoon molasses. For 1 cup of dark brown sugar, use 2 tablespoons molasses. The sugar and molasses should be mixed together thoroughly.
Baking Powder
For 1 teaspoon baking powder, stir or sift together 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 5/8 teaspoon cream of tartar.
“Work With What You Got!”
©Tiny New York Kitchen © 2020 All Rights Reserved
In theory, it should make little difference to your health whether you cook for yourself or let someone else do the work. But unless you can afford to hire a private chef to prepare meals exactly to your specifications, letting other people cook for you means losing control over your eating life, the portions as much as the ingredients. Cooking for yourself is the only sure way to take back control of your diet from the food scientists and food processors, and to guarantee you’re eating real food and not edible foodlike substances, with their unhealthy oils, high-fructose corn syrup, and surfeit of salt. Not surprisingly, the decline in home cooking closely parallels the rise in obesity, and research suggests that people who cook are more likely to eat a more healthful diet.
“Work With What You Got!”
©Tiny New York Kitchen © 2019 All Rights Reserved
While the Nutrition Fact label can tell you a lot about a food, you need to check the ingredients list to see what you’re really eating. Is your breakfast cereal made with whole grains or does your favorite salad dressing contain oil that is high in saturated fat, for example.
By law, ingredients lists must be ordered by weight. The heaviest ingredient goes first, followed by the next heaviest, and so on. It is not a good sign if sugar is the first ingredient in a cereal or when bad fats like partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils are the third ingredient listed on a can of biscuit dough.
Below is a list of common phrases found on many food packages:
Cholesterol Free or No Cholesterol: Don’t be fooled by the words No Cholesterol written across the label of a jar of peanut butter or bottle of canola oil. If you turn to the Nutrition Facts label, you’ll see that no brand of either food has cholesterol – and never did! Only foods of animal origin contain cholesterol. But manufacturers hope you don’t know that.
Light: This word is used to describe fat content, taste, or color. If the manufacturer is describing the fat content as “light,” the product has at least 50 percent less fat than the original. The label must also say “50% less fat than our regular product.” “Light” olive oil, on the other hand, describes the oil’s color. The oil is as caloric as regular olive oil, but has been processed to remove some of its flavor. A muffin mix can say “light and fluffy” as a way to describe its texture or consistency.
Low-Fat or Fat-Free: Low-fat products must contain 3 grams or less fat per serving and fat-free products must have less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving. But check the number of calories – that number could be very high. It is easy to gain lots of weight eating fat-free cookies because they are loaded with sugar.
Low Sodium or Light In Sodium: This means that the sodium was cut by at least 50 percent over the original product. Be careful when using a “low” version of a super-high-sodium food such as soy sauce or soup. You can still end up consuming a lot of sodium. Check the numbers on the Nutrition Fact Label.
Sugar-Free, No Added Sugars, Without Added Sugars: A sugar-free chocolate candy may not contain a speck of sugar, but it’s still got plenty of fat and calories. Be sure to check out the Nutrition Facts label to know how many calories and grams of saturated fat you’re consuming.
Sweetened With Fruit Juice, Fruit Juice Sweetener, or Fruit Juice Concentrate: These sweeteners are made by reducing fruit juice (usually grape juice) into a sticky sweetener. These sweeteners are not nutritious. They are just like sugar.
“Work With What You Got!”
© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2017 All Rights Reserved
Japanese Pantry
Add these Japanese items to your pantry and you’ll reach for them again and again. Some of these items are common enough that you can find them at Whole Foods or your local health food store. Others might require a trip to an Asian grocery store or an online order. Your efforts will be richly rewarded.
Sake
You don’t need to spend a lot of money on fancy sake for cooking, but a decent bottle is tastier and more complex than cooking sake.
Kombu
This mineral rich dried kelp is what gives dishes depth. The sheets should be sturdy with fine sea salt on the outside. Look for labels that say “kombu.”
Bonito Flakes
Dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna (also known as katsuobushi) that is the yin to kombu’s yang in dishes. Quality ranges widely. You do get what you pay for here.
Rice Vinegar
Avoid seasoned rice vinegar, which has sweeteners and other additives in it. Choose a brand that lists rice and water as the only ingredients.
Miso
It encompasses a range of fermented soybean pastes, from younger fresh-tasting white to long-aged, funky red. The latter, which is mellow and sweet, is the best intro.
Mirin
Brewed from sticky rice, this cooking wine is sweeter and less alcoholic than sake. Pick one made with sugar rather than glucose or corn syrup because you can taste the difference.
Togarashi & Sansho
Make fruity togarashi chile powder your new Aleppo. Sansho, made from the husks of sansho peppercorns, lends tongue-tingling anise notes.
Short-Grain White Rice
With its pearly grains and subtle flavors, koshihikari is the crème de la crème of Japanese short-grain rice.
Usukuchi Soy
Lighter, thinner, and saltier than standard soy, usukuchi is perfect for seasoning dishes like yosenabe (hot pot) without darkening the color too much.
“Work With What You Got!”
© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2016 All Rights Reserved
Substitution Guide
|
Ingredient |
Substitution |
|
Allspice (1 tsp.) |
1/2 tsp. cinnamon + 1/4 tsp. nutmeg + 1/4 tsp. ground clove |
|
Baking Powder (1 tsp.) |
1/4 tsp. baking soda + 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar |
|
Baking Soda (1 tsp.) |
2 tsp double-acting baking powder + replace acidic liquid ingredient in recipe with non-acidic liquid |
|
Balsamic Vinegar |
Equal amount of sherry or cidar vinegar |
|
Bread Crumbs (1 cup) |
3/4 cup cracker crumbs |
|
Brown Sugar (1 cup) |
1 Tbsp. light molasses + enough sugar to fill 1 dry measure cup or 1 cup raw sugar |
|
Butter, salted (1 cup or 2 sticks) |
1 cup or 2 sticks unsalted butter + 1/4 tsp. salt or 1 cup margarine or 7/8 cup lard or vegetable shortening |
|
Buttermilk (1 cup) |
Place 1 Tbsp. white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measure. Fill to 1 cup with room temp whole or 2% milk and let stand for 5 minutes or 1 cup milk + 3/4 tsp. cream of tartar or 1 cup plain yogurt |
|
Canola, Sunflower and Vegetable Oils |
Substitute one for one |
|
Chocolate, Bittersweet or Semi-Sweet (1 oz.) |
1/2 oz. Unsweetened chocolate + 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar |
|
Cocoa Powder (3 Tbsp. Dutch-processed) |
1 oz. Unsweetened chocolate + 1/8 tsp. baking soda + reduce fat in recipe by 1 Tbsp. or 3 Tbsp. natural cocoa powder + 1/8 tsp. baking soda |
|
Corn Starch (as a thickener) |
Equal amounts of Minute Tapioca for cornstarch, use slightly less for flour |
|
Cream of Tartar (1/2 tsp.) |
1/2 tsp. white vinegar or lemon juice |
|
Egg (1 whole large egg) |
3-1/2 Tbsp. thawed frozen egg or egg substitute or 2 egg whites |
|
Garlic (1 fresh clove) |
1 tsp. Garlic Salt or 1/8 tsp. Garlic Powder or 1/4 tsp. dried minced garlic |
|
Gingerroot (1 Tbsp. minced) |
1/8 tsp. ground ginger powder or 1 Tbsp. rinsed and chopped candied ginger |
|
Half & Half (1 cup) for cooking or baking |
1-1/2 Tbsp. butter or margarine + enough milk to equal 1 cup |
|
Heavy Cream (1 cup) for cooking or baking |
3/4 cup milk + 1/3 cup butter or margarine |
|
Herbs, Fresh (1 Tbsp.) |
1 tsp. dried herbs |
|
Honey (1 cup) for cooking or baking |
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar + 1/4 cup of liquid appropriate for recipe |
|
Italian Seasoning (1 tsp.) |
1/2 tsp. dried basil + 1/4 tsp. dried oregano + 1/4 tsp. dried thyme |
|
Molasses (1 cup) |
1 cup honey or 1 cup dark corn syrup or 3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup liquid |
|
Mushrooms, fresh (1 cup sliced and cooked) |
1 can (4 oz.) mushrooms, drained |
|
Mustard, Prepared (1 Tbsp.) |
1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder + 2 tsp. white vinegar |
|
Onion (1 small minced) |
1/2 tsp. onion powder |
|
Poultry Seasoning (1 tsp.) |
1/4 tsp. ground thyme + 3/4 tsp. ground sage |
|
Pumpkin Pie Spice (1 tsp.) |
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon + 1/4 tsp. ground ginger + 1/8 tsp. allspice + 1/8 tsp. nutmeg |
|
Sour Cream (1 cup) |
1 cup plain yogurt or 1 Tbsp. lemon juice and enough evaporated milk to equal 1 cup |
|
Tomato Juice (1 cup) for cooking |
1/2 cup tomato sauce + 1/2 cup water |
|
Tomato Sauce (1 cup) for cooking |
1/2 cup tomato paste + 1/2 cup water |
|
Wine, Red (1 cup) |
1 cup nonalcoholic wine, apple cider, beef broth or water |
|
Wine, White (1 cup) |
1 cup nonalcoholic wine, white grape juice, apple juice, chicken broth or water |
|
Yogurt (1 cup) |
1 cup buttermilk or 1 Tbsp. lemon juice and enough milk to equal 1 cup or 1 cup sour cream |
"Work With What You Got!"
© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen
