Ingredient Substitutions
We have all had times when we needed to substitute an ingredient for another either out of necessity or preference. Just recently, I found myself trying to figure out substitution possibilities and amounts for a dessert recipe I was making and I thought I’d document my findings. This is as much for me to refer back to as it is for you, reader, to use as a guide. The substitutions below are partly from my own experience and partly from this resourceful book.
Ingredient Substitution Chart
Baking
| Allspice | Ground cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, to taste |
| 1 teaspoon baking powder | ½ teaspoon cream of tartar + ¼ teaspoon baking soda |
| 1 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate | 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa + 1 tablespoon butter or margarine |
| ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips | ¼ cup cocoa powder |
| 1 tablespoon cornstarch, for thickening | 1 tablespoon potato or arrowroot starchor
2 tablespoon AP flour or tapioca starch or 2 eggs
|
| 1 egg, for baking | ½ mashed bananaor
1/3 cup applesauce
|
| 1 cup AP flour | ¾ cup whole wheat flouror
1 cup + 2 tablespoons cake flour
|
| 1 cup brown or white rice flour | 1 cup cake flouror
1 cup minus 1 tablespoon AP flour
|
| 1 cup self-rising flour | 1 cup AP flour + ¼ teaspoon baking powder |
| 1 tablespoon gelatin | 2 teaspoons agar-agar |
| 1 tablespoon oil | 1 ¼ tablespoons butter |
| 1 cup semolina | 1 cup cream of wheat, masa harina or cornmeal |
| 1 cup white sugar | 2/3 cup agave syrup or honey |
| 1 cup brown sugar | 1 cup white sugar or1 cup white sugar + 2 tablespoons molasses (for stronger taste) |
| 1 cup light corn syrup | 1 ¼ cups sugar + 1/3 cup water, boiled down to 1 cup |
| ½ cup peanut butter | ½ cup tahini or almond butter |
| 1 teaspoon orange blossom water | 1 teaspoon rose wateror ½ teaspoon rose extract |
| 1 vanilla bean | 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract |
Cooking
| 1 garlic clove | ¼ teaspoon garlic powder or garlic juiceor
½ teaspoon chopped garlic |
| 1 teaspoon harissa | 1 teaspoon Sriracha or Tabasco sauce |
| ¼ cup Italian seasoning | 1 tablespoon oregano + 1 tablespoon thyme + 1 tablespoon basil + 1 tablespoon parsley |
| 1 tablespoon minced onion | 1 teaspoon onion powder |
| 1 preserved lemon | 1 tablespoon lemon juice + 1 teaspoon lemon zest + ¼ teaspoon salt |
| Ras el hanout | Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, turmeric, nutmeg, cayenne, pepper, cardamom and mace, to taste |
| 1/8 teaspoon saffron, for color | 1/4 teaspoon turmeric or annatto powder |
| ½ teaspoon smen | 1 tablespoon clarified butter or ghee + 1/8 teaspoon salt + 1/8 teaspoon crushed dried oregano |
| 1 tablespoon sumac | 1 teaspoon lemon zest + paprika for color |
Dairy
| 1 cup buttermilk | 1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar. Let stand 5 minutes before using. |
| 1 cup crème fraîche | ½ cup sour cream + ½ cup heavy cream |
| 1 cup evaporated milk | 1 cup half and half or light cream |
| 1 cup half and half | ½ cup heavy cream + half a cup milk |
| 1 cup yogurt, for baking | 1 cup buttermilk, sour cream, blended cottage cheese, or applesauce |
Posted in How-To
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Lael Hazan @educatedpalate — 04/24/2012 @ 5:50 am
Fascinating. I had no idea about some of the substitutions. Thank you for a most informative post.
Gaz — 04/24/2012 @ 7:21 am
Thanks for the tips Nisrine! Another one to add: asafoetida is a good substitute for onions and garlic. It’s used a lot in South Asian cooking. Smells awful when raw but once cooked the smell disappears.
Judy@Savoring Today — 04/24/2012 @ 8:51 am
Great, unique list, will be sure to pass it along and reference from time to time.
Eha — 04/24/2012 @ 6:43 pm
This is going to be pinned up inside my kitchen cupboard: I knew some, but not a whole lot of the others! How wonderfully useful :) !
stephanie gagne — 04/25/2012 @ 11:21 am
Merci beaucoup Nisrine ! ca va surement m’etre utile.
Nisrine — 04/25/2012 @ 6:12 pm
Gaz, I can’t wait to try asafoetida.
Nisrine — 04/25/2012 @ 6:13 pm
Stephanie, je vous en prie.
Naz — 04/26/2012 @ 7:18 pm
Hi, how can I print this out as I can’t see any icon for printing?
Nisrine — 04/27/2012 @ 4:09 am
Naz, simply highlight what you want to print and click on “print selection”.
Naz — 05/13/2012 @ 8:25 pm
Hi Nisrine, It worked. Thanks heaps :)
maryanne — 11/04/2012 @ 5:55 pm
Interesting sub for smen. I must break down and just buy smen, but I keep hoping to get to Morocco. I was just in Egypt (2 days off a HAL cruise). At least I got the hotel chef to prepare something somewhat Egyptian-moulekiya!
I look fwd to trying some of your recipes. I began cooking some Moroccan from Paula W’s first book in the mid70′s and have been hooked every since. Actually I fell in love with the Moroccan flavours as a student in Paris many moons ago.
My son-in-law’s mum makes her own phylo and borek dough! Hummm, haven’t made bastiya in awhile……..no pigeon available so I use Cornish Game Hen.
Jamie Chappell — 02/04/2013 @ 12:17 pm
What a fabulous list! Saving it for future use.