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Find The Ingredients You Are Looking For Are Just Not There
by Thomas Jorgensen
Even the most accomplished and well organized cooks sometimes go to the cupboard and
find that whatever they needed desperately and immediately is not there. Some of us live close to a
grocery store and we can nip out, whilst for others it can be quite a challenge. Below are a few very
common ingredients for which there are substitutes.
For instance:
instead of 1 teaspoon of baking powder you could use 1 quarter of a teaspoon of baking soda plus 5/8 of a teaspoon of cream of tartar,
or, alternatively, 1/4 of a teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 cup of buttermilk.
1 cup of butter can be replaced by 7/8 of a cup of shortening or 1 cup of margarine. But remember that oil can rarely replace
butter, particularly when baking.
When it comes to sugar it's easier to just keep white and molasses in stock rather than having to worry about light brown and dark brown
varieties:
If you need a cup of light brown sugar, you can use 1 cup of white sugar with a teaspoon of molasses
For dark brown use 1 cup of white sugar and a tablespoon of molasses.
If you are out of white sugar you could use 1 3/4 of a cup of powdered (confectioners') sugar or 1 cup of packed brown sugar
If you need a sweet liquid like corn syrup you can substitute it with 1 cup of sugar plus a 1/4 of a cup of liquid or honey.
If you need chocolate:
1 ounce is the same as 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa and 1 tablespoon of fat.
More:
For 1 tablespoon of cornstarch you could use two tablespoons of flour
1 tablespoon of flour (for thickening) could be replaced by 1/2 a tablespoon of cornstarch
instead of one cup sifted flour (for cooking) you could use 1 1/2 cups of bread crumbs or 1 cup of rolled oats
1 cup of shortening makes the same as 1 cup and 2 tablespoons butter or margarine.
Spices are a common addition when cooking to add flavor.
Cooks who love to experiment and season their food regularly can run out of their favorite spices quite often.
There are some quick substitutes you can use to bring out the tastes you want:
For 1 clove of garlic you can substitute 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 clove of garlic can be substituted with 1 teaspoon of chopped garlic
1 teaspoon of dry mustard can be replaced with 1 tablespoon of prepared mustard
1 tablespoon of onion powder can be substituted with 1 medium chopped onion and
1 tablespoon of onion powder also equals 4 tablespoons of fresh chopped onion.
Remember that some of the best recipes around have been 'cooked' up by people desperately trying to cover their tracks;
so the advice would be 'be bold, be daring, but use your initiative!
About the Author:
Thomas Jorgensen is the owner of
www.cookingflair.com
a premier resource for cooking information on the Internet. Please visit for more information following this article.
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Find The Ingredients You Are Looking For Are Just Not There
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