Top 10 Substitutions Every Cook Should Know

The worse thing that can happen while cooking is realizing you are missing one of the ingredients.  I’ve noticed I realize I am missing something after I have already gone to the store or after I have already started cooking and can’t take a break to run to the store.  Listed below are some common substitutions that everyone should know, or keep a list of in their kitchen.

1.      Bread Crumbs- if you need bread crumbs but do not have them you can use cracker crumbs or ground oats.  If you are supposed to have seasoned bread crumbs mix a about a teaspoon of dried spices to the cracker crumbs or ground oats.  Use the same amount of cracker crumbs or grounds oats that the recipe calls for of bread crumbs.

2.      Sour cream- if your recipe calls for sour cream but you don’t have any, you can use plain yogurt.

3.      Chicken or Beef Broth- if you don’t have chicken or beef broth you can use 1 bouillon cup mixed with one cup of boiling water.  Another option is to add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to water.  Or, you can just use vegetable broth.

4.      Butter- if you don’t have butter you can use the same amount needed of margarine.  Or you can use 1 cup of shortening with ½ teaspoon salt.

5.      Unsalted Butter- a great substation for unsalted butter is 1 cup of shortening.  Or you can use 7/8 cup vegetable oil to equal 1 cup of unsalted butter.

6.      Egg- a substitution for 1 egg could be 3 tablespoon of mayonnaise.  You can also use ½ of a banana mashed with ½ tsp baking powder.

7.      Fresh Herbs- if you don’t have fresh herbs, dried herbs work just fine.  You won’t need as much as what the recipe calls for.  If the recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs, only use 1teaspoon of dried herbs.

8.      Lemon Juice- a substitute for lemon juice would be ½ teaspoon vinegar, but only use half of what the recipe calls for.  You can also use white wine or lime juice. For white wine and lime juice you can use the same amount the recipe calls for of lemon juice.

9.      Onion- if you don’t have onion, you can use green onions or shallots.  Another option is to use  ¼ cup of dried minced onion or ¼ cup onion powder per 1 cup of chopped onion required.

10.  Wine- if you need a substitute for wine chicken or beef broth work great. Use the same amount you would use of wine.  Another substitute is fruit juice mixed with 2 teaspoons vinegar.  Use the same amount of fruit juice as you would wine.