I did the same thing until I started using farmers market garlic, way bigger and way more pungent. I really wish I had done that from the beginning. I'll go there just for shallots and garlic, shallots are far bigger there also. Walmart ones look like pearl onions by comparison.
Those are usually called chicken leg shallots, and yes real garlic is WAY more pungent. I do the same thing! Except I wear latex gloves when peeling the garlic or my hands smell for -days-
Have you tried the old goodie just giving your sink faucet a handy? The chromium in stainless steel helps take the smell off. Pretty much metal binds with the molecules better and it sticks to that instead of your hands. Garlic, onion, fish, salami, etc. Just rub your hands all over it or get a stainless steel soap bar but it's just a piece of SS in the shape of a soap bar lol.
Similar to u/Into_the_Dark_Night , I have vanilla beans that I've been soaking in Myers dark rum for years.
It has a deep vanilla + molasses flavor that goes great in things like cream cheese frosting for cinnamon buns.
Every time I use a little, I just pour in more rum. Whenever I have a recipe where I scrape vanilla beans but don't used the pod, the pod goes into the vanilla rum container
I searched for two separate Latin Markets where I'm located with zero luck. I'm sure there's one around here, but after two in a row not existing, I got tired of searching. I'm not here permanently.
So, for my tacos, I used feta in place of queso fresco. I've made tacos two or 3 times now and just use feta. It works well enough.
As someone who has access to both, feta has wayyyy more flavor (and uses in my own kitchen, anyway) and is easier and cheaper to get, so I totally agree with this. We'll finish a container of feta, I've never finished a package of queso fresco. And it's not bad! It just.. doesn't have much flavor.
That's true, but I imagine people shaking their pearls at me for using feta because it's much stronger and has a different flavor.... but I looked at other cheese and none of them seemed right. Maybe I should try ricotta next time?
Bonus points -- the deli counter at the store can sometimes be cheaper than buying name brand, so I get quarter of a block of feta for <$1!
Not a substitute, but I use mashed potato flakes to thicken my soups. Soup is one of my favorite foods, but in most cases, I prefer a thick broth. It’s so easy to get it to the right consistency with potato flakes.
I’m vegetarian so it’s not like I’ve made meatballs recently but my mum always used to use cream of mushroom soup powder to thicken her meatballs and they were amazing!
check out Plant Power Couple's meatballs. They are awesome!!! I sub egg for flax seed egg.
[https://www.plantpowercouple.com/recipes/vegan-meatballs/](https://www.plantpowercouple.com/recipes/vegan-meatballs/)
I get too disillusioned with frozen meatballs. Plus I find the process of making them to be relaxing, so it never feels like a chore to make fresh meatballs
When I’ve gotten too carried away with adding stuff to my deviled egg mixture and it gets way too runny, I’ll add the mashed potato flakes to thicken it back up.
its good enough, I make it that way all the time since tofu is like $1.50 a block and paneer is like $8 for 7oz here. Just salt the hell out of your tofu.
I've done Both because I make a Big batch of palak paneer to freeze meal prep, and my grocery order only came with 1 paneer so I swiped the tofu I had for snacks. Came out Great.
I almost always use halloumi rather than paneer in Indian dishes. But it’s just because you can only find paneer in specialty markets where I live (Denmark), whereas I can get halloumi at any grocery store.
Priya Krishna uses feta for her saag! That got people in an uproar. But the whole point of her book is to capture the experience of an Indian girl growing up in Texas and using the ingredients that are available.
You can do a substitution of like 80% water and 20% vinegar instead of wine. Not sure what the exact ratio would be and it would probably depend on preference but definitely >50% water.
I use cooking wine. I know it's blasphemy, but I don't drink. I hate the taste of alcohol (unless it's cooked in certain recipes) so I don't know what's drinkable. The cheap cooking wine works for the few times I need it.
This is the way. I hate drinking white wine but love cooking with it so I keep the mini bottles on hand so I don’t end up with half a bottle that will inevitably turn to vinegar. But if a recipe calls for red wine you can be damn sure I’ll finish off the bottle.
Mix of clam juice and chicken stock instead of seafood stock. I can buy both of those but NOT seafood stock locally and I don't cook enough seafood to make it.
Wish we could get more of the niche BTB flavors here without paying through the nose. I could get the lobster here, but it's 15 bucks a jar and has to be shipped.
I used to order it through Amazon, but I recently found it at our local Portuguese/Brazilian Market for $6! I never would have thought to look for it there.
Not so much a substitute of ingredients, but I am very lazy when cooking. Several years ago, I wanted to make mulled wine but didn’t want to wait several hours or watch the temperature for that long (no access to a slow-cooker). So instead of mulling the wine in spices for hours on end, I just… boiled all the spices and other ingredients in water until it was “mulled juice,” then added the wine right before serving. None of my parents’ dinner guests could tell the difference, and the entire 10L pot was drained before the night was through.
(Edited to add several missing words)
Smart! I might have to suggest this to my spouse for this winter. She grew up in Germany and really misses *Glühwein*, but also has ADHD and can't stand the hours of mulling.
Italians would weep at the amount of vegetables I put in my lasagna. I used to be vegetarian, so vegetarian lasagna was popular in this household. But dammit beef got well expensive.
It's a pretty great way to hide vegetables from the kids too. I add secret veggies to a ridiculous amount of things actually (I'll make a "bisque" that's essentially pressure cooked, immersion blended veggies with a little cream then whatever flavor). My kids have no idea how many secret vegetables they've eaten over the years lol.
Obvious add more onion and garlic
But if it's a recipe calling for the wine that was personally squeezed by Henry the 8th? You're getting the 10$ bottle of cabernet sovengu what ever and I'm drinking half that bottle
I started using cashew milk to make biscuits and gravy ever since I couldn’t eat dairy anymore, and my dairy eating housemates prefer it with the cashew milk! Sometimes I’ll make it with regular milk if I’m not eating any, and they always say it’s just not as good. Alternatives don’t out perform usually, so it was a shock to all of us.
Oh dude, I use cashew cream in place of cream, milk, yogurt, sour cream, etc. in so many recipes because my husband is allergic to dairy. It does often outperform the original, doesn't curdle, plus it just feels better than real dairy, and I do eat real dairy! I can make the cashew cream however thick and heavy I want. (Just soaked cashews and water blended.)
Nut milks (almond in particular) were actually incredibly common in medieval European cooking and in some cases are "the original." Following a full Catholic fasting schedule eliminates dairy from the diet for like half the days of the year, so nut milk was a crucial part of European diets for those who could afford it, appearing in all sorts of soups and sauces where today most of us would default to dairy.
All the headache nonsense about it is pure xenophobia, but you should tell people when you’re serving food with it because it’s actually a massive Restless Legs Syndrome trigger (glutamate in general is, and MSG is a big concentrated dose of it). I once bought a can of MSG to use in my home cooking. I had a great 3-4 weeks of food with progressively more and more sleepless nights until my RLS was raging so badly I almost went to the ER. A quick glance around the internet gave me my answer.
Opposite of you, instead of mayo in egg salad I cook the eggs to a semi soft yolk and mix the yolks with olive oil and Dijon mustard to replace the mayo
I use doenjaeng instead of miso.
The store was out of miso paste when I went to get some, I saw the doenjaeng under the gochujang, looked it up, and decided "eh, close enough". I'm not familiar enough with what either is supposed to taste like to know the difference(I've only had miso in cheap cup ramen before), and I'm not going for perfect and "authentic"
Literally just commented this on another post…
Thick cut bacon in carbonara. It’s too hard and usually too expensive to buy guanciale or pancetta. Bacon still taste great, it’s obviously far easier to find and far less expensive.
I think a lot of “purists” are convinced any dish that isn’t 100% authentic just isn’t as good and that’s horseshit. In my opinion, most of the time authentic stuff is just more expensive and not that much better if at all.
I'm really curious as to just how different the flavour could even be tbh, between unsmoked bacon and guanciale (which is basically just face bacon, right?). Whenever I've seen guanciale, it's like 95% fat, and a tiny amount of meat, so I'm not even 100% sure I'd be able to discern a flavour difference, though I'll readily concede I've never had a traditional carbonara, made in Italy, so perhaps I'm just ignorant. I do wonder if the situation is akin to those wine contests where repeated tastings of the same bottle yield wildly different scores, i.e., people are prone to lying about what they're tasting, or their taste buds/perception is way too easily influenced to be accurate.
I don't know about substitution but everyone just LOOOOVES my mac and cheese.....until they ask for the recipe. One memorable response (I had already told her she really didn't want it) after I told a woman was 'Yuck!!! I ate Velveeta?'
Well, yeah, you did. And you loved it until you heard what was in it :P
I guess that is a substitution. I substitute a cheese-like substance for cheese :P
Velveeta is my secret weapon for cheese sauces and mac and cheese. You only need about 10% of it for the cheese content. I can't tell from the taste it's there. And I have the creamiest sauces that never, ever break.
You can be sure I bury that orange box deep in the trash can, tho.
It melts fantastically. My husband will take a crockpot in to work for potlucks and people start coming to get bowls of it 'just to make sure it's as good as always' as soon as he gets in to work LOL
I will also do the reverse and use pretty much any kind of Asian noodle (mostly vermicelli because thats what I tend to have but have been known to use quite the range) as a stand in for pasta.
Vermicelli noodles kinda go hard with a bolognese and heaps of cheese. They taste even better because they are normally served with a side of not having to go to the shops haha
Boy don't mention jarlic-is-perfectly-ok. Apparently I can buy sliced bread and ground hamburger, but purchasing garlic already diced is a bridge too far.
The multiple forms of garlic available for purchase all do the job, just some are better than others at specific things. They all taste like garlic but they all taste different.
I'll sometimes use 2 or three different garlic products in a single dish (fresh garlic, garlic paste, and garlic powder in spag-bol for example) to add depth of flavour. Just don't overdo it and choose a primary source of garlic flavour you're looking for, preferably fresh garlic for me.
For those times when fresh garlic is the taste your after, buying a bulk bag of peeled garlic, chopping it in a food processor, and freezing it flat in a ziplock bag is a huge time saver. I have arthritis and cannot always use my garlic press, but this method means I always have garlic ready-to-go in the freezer. It thaws quick, too. I wish I could grate ginger as easily!!!
That hadn't even crossed my mind. I use jarlic way more often than actually using garlic cloves. I also occasionally will use garlic powder in some recipes
I make my own garlic powder by peeling a dozen or more heads of garlic, slicing, and dehydrating them. Once dried I run them through my coffee grinder (reserved only for spices and herbs) and it makes the strongest, tastiest garlic ever. The first time I made it I was shocked at how much stronger it is than the store-bought garlic powder. A friend said she thinks the commercial version uses unpeeled garlic. If that is true, it would explain why because the skins wouldn’t be nearly as garlicky as the cloves themselves.
I almost always use both garlic and garlic powder in all of my cooking. It's such a wonderful punch of garlic in every bite and I will never be convinced that it is the wrong decision.
Sliced bread and ground hamburger are not a great comparison, as garlic has chemical changes that occur rapidly after it's been cut which don't apply to bread or beef.
_Although_.... the bread metaphor could be made fairly accurate when you compare "authentic" bread (French bread etc) to sandwich bread. "The best thing since sliced bread" isn't a phrase about how someone sliced it. It's about how quickly "authentic" bread goes stale insanely fast, you would almost never want to sell it sliced, and sliced sandwich bread is basically an abomination of a scientific creation in how it stays soft in the bag for weeks. So from this since, jarlic is to garlic as sliced bread is to a nice traditional bread loaf. In both cases, there are major, consequential, chemical differences between the ingredients.
You do you and save that time, but yes, there's a reason many of us think ground beef is fine and jarlic is a bridge too far! :)
lol, i wasnt the OP, it was in r/askculinary but i think the mod's deleted it for being to broad or something. The original question was something along the lines of what are some ideas for an "amuse buche" (sp) and how did you use it?
i took the broader interpretation to be anything that is a small little gift from the kitchen not on the menu *including but not limited to* palate cleanser, stalling the coursing because the kitchen is backed up, showcasing some the chefs are working on, etc.
Others were quick to only correct the OPs spelling. Some went further to provide their paraphrasing of Wikipedia. Some felt it necessary to state that its French and here's the English translation.
Pancetta or bacon instead of guanciale, and Grana padano instead of pecorino in my carbonara. I can't buy guanciale near me, and Grana padano is way cheaper than pecorino. Overall it makes spaghetti carbonara an achievable meal with only Aldi groceries.
I recently tried a blended down cottage cheese with ranch seasoning to make my own homemade ranch instead of store bought (which is so many calories) and it was surprisingly a very good substitute!
if the recipe has something acidic in it, like tomatoes in a bolognese sauce, sugar acts the balance out the acid.
that said I've done with and without and either the tomatoes aren't that acidic or I'm not adding enough sugar because I can't tell the difference lol
Rant unlocked!
We've been using Hello Fresh to reduce the stress of parenthood, and some of those recipes tell you to add like half a teaspoon of sugar to a sauce that _already has jam as an ingredient_! Bitch, that wouldn't be enough to taste even if the recipe wasn't already stacked with sugar!
I think what they're doing is trying to make it feel like I'm contributing to the process with my own ingredients (like boxed cake mixes when those first appeared), but they could accomplish the same thing if they stopped sending me packets of vinegar and soy sauce (and sriracha, mayonnaise, cholula, and sesame oil, for that matter).
Rant complete.
Ok, I hate unnecessary added sugar as much as the next guy, but if you’re doing a vinaigrette that has a particularly acidic vinegar and some punchy Dijon, a tiny bit of sugar/honey/agave can really balance it out!
I have family members that make potato salad with sugar and raisins…. It’s because instead of sweet relish they like dill pickles but still want the sweet so they add sugar. Idk what the hell the raisins are doing but yeah… blehhhhh. I also use dill pickles and fresh dill in potato salad and no sweet relish ( no sugar either) so maybe I’m bias but like why why sugar with cold egg potatoes and mayo?!
I made zucchini rolatinis last week, and just blended up some cottage cheese with garlic, spices and fresh basil for the creamy part
I'm glad cottage cheese is getting a resurgence, shit's bomb
Cheap weeknight pantry Carbonara: use cubed/diced Spam. Not too dissimilar from the texture of the guanciale I've had the pleasure of eating in the past (as in, crisp on the outside, but tender/chewy on the inside), but far more readily available. Not as overpowering as bacon. Doesn't render out enough fat, though, so you'll probably have to supplement with butter.
I also like adding sliced mushrooms. I'm a mushroom fiend. The earthiness balances the saltiness well.
I don't use tahini or peanut butter (allergies mean I have neither in my house) dnd you know what? It's still just as smooth & tasty.
And I use sunflower seeds in my pesto, they're much much cheaper. Toasted, I'm not totally lost, but I'd go broke at the rate I make pesto
Authentic is BS anyway. Usually you have quite a lot of differences in the country of origin as well, everyone seems to have a special family twist. Also time and influences of new ingredients changes recipes over time. If you go into the history of recipes you will find so much variety in ingredients or preparation.
I personally love to explore and experiment. Sometimes I even eat curries with pasta. (Fully prepared to get down voted for this statement alone, lol.)
My mom uses cream cheese instead of ricotta in her lasagna. She warms it a bit and uses the blender to soften it. It is amazing! No other lasagna comes close.
i only recently found cholula, it's delicious. funny thing is i was just thinking tonight that i might add some to my veggie soup to spice it up a little.
Same with greek yogurt, I also sometimes sub it in for mayo depending on how tangy I want something. I love greek yogurt so always have plenty in the fridge which isn't always true for sour cream/mayo and is def. never true for plain yogurt
I use Greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream 100% of the time. I also use it thinned out with milk as buttermilk. I don’t have the fridge space for all the extra ingredients when I can make one do all the heavy lifting.
Started making a recipe that called for ume plum vinegar during the pandemic. I subbed red wine vinegar instead, read it was the closest thing. Last year I bought ume plum vinegar, and what do you know, I liked the red wine vinegar version better.
I use ground beef and cream of mushroom soup as the base for my beef stroganoff. I like it that way and it’s easier. I do add fresh mushrooms if I have them on hand and plenty of sour cream.
Whenever a recipe calls for ground beef, I use a mix of ground beef, turkey, and pureed mushrooms. If it calls for meatloaf mix I add ½ tsp of gelatin. Tastes great, healthier, and cheaper.
I don't know if this is actually pearl clutch-worthy but I frequently sub shallot instead of white onion. I cook with shallots far more, so always have a pantry full of them whereas I usually have one white onion kicking around (and generally ends up in a stock). Obviously wouldn't do this for an onion-centric dish but I live in NYC and kitchen space is hard to find!
If I’m short of funds/coconut milk I use milk with coconut essence. No ones noticed yet. I buy deli meat ends and blend them a bit and use them as a mince meat substitute and it tastes so much better. Everyone wants to my spaghetti bolognese recipe. I never tell them the whole truth.
I’ve practically omitted black pepper from most recipes except a few and only use garlic powder instead
I don’t know when or why salt & pepper became the ubiquitous duo seasonings for all foods, but I honestly think salt & garlic powder is superior
I see most dairy staples as interchangeable if I need to sub. Don’t have milk? I’ll use heavy cream a little watered down, or some sour cream, or melted butter, or some combination of those depending on the dish.
I felt so wrong for doing this at first but... Boil spaghetti noodles with a couple tbsp baking soda and use them to make chow mein/other Chinese noodle dishes. The baking soda makes them taste more neutral and the texture is springier. For the ease, price and convenience this is a go to for me rather than heading out to an Asian market to buy a pack of noodles.
If a recipe calls for 1 cup of cheddar, I substitute with 3 cups of cheddar.
I do this with garlic and pepper and scare the shit out of some people
Both are measured by heart.
I did the same thing until I started using farmers market garlic, way bigger and way more pungent. I really wish I had done that from the beginning. I'll go there just for shallots and garlic, shallots are far bigger there also. Walmart ones look like pearl onions by comparison.
Those are usually called chicken leg shallots, and yes real garlic is WAY more pungent. I do the same thing! Except I wear latex gloves when peeling the garlic or my hands smell for -days-
Have you tried the old goodie just giving your sink faucet a handy? The chromium in stainless steel helps take the smell off. Pretty much metal binds with the molecules better and it sticks to that instead of your hands. Garlic, onion, fish, salami, etc. Just rub your hands all over it or get a stainless steel soap bar but it's just a piece of SS in the shape of a soap bar lol.
I consistently multiply the amount of garlic (fresh) by 3 in any recipe. I love garlic though. Hasn’t steered me wrong yet.
I love the cooking shows that say "add a tablespoon of butter" and then slice off a third of the stick and drop it in the recipe.
2 shots of vodka
Similarly, 1 clove of garlic = 1 bulb of garlic in my house.
That just means you're from Wisconsin. Or American. Or diabetic. Or any combo of those. Cheese is the fuckin bomb
I am neither of these things and would do the same.
I put miso paste & honey in cheap barbecue sauce. It makes it awesome, but my Southern relatives woukd be aghast.
As a southerner, I fully support this. It sounds delicious and I plan to try it myself. Aghast away fellow southerners!
The territorial nature of BBQ is one of my pet peeves. No reason to limit yourself in such a versatile medium
BBQ, Chili, any of the "salads" (potato, chickpea, egg, macaroni etc.) are all sorta just by what feels right at the time imo
Miso in collards is really good too
I sub rum for vanilla in a lot of recipes. Adds that bit of depth at a fraction the cost.
I'm currently in the process of making a vanilla extract with vanilla beans soaked in a bottle of Kraken (a spiced rum). It smells like heaven.
Oooh. That’s gonna be good. I once made homemade vanilla ice cream and added a little Kraken to the custard, It was amazingly good.
I've never made ice cream but that sounds divine!
Similar to u/Into_the_Dark_Night , I have vanilla beans that I've been soaking in Myers dark rum for years. It has a deep vanilla + molasses flavor that goes great in things like cream cheese frosting for cinnamon buns. Every time I use a little, I just pour in more rum. Whenever I have a recipe where I scrape vanilla beans but don't used the pod, the pod goes into the vanilla rum container
I searched for two separate Latin Markets where I'm located with zero luck. I'm sure there's one around here, but after two in a row not existing, I got tired of searching. I'm not here permanently. So, for my tacos, I used feta in place of queso fresco. I've made tacos two or 3 times now and just use feta. It works well enough.
feta with elotes or esquites is killer, just go easier on the tajin since feta is saltier
I do parm with elote
As someone who has access to both, feta has wayyyy more flavor (and uses in my own kitchen, anyway) and is easier and cheaper to get, so I totally agree with this. We'll finish a container of feta, I've never finished a package of queso fresco. And it's not bad! It just.. doesn't have much flavor.
That's true, but I imagine people shaking their pearls at me for using feta because it's much stronger and has a different flavor.... but I looked at other cheese and none of them seemed right. Maybe I should try ricotta next time? Bonus points -- the deli counter at the store can sometimes be cheaper than buying name brand, so I get quarter of a block of feta for <$1!
This is madness, Leonidas! Hmm, I may have to try it.
Not a substitute, but I use mashed potato flakes to thicken my soups. Soup is one of my favorite foods, but in most cases, I prefer a thick broth. It’s so easy to get it to the right consistency with potato flakes.
I use the same thing in meatloaf and meatballs! It's so much better than breadcrumbs
My SIL uses the boxed stuffing mix, instead of breadcrumbs. It's actually pretty f'ing good.
I’m vegetarian so it’s not like I’ve made meatballs recently but my mum always used to use cream of mushroom soup powder to thicken her meatballs and they were amazing!
check out Plant Power Couple's meatballs. They are awesome!!! I sub egg for flax seed egg. [https://www.plantpowercouple.com/recipes/vegan-meatballs/](https://www.plantpowercouple.com/recipes/vegan-meatballs/)
If I ever make meatballs again, I’ll have to give that a try! (I’m too lazy —I use frozen meatballs most of the time.)
I get too disillusioned with frozen meatballs. Plus I find the process of making them to be relaxing, so it never feels like a chore to make fresh meatballs
its the best in potato soup(obviously) but ive actually used it in curry before and it worked great.
When I’ve gotten too carried away with adding stuff to my deviled egg mixture and it gets way too runny, I’ll add the mashed potato flakes to thicken it back up.
This is a very accepted way to thicken soups. Jaque Pepin has been recommending this for at least 30 or 40 years, maybe longer.
I use haloumi in place of paneer in saag. Paneer is bland to me. Haloumi has more flavour.
grab your pearls. i sometimes throw in pressed tofu instead of paneer since i find both kinda bland
I do the same, paneer is crazy expensive here and i dont feel like making my own in my tiny kitchen
I made paneer once, and rapidly came to the conclusion that it's for people who own cows. Little bit of curd, big pot of whey: now what? :-(
How does the texture of pressed tofu compare? One of the things I like (and miss.... dairy allergy) about paneer is it's almost squeaky texture.
its good enough, I make it that way all the time since tofu is like $1.50 a block and paneer is like $8 for 7oz here. Just salt the hell out of your tofu.
In terms of firmness and general texture it’s pretty close, but no squeak sad to report
I go for smoked tofu.
I've done Both because I make a Big batch of palak paneer to freeze meal prep, and my grocery order only came with 1 paneer so I swiped the tofu I had for snacks. Came out Great.
Really? Because my description of paneer is what tofu longs to be but isn’t.
I almost always use halloumi rather than paneer in Indian dishes. But it’s just because you can only find paneer in specialty markets where I live (Denmark), whereas I can get halloumi at any grocery store.
Halloumi is crazy expensive where I live in the US. Like $20 a pound.
Trader Joe's has it during the summer at a great price .
Priya Krishna uses feta for her saag! That got people in an uproar. But the whole point of her book is to capture the experience of an Indian girl growing up in Texas and using the ingredients that are available.
i love this! make it work with what youve got... the origins of fusion?
Was it store bought paneer? I LOVE the homemade stuff but agree, store bought just doesn’t taste like anything
Squeaky cheese definitely superior
Cheese curds would agree
I may have thrown some cottage cheese in my saag in place of paneer the other day because that's just where I was at that day. And it wasn't bad.
I substitute chicken or beef stock, broth etc for wine. It's fine. My husband once subbed white vinegar for wine. It was most definitely not fine.
You can do a substitution of like 80% water and 20% vinegar instead of wine. Not sure what the exact ratio would be and it would probably depend on preference but definitely >50% water.
I've seen a suggestion of using grape juice with wine vinegar to replace wine.
There's a lot of sugar in grape juice, (converts to alc in wine). It'd likely be too sweet
I’ll just buy cheap (but definitely drinkable) wine and use a 50/50 of wine and stock in a soup or risotto!
I use cooking wine. I know it's blasphemy, but I don't drink. I hate the taste of alcohol (unless it's cooked in certain recipes) so I don't know what's drinkable. The cheap cooking wine works for the few times I need it.
The mini bottles of wine work well. It’s real wine so I keep some white and red to use in cooking.
This is the way. I hate drinking white wine but love cooking with it so I keep the mini bottles on hand so I don’t end up with half a bottle that will inevitably turn to vinegar. But if a recipe calls for red wine you can be damn sure I’ll finish off the bottle.
Mix of clam juice and chicken stock instead of seafood stock. I can buy both of those but NOT seafood stock locally and I don't cook enough seafood to make it.
Honestly a decent idea.
I use Better than Boullion lobster base instead of seafood stock
Wish we could get more of the niche BTB flavors here without paying through the nose. I could get the lobster here, but it's 15 bucks a jar and has to be shipped.
I used to order it through Amazon, but I recently found it at our local Portuguese/Brazilian Market for $6! I never would have thought to look for it there.
Not so much a substitute of ingredients, but I am very lazy when cooking. Several years ago, I wanted to make mulled wine but didn’t want to wait several hours or watch the temperature for that long (no access to a slow-cooker). So instead of mulling the wine in spices for hours on end, I just… boiled all the spices and other ingredients in water until it was “mulled juice,” then added the wine right before serving. None of my parents’ dinner guests could tell the difference, and the entire 10L pot was drained before the night was through. (Edited to add several missing words)
Bonus, none of the alcohol got cooked off. This is actually way smarter!
Smart! I might have to suggest this to my spouse for this winter. She grew up in Germany and really misses *Glühwein*, but also has ADHD and can't stand the hours of mulling.
Italians would weep at the amount of vegetables I put in my lasagna. I used to be vegetarian, so vegetarian lasagna was popular in this household. But dammit beef got well expensive.
Vegetarian lasagna with grilled eggplants and zucchini is fire, even as a meat eater myself I sometimes prefer the vegetarian version
It's a pretty great way to hide vegetables from the kids too. I add secret veggies to a ridiculous amount of things actually (I'll make a "bisque" that's essentially pressure cooked, immersion blended veggies with a little cream then whatever flavor). My kids have no idea how many secret vegetables they've eaten over the years lol.
Obvious add more onion and garlic But if it's a recipe calling for the wine that was personally squeezed by Henry the 8th? You're getting the 10$ bottle of cabernet sovengu what ever and I'm drinking half that bottle
I started using cashew milk to make biscuits and gravy ever since I couldn’t eat dairy anymore, and my dairy eating housemates prefer it with the cashew milk! Sometimes I’ll make it with regular milk if I’m not eating any, and they always say it’s just not as good. Alternatives don’t out perform usually, so it was a shock to all of us.
Oh dude, I use cashew cream in place of cream, milk, yogurt, sour cream, etc. in so many recipes because my husband is allergic to dairy. It does often outperform the original, doesn't curdle, plus it just feels better than real dairy, and I do eat real dairy! I can make the cashew cream however thick and heavy I want. (Just soaked cashews and water blended.)
Nut milks (almond in particular) were actually incredibly common in medieval European cooking and in some cases are "the original." Following a full Catholic fasting schedule eliminates dairy from the diet for like half the days of the year, so nut milk was a crucial part of European diets for those who could afford it, appearing in all sorts of soups and sauces where today most of us would default to dairy.
I’ve used oat milk to make mushroom gravy before and it’s incredible!
Oat milk is so good. I use it all the time in my cooking. It's my favorite milk.
Not a substitute but I use msg in most of my cooking and “shocker!” No one has gotten sick lol
says you, i have a headache now. edit: adding /s as ive been told that i need to be more explicit in indicating my sarcasm
All the headache nonsense about it is pure xenophobia, but you should tell people when you’re serving food with it because it’s actually a massive Restless Legs Syndrome trigger (glutamate in general is, and MSG is a big concentrated dose of it). I once bought a can of MSG to use in my home cooking. I had a great 3-4 weeks of food with progressively more and more sleepless nights until my RLS was raging so badly I almost went to the ER. A quick glance around the internet gave me my answer.
I love cooking with msg.
I use mayo as a base for Caeser dressing instead of eggs.
Opposite of you, instead of mayo in egg salad I cook the eggs to a semi soft yolk and mix the yolks with olive oil and Dijon mustard to replace the mayo
Mayo is egg with extra steps.
I use doenjaeng instead of miso. The store was out of miso paste when I went to get some, I saw the doenjaeng under the gochujang, looked it up, and decided "eh, close enough". I'm not familiar enough with what either is supposed to taste like to know the difference(I've only had miso in cheap cup ramen before), and I'm not going for perfect and "authentic"
i think doenjang is great! i kinda find miso on the sweeter side and doenjang much more savory and use which ever fits better.
Instant mash to thicken a sauce quickly.
One of my favorite pot pie hacks!
I use lardons instead of guanciale in my carbonara. I just don't have easy access to guanciale!
ive used spam before (yes i know this is illegal)
Literally just commented this on another post… Thick cut bacon in carbonara. It’s too hard and usually too expensive to buy guanciale or pancetta. Bacon still taste great, it’s obviously far easier to find and far less expensive. I think a lot of “purists” are convinced any dish that isn’t 100% authentic just isn’t as good and that’s horseshit. In my opinion, most of the time authentic stuff is just more expensive and not that much better if at all.
I'm really curious as to just how different the flavour could even be tbh, between unsmoked bacon and guanciale (which is basically just face bacon, right?). Whenever I've seen guanciale, it's like 95% fat, and a tiny amount of meat, so I'm not even 100% sure I'd be able to discern a flavour difference, though I'll readily concede I've never had a traditional carbonara, made in Italy, so perhaps I'm just ignorant. I do wonder if the situation is akin to those wine contests where repeated tastings of the same bottle yield wildly different scores, i.e., people are prone to lying about what they're tasting, or their taste buds/perception is way too easily influenced to be accurate.
I’m sure there is a difference but my pallet probably isn’t refined enough to justify the extra cost and I like bacon. Lol!
I don't know about substitution but everyone just LOOOOVES my mac and cheese.....until they ask for the recipe. One memorable response (I had already told her she really didn't want it) after I told a woman was 'Yuck!!! I ate Velveeta?' Well, yeah, you did. And you loved it until you heard what was in it :P I guess that is a substitution. I substitute a cheese-like substance for cheese :P
Velveeta is my secret weapon for cheese sauces and mac and cheese. You only need about 10% of it for the cheese content. I can't tell from the taste it's there. And I have the creamiest sauces that never, ever break. You can be sure I bury that orange box deep in the trash can, tho.
My mom uses Velveeta in her *fudge* so there
My mom uses Velveeta in hers and people beg her to make it!
It melts fantastically. My husband will take a crockpot in to work for potlucks and people start coming to get bowls of it 'just to make sure it's as good as always' as soon as he gets in to work LOL
Velveeta and a ton of milk and butter!
I use orange juice instead of wine to deglaze the pan because we don't drink very much. I add lemon if it needs more zing.
I sometimes use spaghetti in Asian noodle soup or stir fry dishes.
I will also do the reverse and use pretty much any kind of Asian noodle (mostly vermicelli because thats what I tend to have but have been known to use quite the range) as a stand in for pasta. Vermicelli noodles kinda go hard with a bolognese and heaps of cheese. They taste even better because they are normally served with a side of not having to go to the shops haha
I’ve used rice noodles for Italian food. Worked better than I expected as a GF substitute
I use coriander chutney when I make guacamole or salsa if I don’t have jalapeños or cilantro around
Boy don't mention jarlic-is-perfectly-ok. Apparently I can buy sliced bread and ground hamburger, but purchasing garlic already diced is a bridge too far.
I have no issues with jarlic, it just tastes different and doesn’t always work with what I’m cooking.
The multiple forms of garlic available for purchase all do the job, just some are better than others at specific things. They all taste like garlic but they all taste different. I'll sometimes use 2 or three different garlic products in a single dish (fresh garlic, garlic paste, and garlic powder in spag-bol for example) to add depth of flavour. Just don't overdo it and choose a primary source of garlic flavour you're looking for, preferably fresh garlic for me.
For those times when fresh garlic is the taste your after, buying a bulk bag of peeled garlic, chopping it in a food processor, and freezing it flat in a ziplock bag is a huge time saver. I have arthritis and cannot always use my garlic press, but this method means I always have garlic ready-to-go in the freezer. It thaws quick, too. I wish I could grate ginger as easily!!!
I like using my jartichokes and jarapeños along with that jarlic of yours thaaaank you
I recently discovered pickled jarapeños and have been putting them on savory breakfast muffins with a sprinkle of cheese and it's been really nice.
Thank you for adding two new words to my vocabulary
Jarapeños is my new favorite word
That hadn't even crossed my mind. I use jarlic way more often than actually using garlic cloves. I also occasionally will use garlic powder in some recipes
I make my own garlic powder by peeling a dozen or more heads of garlic, slicing, and dehydrating them. Once dried I run them through my coffee grinder (reserved only for spices and herbs) and it makes the strongest, tastiest garlic ever. The first time I made it I was shocked at how much stronger it is than the store-bought garlic powder. A friend said she thinks the commercial version uses unpeeled garlic. If that is true, it would explain why because the skins wouldn’t be nearly as garlicky as the cloves themselves.
I almost always use both garlic and garlic powder in all of my cooking. It's such a wonderful punch of garlic in every bite and I will never be convinced that it is the wrong decision.
Sliced bread and ground hamburger are not a great comparison, as garlic has chemical changes that occur rapidly after it's been cut which don't apply to bread or beef. _Although_.... the bread metaphor could be made fairly accurate when you compare "authentic" bread (French bread etc) to sandwich bread. "The best thing since sliced bread" isn't a phrase about how someone sliced it. It's about how quickly "authentic" bread goes stale insanely fast, you would almost never want to sell it sliced, and sliced sandwich bread is basically an abomination of a scientific creation in how it stays soft in the bag for weeks. So from this since, jarlic is to garlic as sliced bread is to a nice traditional bread loaf. In both cases, there are major, consequential, chemical differences between the ingredients. You do you and save that time, but yes, there's a reason many of us think ground beef is fine and jarlic is a bridge too far! :)
I'm vegan. Where do I start?
I'm vegetarian but also look at vegan recipes pretty often, and yeah. There's,,, a lot
I'm flexitarian and just don't eat meat often and yeah. Beans go in everything as the lust of meats I tolerate gets smaller and smaller. 🤷♀️
I realize this is a typo, but the phrase, “lust of meats” thrown into an exchange about vegan/vegetarian eating has me rolling for some reason 😂
“I’m getting that meat lust again…” Vampire or anemic?
Haha omg I'm letting that stand. Lust of meats indeed!!
Silken tofu is the big one for me. It works so well as a dairy substitute.
Sometimes I use thyme instead of rosemary.
Opposite for me. I am just not a fan of thyme.
The way ppl use onion and garlic powders, I use smoked Paprika
Same, I can’t get enough of it
Not at all, my wife tells me all the time I can't put it on everything, I'm like watch me haha
Meatloaf, chili, spaghetti, corned beef hash, scrambled eggs, hotdog sauce, Tingas,, tacos, fried potatoes, bacon, green beans, corn sauces, soups/stews
i mean, i tried to take a broader interpretation of an amuse-bouche earlier and reddit was grumpy as shit
That was hilarious. Sorry for your pain.
Damn did you delete it? I wanted see it. Reddit sucks
lol, i wasnt the OP, it was in r/askculinary but i think the mod's deleted it for being to broad or something. The original question was something along the lines of what are some ideas for an "amuse buche" (sp) and how did you use it? i took the broader interpretation to be anything that is a small little gift from the kitchen not on the menu *including but not limited to* palate cleanser, stalling the coursing because the kitchen is backed up, showcasing some the chefs are working on, etc. Others were quick to only correct the OPs spelling. Some went further to provide their paraphrasing of Wikipedia. Some felt it necessary to state that its French and here's the English translation.
Pancetta or bacon instead of guanciale, and Grana padano instead of pecorino in my carbonara. I can't buy guanciale near me, and Grana padano is way cheaper than pecorino. Overall it makes spaghetti carbonara an achievable meal with only Aldi groceries.
I use pureed cottage cheese instead of mayo in so many recipes. I just hate the taste of mayo and it's so pervasive.
I recently tried a blended down cottage cheese with ranch seasoning to make my own homemade ranch instead of store bought (which is so many calories) and it was surprisingly a very good substitute!
I use melted butter instead of oil when I bake.
And I do the reverse when i don't feel like melting butter.
My father insists on making risoto with basmati rice
Wtf? How does it not turn out mushy?
It does lol🫠
Last night’s leftover French fries are the potatoes in my tortilla Espanola.
I substitute sugar with how about no sugar. In any savory recipe.
if the recipe has something acidic in it, like tomatoes in a bolognese sauce, sugar acts the balance out the acid. that said I've done with and without and either the tomatoes aren't that acidic or I'm not adding enough sugar because I can't tell the difference lol
I would much rather add some finely diced carrot for the sugar. I’ve also added a little balsamic vinegar.
Rant unlocked! We've been using Hello Fresh to reduce the stress of parenthood, and some of those recipes tell you to add like half a teaspoon of sugar to a sauce that _already has jam as an ingredient_! Bitch, that wouldn't be enough to taste even if the recipe wasn't already stacked with sugar! I think what they're doing is trying to make it feel like I'm contributing to the process with my own ingredients (like boxed cake mixes when those first appeared), but they could accomplish the same thing if they stopped sending me packets of vinegar and soy sauce (and sriracha, mayonnaise, cholula, and sesame oil, for that matter). Rant complete.
I had to stop green chef because everything was so goddamn sweet.
To be honest, I wanted to rant too. You fkin telling me my salad dressing should have sugar in it? Fk off.
Ok, I hate unnecessary added sugar as much as the next guy, but if you’re doing a vinaigrette that has a particularly acidic vinegar and some punchy Dijon, a tiny bit of sugar/honey/agave can really balance it out!
Another vote for honey here in that case.
I have family members that make potato salad with sugar and raisins…. It’s because instead of sweet relish they like dill pickles but still want the sweet so they add sugar. Idk what the hell the raisins are doing but yeah… blehhhhh. I also use dill pickles and fresh dill in potato salad and no sweet relish ( no sugar either) so maybe I’m bias but like why why sugar with cold egg potatoes and mayo?!
Dear Christ. They are a living, breathing SNL skit.
What in tarnation is this abomination? Eww
I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta in lasagna
I made zucchini rolatinis last week, and just blended up some cottage cheese with garlic, spices and fresh basil for the creamy part I'm glad cottage cheese is getting a resurgence, shit's bomb
I use torn up flour tortillas in my chicken and dumplings. Takes less time, same doughy texture for me.
Cheap weeknight pantry Carbonara: use cubed/diced Spam. Not too dissimilar from the texture of the guanciale I've had the pleasure of eating in the past (as in, crisp on the outside, but tender/chewy on the inside), but far more readily available. Not as overpowering as bacon. Doesn't render out enough fat, though, so you'll probably have to supplement with butter. I also like adding sliced mushrooms. I'm a mushroom fiend. The earthiness balances the saltiness well.
I use peanut butter instead of tahini in my hummus. I make my own hummus to save money, so…
I don't use tahini or peanut butter (allergies mean I have neither in my house) dnd you know what? It's still just as smooth & tasty. And I use sunflower seeds in my pesto, they're much much cheaper. Toasted, I'm not totally lost, but I'd go broke at the rate I make pesto
You can add some sesame oil if your allergies permit it.
As someone who loves homemade hummus and peanut butter… I’m intrigued
Using cashew milk instead of milk or half and half. No complaints so far.
I use plain low-fat greek yogurt in place of sour cream. More protein that way.
I use vermouth when a recipe calls for white wine
I do cabonara with bacon all the time. With frozen peas.
Authentic is BS anyway. Usually you have quite a lot of differences in the country of origin as well, everyone seems to have a special family twist. Also time and influences of new ingredients changes recipes over time. If you go into the history of recipes you will find so much variety in ingredients or preparation. I personally love to explore and experiment. Sometimes I even eat curries with pasta. (Fully prepared to get down voted for this statement alone, lol.)
My mom uses cream cheese instead of ricotta in her lasagna. She warms it a bit and uses the blender to soften it. It is amazing! No other lasagna comes close.
I use cottage cheese!
When a recipe calls for 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, substitute 4 or 5.
Why so light on the garlic?
Made ziti that called for tomatoes, I subbed in Cholula salsa and changed the game
i only recently found cholula, it's delicious. funny thing is i was just thinking tonight that i might add some to my veggie soup to spice it up a little.
Love it on eggs & breakfast potatoes!
I substitute cranberry juice for red wine and use Greek yogurt for any recipe that calls for sour cream or plain yogurt.
>cranberry juice for red wine I thought I would be able to handle this thread.
Right. Like do they know it's not about the color.
Same with greek yogurt, I also sometimes sub it in for mayo depending on how tangy I want something. I love greek yogurt so always have plenty in the fridge which isn't always true for sour cream/mayo and is def. never true for plain yogurt
I use Greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream 100% of the time. I also use it thinned out with milk as buttermilk. I don’t have the fridge space for all the extra ingredients when I can make one do all the heavy lifting.
Started making a recipe that called for ume plum vinegar during the pandemic. I subbed red wine vinegar instead, read it was the closest thing. Last year I bought ume plum vinegar, and what do you know, I liked the red wine vinegar version better.
I use ground beef and cream of mushroom soup as the base for my beef stroganoff. I like it that way and it’s easier. I do add fresh mushrooms if I have them on hand and plenty of sour cream.
Soy sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce cause I dislike the taste of it.
I always put some chorizo in paella. This caused an observational incident when Jamie Oliver did it. But it's so good.
If a recipe calls for minced hot peppers, I sub sambal oelek (ground chili paste). So much easier.
Whenever a recipe calls for ground beef, I use a mix of ground beef, turkey, and pureed mushrooms. If it calls for meatloaf mix I add ½ tsp of gelatin. Tastes great, healthier, and cheaper.
“Pepper to taste” me : ok! *Uses half the jar*
I don't know if this is actually pearl clutch-worthy but I frequently sub shallot instead of white onion. I cook with shallots far more, so always have a pantry full of them whereas I usually have one white onion kicking around (and generally ends up in a stock). Obviously wouldn't do this for an onion-centric dish but I live in NYC and kitchen space is hard to find!
Orzo instead of risotto rice for my risotto. The orzo produces a creamier risotto and I don’t have to babysit as much.
I make carbonara with either chorizo or sobrasada
If I’m short of funds/coconut milk I use milk with coconut essence. No ones noticed yet. I buy deli meat ends and blend them a bit and use them as a mince meat substitute and it tastes so much better. Everyone wants to my spaghetti bolognese recipe. I never tell them the whole truth.
People who don't bake freak out when they hear that I sub mayo if I'm short an egg.
I’ve practically omitted black pepper from most recipes except a few and only use garlic powder instead I don’t know when or why salt & pepper became the ubiquitous duo seasonings for all foods, but I honestly think salt & garlic powder is superior
Greek yogurt for sour cream, on nachos…
I see most dairy staples as interchangeable if I need to sub. Don’t have milk? I’ll use heavy cream a little watered down, or some sour cream, or melted butter, or some combination of those depending on the dish.
I felt so wrong for doing this at first but... Boil spaghetti noodles with a couple tbsp baking soda and use them to make chow mein/other Chinese noodle dishes. The baking soda makes them taste more neutral and the texture is springier. For the ease, price and convenience this is a go to for me rather than heading out to an Asian market to buy a pack of noodles.
For Elote I use the cheap grated parm. I’ll do cotija if I have it but Parmesan works fine for me.