The Food Substitutions Bible: More than 5,000 Substitutions for Ingredients, Equipment and Techniques - Softcover

Joachim, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0778801195 ISBN 13: 9780778801191

Publisher: Robert Rose, 2005

Synopsis

The best and most complete substitutions guide, by the author of A Man, A Can, A Plan.

Some of the greatest cooking discoveries are the result of creatively substituting one ingredient, one piece of equipment, or one cooking technique for another.

The Food Substitutions Bible compiles all types of substitutions into one comprehensive, easy-to-use handbook. Simply organized from A to Z, its 1,500 entries have more than 5,000 substitutions. This reference covers:

• Common cooking measure equivalents
• Metric conversion tables
• International equivalency tables for temperature, weight and volume
• Emergency substitutions
• Time-saving substitutions
• Healthy substitutions
• Alternatives for hard-to-find and ethnic ingredients
• Alternatives for vegetarians
• Innovative ideas for varying the flavor of a dish in countless ways

Every substitution includes instructions with exact proportions for accurate, reliable replacements. When multiple substitutions are given within an entry, they are organized into categories for quick reference. Some of these include: If You Don't Have It, To Vary the Flavor, To Save Time, and For Better Health. The book also has an appendix with handy reference charts.

The Food Substitutions Bible is the most authoritative, comprehensive and easy-to-use book on substitutions ever published.

About this title

About the Author:

David Joachim has authored or edited more than 25 cookbooks. His book A Man, A Can, A Plan has sold more than 800,000 copies. He lives in Pennsylvania.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Introduction

Ain't nothing like the real thing, Baby
Ain't nothing like the real thing

Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing

Substitute me for him
Substitute my coke for gin
Substitute you for my mum
At least I'll get my washing done

The Who, Substitute

Both of the songs quoted above summarize my general philosophy of cooking. The lyrics of the first song make an impassioned plea to accept no substitutes, while the second song essentially says, "do whatever works."

When it comes to cooking, I truly believe that there "ain't nothing like the real thing." For instance, nothing tastes or acts quite like butter in cooking. But I am also a realist. I know from experience that sometimes you just have to get by with a substitute. Most cooks have, at one time or another, been in the middle of making a meal or special dish and found that they have run out of a key ingredient or don't have that special pan called for in the recipe. Other times, cooks simply want to create a different flavor or texture by experimenting with something new and exciting.

The answer to these dilemmas? Substitute.

Some of the greatest cooking discoveries have been and continue to be made by substituting one ingredient for another, one piece of equipment for another, or one cooking technique for another. Thousands of years ago, when our ancestors experimented with cooking food in clay pots rather than directly over an open flame, they opened the door to a slew of new moist-heat cooking methods, such as boiling, blanching, poaching, stewing, and steaming. Today, innovative cooks make all kinds of substitutions to suit their preferences. Those who like the taste of deep-fried food but don't care for the extra calories may turn to oven-frying, a lower-fat technique that simulates deep-frying by lightly coating the food in oil then baking it in a very hot oven. Other cooks improvise in a pinch by using whatever they have on hand. They substitute vinegar for lemon juice, oil for butter, and hot sauce for ground red chile peppers. Don't have the mirin called for in the recipe? Use a mixture of sherry and sugar instead. Can't find your fondue pot? Use a heavy stoneware dish set on a warming tray or a heating pad. Cooks make these sorts of last-minute adjustments all the time. Whether you change your ingredients, equipment, or techniques, substituting is a matter of tailoring your cooking to meet your immediate needs.

This book compiles a wide range of substitutions into one comprehensive, easy-to-use guide organized from A to Z. Beginning with Abalone and ending with Zwieback, it offers alternative ingredients, equipment, and techniques, including emergency substitutions, time-saving substitutions, healthy substitutions, alternatives for hard-to-find ingredients, alternatives for vegetarians, and ideas for varying the flavor of a dish in countless ways.

Many of the substitutions yield results that are remarkably similar to those you would achieve with the "real thing." For instance, 1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 mL) baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt makes a very close approximation of 1 cup (250 mL) store-bought self-rising flour. For those seeking a less-rich alternative to whipped cream, evaporated milk whips up surprisingly well and makes a creamy, lower-fat substitute that you can dollop onto your favorite desserts.

Other substitutions in the book are not intended to imitate the original item. Instead, they are meant to inspire creativity or stimulate experimentation in the kitchen. For example, replacing apple butter with pumpkin butter will not approximate the original. But it may provide a flavor variation that takes your recipe where you want it to go.

Just keep this cardinal rule in mind: Substitutes will always produce slightly different results. Sometimes the results will be fabulous. Sometimes they may be even closer to what you are going for (if you are experimenting). No matter what you anticipate, expect the results to be at least slightly different when substituting one ingredient, piece of equipment, or technique for another. For instance, using all-purpose flour instead of cornstarch as a thickener produces a slightly coarser, fluffier texture and faintly wheat-like, somewhat earthy flavor. Cornstarch produces a finer, smoother texture and an ever-so-slightly sweet flavor.

Keep in mind, too, that food and cooking are subject to myriad minute variables of time and temperature; ingredient and equipment type, quality, age, and handling; and, of course, user skill level. Whenever you alter one of these variables by substituting, the results, however microscopic, are bound to be different. The fact is that in the ever-changing world of food production, there are few absolutes. And these are mostly mathematical equivalents. For example, 3 teaspoons (15 mL) will always equal 1 tablespoon (15 mL). But, believe it or not, many other mathematical measurements change, depending upon variables such as time, temperature, ingredients, cooking technique and even location. For instance, the boiling point of water is 212°F (100°C), right? Well, that's only at sea level. Go up 5,000 feet (1,525 meters) and water actually boils at about 203°F (95°C) because there is less atmospheric pressure on the surface of the water as it heats. Cooks who bake cookies and cakes at such elevation often increase their oven temperature by 25°F (14°C) and slightly reduce cooking times. The higher oven temperature helps batters and doughs set before the leavening gases overexpand as a result of the thin, dry air at that altitude.

As you can see, substituting is something that certain cooks do all the time without even thinking about it. If you live at high altitude, you are probably used to substituting amounts and temperatures for those given in recipes. If you are lowering your saturated fat intake, you probably substitute oil for butter when sautéing. If the herb cilantro tastes soapy to you, then you probably substitute another more agreeable herb such as parsley.

Substitutions can solve many problems in the kitchen. But they can't work magic. If you have run out of an ingredient and really want to replicate the original exactly, my advice is simple: don't substitute. If you absolutely must have the flavor of cardamom in a recipe, go buy some cardamom instead of substituting another spice such as cinnamon. Cinnamon will taste like cinnamon and not like cardamom. However, if you want to experiment with changing the flavor of your recipe, cinnamon may be an acceptable substitute.

Often, that's the reason I substitute one thing for another: just to try something new With that in mind, I hope you find this book both practical and enjoyable, a reference that inspires you with fresh ideas and gives you all the information you need to improvise with confidence at home or in a commercial kitchen.

I hope you have as much fun experimenting in your kitchen as I have in mine. Happy substituting!

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How To Use This Book

1. The entries in this book are arranged alphabetically and cross-referenced like an index. The entries are alphabetized by the letter rather than by the word so that multiple word entries are treated like single words. For example, the entry Applejack appears after Apple Corer and before Apple Juice.
2. Each entry has been arranged into two columns. The left-hand column contains introductory and reference information. The right-hand column contains the substitutions.
3. The introductory information in the left-hand column begins with a brief description, useful tip, or interesting fact about the item. If the item is known by any alternate names, these alternate names appear just before the description. For example, the entry for Annatto Oil begins, "Also kn

About this edition

• Publisher: Robert Rose
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0778801195
• ISBN 13: 9780778801191
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 621