One of the most frustrating things that can happen is when you are trying to make something to eat and you don’t have all of the ingredients. Many times there are substitutions that can be made with ingredients that you have at home. I thought it might be helpful to go over a few of the more common questions that we get.
- My recipe calls for vegetable shortening and I don’t have any. What can I use?
The best substitute for vegetable shortening would be butter or margarine. To substitute one cup of shortening you would use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine. Liquid oil cannot be used to substitute for a solid.
- My recipe calls for self-rising flour and I don’t have any? Is there any way to make my own?
To make 1 cup of self-rising flour use 1 cup of sifted all-purpose flour and add 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and 1/8 teaspoon of salt.
- I need baking powder but only have baking soda. Is there a way to substitute this?
Baking powder actually consists of baking soda plus an acidic ingredient to create carbon dioxide bubbles when moistened and heated in your recipes. Here are the substitutes that you can use.
- ¼ teaspoon of baking soda + ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda + ½ cup buttermilk, sour milk or plain yogurt (to replace ½ cup liquid in recipe)
- My recipe calls for large eggs but I only have medium. How many should I use?
Most recipes use large eggs. Based on the total number of eggs you are adding to a recipe you might need to add additional eggs if the ones you are using are smaller. Use this chart from the Egg Council to determine if you need to add additional eggs to your recipe.
If you have a recipe that you need help with give us a call at AnswerLine. If there is a substitution we will help you find it!
