Provident Living...Emergency Ingredients Substitutes!

Ingredient Substitutes
Have you ever been in the middle of baking something only to find you are out of a crucial ingredient?  Are your neighbors tired of finding you at the door begging for an egg or a cup of sugar?  Instead of running to the store, you might be able to fix it with ingredients you already have!  Thanks to Yummly.com a recipe search engine, I was able to find these useful substitutes.

• Allspice, 1 tsp...1/2 tsp. cinnamon plus 1/2 tsp. ground cloves.
• Baking Powder, 1 tsp...1/3 tsp. baking soda plus 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar or 1/4 tsp. baking soda plus 1/2 cup yogurt or buttermilk (decrease liquid by 1/2 cup).
• Bread Crumbs (Dry), 1 cup...3 slices bread, crumbled.

• Butter, 1 cup...1 cup reg. margerine or 1 cup vegetable shortening (for baking) or 1 cup oil (but only if melted butter is called for).
• Buttermilk, 1 cup...1 T of lemon juice or vinegar plus enough milk to make a cup (let sit for 5 minutes).
• Cream/Half and Half, 1 cup...7/8 cup of whole milk plus 1/2 T of butter or 3 T of oil plus enough milk for 1 cup or 1 cup evaporated milk.

• Cocoa, 1/4 cup...1 ounce (sq.) chocolate (decrease butter/oil by 1/2 tsp.).
• Condensed Milk, 1 cup...heat 1/3 cup evaporated milk, 3/4 cup sugar, and 2 T butter until dissolved.
• Cornstarch (for thickening), 1 T...2 T of flour, let cook at least 3 minutes longer to thicken.

• Egg, 1 whole egg, 1/4 cup Eggbeaters or 2 T of mayonnaise (for baking batters only).
• Flour (All-Purpose), 1 cup...1/2 cup whole wheat flour plus 1/2 cup of all purpose flour (don't substitute more than 1/2 the flour).  The following require more leavening, so add 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder per cup of flour.  Also recommended, use buttermilk and 1/2 tsp. baking soda instead of milk to decrease heaviness. 3/4 cup rice flour or 1 1/2 cups oat flour or 1 1/4 cups rye flour or 5/8 cup potato starch flour or 1 cup rolled oats or 1 cup fine cornmeal.

• Sugar (Powdered), 1 cup...3/4 cup granulated sugar.
• Sugar (White), I cup...1 cup packed brown sugar or 1 3/4 cup confectioners sugar (not for baking) or 3/4 cup maple syrup (reduce liquid by 3 T).
• Whole Milk, 1 cup...1 cup buttermilk plus 1/2 tsp baking soda (if baking, reduce baking powder by 2 tsp) or 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk, 7/8 cup water, and 2 tsp. butter.
• Plain Yogurt, 1 cup...1 cup buttermilk or 1 cup blended cottage cheese or 1 cup sour cream.

That's it for now.  If any of you know of any tried and true substitutes please let me know.  We may need these some day.

Have a fun and productive day!

Post Script:  Missy writes,"You can also make your own brown sugar and the best thing is it doesn't dry out. All you need is a 12 oz bottle of molasses and 5lbs white sugar. Mix in mixer till the color and texture of brown sugar, about 5 minutes."