What Can Be Used Instead? Where Can I Get

shine 15 years ago said:

I remember having the question how do the quantities relate from these three things. Turns out that they can be substituted one-for-one. That is, one tablespoon honey for one tablespoon sugar. On that note however, in baking, they don't always substitute well as the sugar acts differently than does the honey in some baked goods, as the structure changes.

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wynnebaer 15 years ago said:

I posted a recipe yesterday for pumpkin fudge calling for pureed pumpkin....Can regular canned pumpkin be substituted....What is the difference?

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vikirose13 15 years ago said:

Thanks Ray. I know I will be making an entry from time to time. This site seems to be a Real Community, something we all crave.
Viktoria

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shine 15 years ago said:

Howdy Wynn,

canned pumpkin is puréed pumpkin. Not a problem ;-)

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wynnebaer 15 years ago said:

Why do they sell cans of it with pureed pumpkin on them and then just regular canned pumpkin?.....Trying to play with my head, they are.....I need to lay down now.....Thanks, my friend....:)

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shine 15 years ago said:

you are very welcome -- enjoy your nap!

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ronnymarcus 15 years ago said:

1) Sprite > 7 up > Ginger ale
2) Ouzo > Arack
3) Khalua > Tia-Maria > Coffee Liquour
4) Martini > Vermouth
5) Gin > Rum
6) Cherry Liquour > Wishniac > Sherry
7) Cognac > Brandy

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ronnymarcus 15 years ago said:

Wasabi > Horse radish

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shine 15 years ago said:

lol I don't know about some of those liquor substitution Ronny! but, I guess after a few drinks they all taste the same lol!

have a great weekend!

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pat2me 15 years ago said:

That's because he's starting with the Ouzo!

After a few of those we can give him cherry coke and he'll think it's Kirsch! :D

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pat2me 15 years ago said:

I just remembered...when I was in California and wanted to make Baked Beans or Fish Chowder, I was asking for salt pork only to find they called it "fat back" there.

They also didn't have squash pie filling which I like equally well as pumpkin and I freaked until I found out Hellmann's was sold as Best Foods mayo. Thought I wouldn't have a decent potato salad for awhile!

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ronnymarcus 15 years ago said:

Squash (gemsquash) > Zuchini > Marrow

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pointsevenout 15 years ago said:

You really don't want to get into squash. There are so many varieties. And if you are growing different varieties in your garden, they will cross breed and you might get something you are not expecting.

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mbalmr 15 years ago said:

Yes, but imagine the fun he could have with it! He could enter his mutant squashes in the county fair and win ribbons! Or imagine the headlines in the local paper:

"Local Man Grows Obscene Zucchini; Parents Complain That Children Are Being Corrupted"

"Huge Home-Grown Squash Business Thrives As People Pay For Hollowed-Out Gourds To Bury Pets"

"NASA Satellites Mistakenly Identify Pumpkin Patch As SCUD Missle Base In Jerusalem, IL"

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pat2me 15 years ago said:

"Huge Home-Grown Squash Business" diversifies to supply low cost housing during economic crisis!

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mbalmr 15 years ago said:

LOL!

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shine 15 years ago said:

squash: the new fuel source?

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wynnebaer 15 years ago said:

Flavored Jello, 1 package = 1 tablespoon plain gelatine plus 2 cups fruit juice

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divaliscious 15 years ago said:

you peeps are just too funny!

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mbalmr 15 years ago said:

I touched on this in another thread in this group, but what can reasonably be substituted for booze in a recipe?? Rachel Ray--the "got some EVOO action goin' on" gal, uses chicken broth/stock for everything, and I've read several recipes which advise using chicken broth as a substitute for wine. Is this a lie, or is it a valid substitute for many recipes?

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shine 15 years ago said:

balmy, simply put, there is no substitute for alcohol -- I mean, I've never had a hangover from tasting chicken stock!

The answer really depends on the dish that you're cooking -- for instance: "chicken stock cake" just doesn't sound like a good substitute for "rum cake." I could go on and on with that one -- imagine bananas Foster...

In marinades, it doesn't make sense to add chicken stock when you're marinating chicken -- as an example I like to marinade chicken with tequila and lime and soy sauce. in some sauces, the alcohol in parts of flavor that is crucial to the taste of the dish -- take coq au vin as an example, or some marinara and use red wine in them as well.

I guess the bottom line would be what you want to accomplish using the alcohol, and can chicken stock be substituted. Chicken stock used instead of water will certainly give a wonderful depth that the water will not have, but cannot replace the taste of certain alcohols.

With certain altar motives in mind(such is enjoying your entertaining questions) I recommend that you just ask -- there are lots of people who will be more than happy to help!

Your foodie freak friend, Ray

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mbalmr 15 years ago said:

Thank you, Ray. I appreciate all of the cogent answers I receive from far more experienced cooks than myself in this forum, and most importantly, I feel safe asking questions in here.

Here's another: what is a suitable substitute for egg plant? They're real pretty and all, but I don't find that they lend much to a dish calling for them (with some obvious exceptions, of course, such as egg plant parmesan, which NO, I've never made.) My rendition of Thai chicken curry calls for egg plant chunks, but I just don't like 'em much. I'd rather just double up on the chicken. Maybe I'm doing something wrong? Or could it be that my local grocery store has nothing but CRAP produce at any given time?? That wouldn't surprise me.

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pat2me 15 years ago said:

Since eggplant really doesn't have much flavor of its own to add to a dish and depends on other ingredients to make it shine ( I know some people like that), you can probably substitute zucchini nicely.

Other suggestions, please!?

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mbalmr 15 years ago said:

LOL @ knowing some people like that!

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pointsevenout 15 years ago said:

I was going to say to try zucchini also. But maybe try any variety of squash for a different twist of flavor in the dish. Eggplant is a filler and takes on the flavor of what it is cook in. Think most of the time that people use eggplant in their recipes is that it sounds exotic. But then there are times that you don't want to detract from the other flavors of the dish and need more bulk filler for the meal.

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pat2me 15 years ago said:

Good description of eggplant........filler! :D

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ronnymarcus 15 years ago said:

Try eggplant with Lemon juice and Garlic. Call it ,"Oriental Eggplant Shamidin", a recipe you got from an ancient oriental cookbook that you found on your trip to Bengal.
There's no such word but who cares? You'll be congratulated on your "knowledge" of 'Oriental cuisine".

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mbalmr 15 years ago said:

I would like to make a good cheese sauce. I have studied several recipes, and I have the basic idea down, but my question relates to the thickness of the sauce: can something be substituted for milk (I'm afraid we drink skim around here) that would make it thicker/creamier? For example, Carnation instant milk from a can, or even heavy cream?

I realize that consuming cheese sauce over broccoli negates the health benefits of both the broccoli AND drinking skim milk, but I wonder if using skim milk is my problem? My sauces are OK, but not as thick as I'd like them to be. I'd like to avoid using Velveeta (which I love, but which I also consider "cheating.")

I'm not trying to make a cheese dip or fondue, just a sauce.

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pat2me 15 years ago said:

We use 1% milk but I don't think the milk is causing the problem.....I just make a simple white sauce to the consistency I like (over boiling water) and then stir whatever I'm using for cheese into it.

The cheese usually helps thicken the sauce a little too.

Can you cut and paste the recipe here?......maybe someone else will have a better solution after seeing the recipe.

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gourmetloveaffair 15 years ago said:

On the thicker-cheese sauce issue, I hate using cream because it's so fatty and I never use it up. (though you can make butter from it - which I've done before when it was about to expire) Also, I find that skim milk it very watery and the calorie difference isn't much, so I've started buying 1% I truly believe you need some fat in the milk... its already void of much nutrition from pateurization, so I get 1-2% now.
I also use sour cream to thicken my cream/cheese sauces. Usually a combination of low-fat sour cream, 1% milk, and a touch of butter to soften the "sour" taste of the sour cream - once mixed in with all the cheese, the sour taste goes away and the sour cream thickens it up quite nicely. the longer it is on the heat - the thicker it gets. I use this combo for a roasted-garlic white sauce, and as the base for many of my pasta sauces.

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pointsevenout 15 years ago said:

Corn starch mixed in with a little water to form a paste then added to your sauce should thicken it up nicely. If you are looking to stay with the dairy products try some condensed or evaporated milk in place of the LF% milk. Dehydrated LF milk will thicken up a sauce too, but it tends to leave that 1% flavor that most people disagree with.

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lipsantos 15 years ago said:

Ray: What is Palm sugar? It's one of the ingredients in you Spicy Szechwan Noodles. Can regular cane sugar be used in place of palm sugar in the recipe?

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shine 15 years ago said:

The palm sugar that I use for Asian cooking is a pale honey-gold color. It comes from the sap of palm trees, and is boiled down to varying consistencies. I use because of its more complex flavor compared to white sugar. If you can't get any palm sugar, white sugar or light brown sugar can be used instead -- it will not make a huge difference in the recipe. Just a personal preference. It is also known as jaggery in Indian cooking -- but the difference is that in Indian cooking, the jaggery is typically a dark brown color and has a bit of a different consistency. In that case, you can use dark brown sugar.

I hope this helps!

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mbalmr 15 years ago said:

For pat2me: the sauce I've been making for au gratin potatoes is thus:

3 T butter
3 T flour
2 C milk (I've been using skim)
2 C shredded cheddar, preferably sharp, and really packed into the measuring cup.

A friend of mine recently shared with me his version of cheese sauce for a similar dish, but he asserts you must use a higher ratio of flour to butter for the roux. His recipe (for a larger portion of potatoes) is 8 T butter and 12 T flour. Then he dumps in 4 C milk AND a small can of Carnation Instant Milk.

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mbalmr 15 years ago said:

Oops, I forgot to mention that he uses 16 ounces of shredded or cubed cheddar, also.

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pat2me 15 years ago said:

I honestly don't think it's the milk and the recipe is basic, so it shouldn't be that.

Points is right about the cornstarch, you can use it instead of flour, or use 1/2 flour and 1/2 cornstarch, when you make any thickening.

Stir four and cornstarch together before adding water, it helps eliminate lumps when making gravy too.

Sometimes when the sauce is not as thick as I like, I just mix up a little more thickening and add it before adding the cheese. This works best if you're cooking the sauce over boiling water.

Whisk the additional thickening in very quickly and make sure you cook it long enough so it doesn't have a "raw" taste if using flour.

Ray......any other suggestions? Anyone else? Balmy needs a perfectly thickened sauce....any other ideas?

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shine 15 years ago said:

Using skim milk is just fine... without being in your kitchen to watch how you make it balmy, it sounds as though the method used is the culprit. Without any intention of insulting you, let me walk you through the steps of making the sauce.

What you are actually making is called Mornay Sauce. The base of the sauce is called sauce Béchamel. Béchamel is one of the mother sauces of French cooking -- from this sauce you can make many other sinful sauces! So, let me walk you through making Béchamel sauce, and then we'll add cheese to get your cheese sauce :-)

First measure out all of your ingredients, putting them in separate bowls (you can do shortcuts later, after you've mastered this ;-) ) -- makes life much easier!

In a medium/small heavy saucepan over low heat, melt the butter until it begins to foam.

Add the flour while whisking, until all of the flour is added and is well blended. Cook, continuing to stir constantly, for about three or four minutes (you are cooking out the raw flavor from the flour). This is called a roux, and is what thickens your sauce. Please note: Do not add any liquid at this point... just keep moving the roux in the pan or three or four minutes, not allowing it to brown. After about three or four minutes, you will notice the mixture smells of almonds -- this means the flour is cooked.

Remove the roux from the heat, and set aside for up to 15 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, stirring constantly, heat the milk over medium heat until it begins to steam, but not boil. This is called scalding the milk. Essentially, you are simply heating the milk. Scalding is not necessary nor is it important nowadays with pasteurized milk. Originally, scalding was to kill unwanted bacteria and enzymes in the milk that prevent it from thickening. So, put your mind at ease, stir the milk while heating it, knowing that it's pretty hard to mess up ;-)

Once the milk is heated, return the pan with the roux to a medium low heat.

While stirring constantly, slowly add the milk to the roux. Once all of the milk is been added, continue to stir actively -- that means that you should have a little swing in your derrière and a smile on your face -- until the sauce begins to boil and thicken.

As soon as the sauce begins to thicken, reduce the heat to low and continue to swing your derrière for about another four minutes.

Now add your cheese, and continue to stir until the cheese is melted.

As a personal preference, I like to add Tabasco sauce (just a drop) to cheese sauces, as it brings out the flavor of the cheese. You may also use the drop or two of worcestshire sauce. Your choice.

Now you are completely informed about making cheese sauce. I hope this works for you... tell us how you fared!

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shine 15 years ago said:

Sheesh... got through all of that and forgot to include a basic recipe that I use. So, get ready to swing that derrière!

4 tablespoons butter (1/4 cup)
4 tablespoons flour (1/4 cup)
2 cups of milk (can be whole milk, 2%, 1%, or water a.k.a. skim milk)
2 cups of sharp cheddar, shredded
Tabasco or worcestshire sauce to taste (couple of drops)
salt and pepper to taste (use white pepper to avoid black specks in your beautiful sauce)

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lipsantos 15 years ago said:

Thanks for the explanation, Ray. It give me an idea what to look for as a substitute.

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mbalmr 15 years ago said:

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions! Right away I can see several things I'm not doing properly to make a good cheese sauce.

I asked Jencath in a PM, but I'll ask here, too: I want to try her Firecracker Chicken this week, and I couldn't find bean paste at the grocery store. What is it and where might I find it?

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pointsevenout 15 years ago said:

Not sure. But I would take refried beans and smash 'em up good with a potato masher and then maybe a run through the stand mixer or blender or food processor to get a good bean paste.

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mbalmr 15 years ago said:

I reviewed my method of making cheese sauce, and the two things I was doing wrong were not stirring/cooking the roux long enough, and I wasn't scalding the milk prior to adding it to the roux. Thanks again Ray!! I'll try this again by making au gratin potatoes.

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shine 15 years ago said:

You are very welcome balmy!

As for the hot bean paste -- there really aren't any substitutes. The only real substitutes would be other bean paste LOL

if you live anywhere near any kind of city, I would think that there would be an Asian market there. In the event that you should try and venture into one of these places -- I highly recommend that you bring a list (printed out, or least typed) so that if there are any difficulties with communication, you can simply show them the list and point.

Next thing would be to try and order it online -- you may pay a little for shipping, but gather up some recipes that use Asian ingredients, and place an order... I think you'll find that with the price of gas these days, you'll come out about even.

If you have trouble finding an online store -- let me know.

Ray

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shine 15 years ago said:

balmy, I went looking -- just couldn't help it LOL

here's what you're looking for :http://www.koamart.com/shop/30-1610-hot_peppers_paste-hot_pepper_paste_fermented_2_2lbs.asp

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shine 15 years ago said:

oops -- that last post should have been titled "Hot Bean Paste Link"

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mbalmr 15 years ago said:

Another market disaster, and I'm not talking Wall Street. That's a whole other thread.

Damn it to hell, but those cretins who check me out at my local grocery store must all be lobotomized. I bought a small packet of dry Italian salad dressing for a dish I was making tonight, and after I got home, realized that the pin head who bagged my groceries didn't put the packet in my bag! It's an easy item to miss, I suppose, but there I was, without one of my "secret" ingredients. No way in HELL was I going back, either.

My question is this: what might be a good substitute for a small packet of dry Italian salad dressing in a sauce made from butter, golden mushroom soup, white wine and cream cheese with chives? The Italian seasoning gives it that special "kick" that was so obviously missing this evening............I used some ranch dressing mix in a pinch. Not the same, really. Any ideas?

And Ray, before you say it, I know I'm sauce challenged. I accept my weaknesses.

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shine 15 years ago said:

Balmy, I think the little "kick" that the dry mix gives your luscious sauce is probably from garlic powder, salt, dried parsley, and pepper -- try adding lemon juice just a few drops of a time.

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mbalmr 15 years ago said:

Thanks, Ray!

Is that lemon juice on a bottle considered a reasonable substitute for freshly squeezed lemon in anyone's opinion? I usually have that on hand and don't bother with real lemons. I forget I have the lemons in my crisper drawer, and when I find them, they have shrunk down to the size of lemon drops. With mold.

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mbalmr 15 years ago said:

*in, I meant to say IN a bottle..........

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shine 15 years ago said:

Well...in your case, balmy, I can say (with great effort) ssssuree :-/ loll

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vikirose13 15 years ago said:

Help! I have a feeling that it is poison in a bottle-in other words- just chemicals.
Viktoria

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