Oh no – Surprise!
Sometimes, you’re missing an ingredient . . .
Don’t despair!
Don’t pull out your hair!
Don’t you dare!
Here are some options.
Whether you’re missing an ingredient, or just don’t want to use what’s listed on the recipe.
If the recipe calls for . . .
Buttermilk
| 1 cup of buttermilk | replace with . . . | 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice + ~ 1 cup milk (ideally whole, but any will do). Put the 1 tbsp of lemon juice into a 1 cup measure, then fill up the remainder of the 1 cup with milk and wait at least 5 minutes. The lemon will curdle the milk a bit while you wait. |
Dried Currants
| 1 tbsp dried currants | replace with . . . | 1 tbsp fresh pomegranate. Note that recipes will often call for soaking the dried currants or cooking them in rice – if this is the case, don’t cook it. Just throw it in fresh at the end. |
Flour, All Purpose
| 1 cup all purpose flour | replace with . . . | 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup whole wheat flour You can typically make this substitution without making any other changes to the recipe. However, if you want to change to 100% whole wheat flour, you’re probably going to need to make some other changes to the recipe because whole wheat flour is a bit thirstier than all purpose. |
Mustard
| 1 tsp mustard | replace with . . . | 1 tsp Greek yogurt + 1/8 tsp paprika The flavor profile will be slightly different, but this will add a subtle savory tanginess similar to mustard. |
| 1 tbsp mustard | replace with . . . | 1 tbsp Greek yogurt + 1/2 tsp paprika |
Shallot
| 4 shallots | replace with . . . | Approximately 1 small red onion. If using raw: Keep in mind that the raw onion flavor will be more prominent – so if you’re using the onion raw, make sure to slice thinly, and err on the side of using a bit less! If not using raw: They’re pretty darn similar. |