Substitude Ingredients

If you have an allergy, intolerance or dietary preference, you usually know what you can and cannot eat. In the case of food hypersensitivity, your body will indicate quickly enough if it does not agree. In the case of a diet preference, such as vegetarian, vegan, flexitarian, pescotarian, pollotarian, etc, you have started constructively so that you have slowly learned what does and does not fit into your diet. But what if you have to cook or bake for someone else? For your sister’s new partner, for example, who joins your Christmas dinner for the first time and turns out to be a Whole Foods, Plant-based Vegan. Uhh..

How do you handle that?

What I cannot help you with is finding out what every diet and every food hypersensitivity means. The most important thing is: communicate! Ask your guest what their diet entails and which product (group) should be avoided. Have you recently received a diagnosis or would you like to change your diet? Unfortunately I can’t help you with that either, but luckily there are many sites and professionals who can! A doctor can help you on your way and give you a referral to, for example, a dietician. This post is intended to help you adjust a recipe so that it fits within the diet. Some things are a no-brainer, such as replacing meat with, yes, meat substitutes. There are also many recipes online that are specially adapted to a specific diet. But what if you want to serve that one dish that everyone is always talking about?

Caution! If you replace ingredients in a recipe, the result can always differ! It is important that you test your recipe in advance to avoid disappointment. Ingredients don’t only provide taste, but also structure.

cross-contamination

An important thing to realize is that cross-contamination can occur. This means that allergens can end up in your dish because, for example, gluten have been left on your cutting board or the flour caused a larger dust cloud than you thought. The following also applies here: communicate! Some people are extremely sensitive to certain allergens and many (non-allergic people) do not realize that not only the ingredients, but also clean material and especially clean hands are important. So pay attention to this when you cook for someone or bake with an allergy!

Cooking vs. Baking

We must also make a distinction between cooking and baking. Cooking is all about taste and it is easier to replace one ingredient with another or a combination of flavors. Measuring is also not that precise. Every ingredient has its own task in baking. To be able to perform this task correctly, all ingredients must be processed in the correct proportion and order. Not that this is not the case with cooking; but when baking, for example, you cannot simply replace flour with almond flour, because flour contains gluten that provide an elastic dough and an airy result. Or add a dash of milk afterwards, because it has already been baked.

If you replace ingredients in a recipe, the result can always differ! It is important that you test your recipe in advance to avoid disappointment. Ingredients don’t only provide taste, but also structure.

Milk

Replacing milk is perhaps the easiest, because there are enough dairy substitutes on the market. Pay attention to whether you have the sweetened or unsweetened variant and consider which taste best suits your dish.

• Lactose-free milk. Creamy alternative. Not suitable for people who do not eat animal products and not suitable for people with a cow’s milk allergy.
• Goat’s milk. Not lactose-free, but less lactose than cow’s milk. Suitable for people with a cow’s milk allergy, but it does give a typical taste. Not suitable for people who do not eat animal products.
• Coconut drink. The canned variant is the most suitable for cooking and baking. It does give a slight coconut flavor.
• Almond and Hazelnut drink. Not suitable for people with a nut allergy. Gives your dish a little almond/hazelnut taste.
• Rice drink. Lots of sugar and little taste.
• Oat drink. Lots of sugar and little taste. Not suitable for people with coeliakie (gluten allergy).
• Soy drink. Not suitable for people with a soy allergy. Usually not grown sustainably and also contains isoflavones, a substance that resembles the hormone estrogen.

Cream

Whipped cream on your dessert, crème fraîche as nacho dip or sour cream in your soup, it is all possible. Besides the lactose-free (Not suitable for people who do not have animal products / people with a cow’s milk allergy) and vegetable alternatives in the supermarket you can also use the following recipes:

Sweet

• Coconut milk. Buy a can of coconut milk with at least 25% fat, so not the “light” variants, and put it in the fridge overnight. The colder the better, so in the back of the fridge and as long as possible in advance. Open the can and scoop the thick creamy “milk” off, add a little sugar (substitute) and beat it lightly. Gives a slight coconut flavor.
• Cashew cream. To be used instead of (whipped) cream. Soak 200 gr unsalted and unroasted cashews in cold water with a pinch of salt for a few hours. Drain the water and put the cashews in a blender with 1 tsp vanilla and 2 tbsp sugar (substitute), grind and add water until you have the desired thickness.

Savoury

• Cashew cream. To be used instead of crème fraîche or sour cream. Soak 200 gr unsalted and unroasted cashews in cold water with a pinch of salt for a few hours. Drain the water and put the cashews in a blender with 2 tbsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt, grind and add water until you have the desired thickness.

Butter

I prefer to use butter myself, because it gives the tastiest and most reliable result. But since my partner is lactose intolerant and more and more people in my area are lactose intolerant or no longer use animal products, I started looking for an alternative.

• Plant-based margarine. The best alternative to butter, because it is suitable for people with a lactose intolerance, cow’s milk allergy and people who do not eat animal products. The difference in butter and margarine used to be very clear: butter was made from milk and margarine from plants. Nowadays it is already called margarine when it contains some milk and some vegetable ingredients. So pay attention to what you buy!
• Lactose free butter. Not suitable for people who do not eat animal products / people with a cow’s milk allergy.
• Oil. If the recipe uses melted butter then you can easily replace that for oil. In all other cases I would not do that.

Flour

Flour is generally easy to replace. The only thing you have to pay attention to is how smooth the dough is. Flour contains gluten: Proteins that are an important building block for your baking and provide structure and firmness. They form a frame that holds gas bubbles through which the dough can rise, but they also ensure that your baking keeps its shape and does not collapse when it cools down. Gluten is not unhealthy unless you have celiac disease (gluten intolerance).

• Spelt flour. Not suitable for people with celiac disease or a wheat allergy.
• Buckwheat flour. Gluten and wheat free. Gives a distinct taste that you either love or hate.
• Almond flour. Gluten and wheat free. Not suitable for people with a nut allergy. Gives a light almond flavor.
• Oatmeal. Gluten and wheat free. Gives a light taste.
• Rice flour. Gluten and wheat free. Has little nutritional value.
• Cornmeal. Gluten and wheat free. Gives a distinct, slightly sweet taste that you must love.
• Quinoa flour. Wheat-free, but usually not gluten-free.
• Coconut flour. Gluten and wheat free. Gives a slight coconut flavor.

Sugar

In some recipes you MUST use sugar, because it ensures the firmness of your baking. Is it just to sweeten your recipe? Then you can use a sugar substitute.

All types of sugar that end with -ose are converted into glucose by your body. Fructose, glucose, galactose, sucrose, lactose, maltose, dextrose, trehalose .. it is a very long list and sometimes the same thing has different names. Some sugars cause a faster rise and fall in your blood sugar level than others. A “healthy” recipe that uses honey instead of sugar is not necessarily healthier, because honey consists mainly of glucose and fructose. It is true that honey contains more water than granulated sugar and also a small amount of trace elements, minerals, vitamins and protein. Crystal sugar also causes a rapid rise and fall in your blood sugar level, so you get energy quickly and then the sugar dip, so you want more sugar again.

Then there are also sweeteners. Well, opinions are divided on this. They have all been found to be safe by the WHO, but by no means everything is known. Furthermore, it can also be said that natural sweeteners are not always natural. Yes, they occur naturally in plants, but those plants first go through a whole processing process before they end up in your (light) product. Some sweeteners are made from starch and sugars in a factory. Sometimes the sweetener is extracted from a natural product. For example, xylitol is extracted from wood fibers and steviol glycosides (stevia) from the leaves of the stevia plant. In any case, know that a great deal of research has been done into sugars / sweeteners and is still being done. And as with everything, enjoy in moderation.

• Dates, pure, unprocessed dates are expensive and hard to find and consist mainly of fructose and glucose. Most dates that you buy in the store contain a layer of sugar, so you are certainly not healthier.
• Banana, a ripe mashed banana contains a lot of fructose and potassium. Less rapid rise in your blood sugar level.
• Dried apricots, mainly fructose, but a lot less than other dried fruit. They are also rich in vitamin C. According to some, the unsulphurized variant is healthier than the sulfurized one.
• Applesauce can be used as a sugar substitute. Know that apple sauce also contains sugar and that most vitamins are lost in the cooking process.
• Stevia, Stevioglycosides, 200 to 300 times sweeter than regular sugar. It does not affect blood sugar levels and contains no calories.
• Maple syrup, is mostly sucrose.
• Palm sugar, consists largely of sucrose. Has a caramel-like aftertaste.
• Coconut blossom sugar, a specific type of palm sugar.
• Sukrin, brand name for erythritol. It’s totally hot, like stevia a few years ago. It does not affect blood sugar levels and contains no calories.
• Agave syrup, mainly fructose. Less rapid rise in your blood sugar level. When heated, it mainly becomes glucose.
• Honey, I mentioned it before, it’s mainly glucose and fructose with a little sucrose. When heated, it mainly becomes glucose.
• Rice syrup, fewer calories than granulated sugar, but also a much less sweet taste. So you need much more than regular sugar and that makes it difficult to process. Moreover, you are not healthier, because it causes a rapid increase in your blood sugar level.
• Yacon syrup. Consists mainly of inulin, not to be confused with insulin. These are carbohydrates that are digested slowly so that they cause a (much) less rapid rise in your blood sugar level. When heated, however, it mainly becomes glucose.
• Xylitol, fewer calories than granulated sugar and less chance of cavities in your teeth, because it is hardly converted into acid. Less rapid rise in your blood sugar level.

Egg

The most difficult ingredient to replace is egg. It can have multiple functions, so how do you know what to use? A chicken egg gives the most reliable result, but sometimes you cannot use an egg because someone is allergic, does not eat animal products or is not allowed to eat raw eggs. What you have to think carefully about is what function the egg has in your recipe. Is the recipe sweet or savoury? Does it ensure that all ingredients are bound or thickened, is it for taste, to help with proofing or is it purely a finishing touch? Fortunately, there are several ingredients and ways to replace egg. The items below are to replace one egg.

Thickening

Sweet

• 3 tbsp apple sauce or 2 tbsp apple sauca and 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 small or half a ripe banana. Gives a little banana taste and makes the recipe thicker, use some extra baking powder to prevent this.
• 2 tbsp cornflour, potato starch or chickpea flour with 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp ground chiaseed or linseed with 3 tbsp water, soaked for 10-15 minutes
• 3 tbsp nut paste, such as peanut butter or almond paste, not suitable for people with a nut allergy. Gives a nutty flavour.
• 45 ml aquafaba.

Savoury

• 1 small can of 70 g tomato paste
• 50 gr potato or pumpkin puree
• 2 tbsp cornflour, potato starch or chickpea flour with 2 tbsp water
• 3 tbsp nut paste, such as peanut butter or almond paste, not suitable for people with a nut allergy. Gives a nutty flavour.
• 50 gr zijden tofu
• 45 ml aquafaba.

Proofing

• 1 tbsp baking soda with 1 tbsp vinegar, add this together at the last moment and then in your batter, or add the baking soda to your flour and the vinegar only later. The reaction starts as soon as the baking soda and vinegar come into contact with each other.
• 2 tsp bakingpowder

Taste

If you want to give the taste of egg to your tofu omelette, for example, there is only one ingredient that achieves that: Kala namak. Also known as black Himalayan salt. That is actually the “normal” pink Himalayan salt, which owes its color to iron oxide, mixed with sulfur-containing greigite and some herbs and spices. Due to the greigite, the pink salt becomes a deep, dark pink that, in large quantities, resembles black. Kala namak has a lilac color in powder form. The sulfur in greigite ensures that the salt smells and tastes like eggs. So you can use it instead of common kitchen salt.

Shine

• After baking you can put some sugar water or apricot jam on your baking, but this is only suitable for sweet dishes.
• Soy drink can be used before baking both sweet and savory dishes. It contains proteins that change due to the heat, just like egg whites.

Merengue

Aquafaba, the moisture from boiled legumes, usually chickpeas are used. Its texture must be comparable to protein, otherwise it is not thick enough and you have to reduce it (and cool it down!). You can use the moisture from a can or jar, but you can also make it yourself. Just like regular egg whites, aquafaba remains more stable if you beat it with something acidic such as lemon juice or vinegar. Also clean your bowl and beaters with the same acid.

Finish Line

A whole story, because it’s not something to be taken lightly. Will you let me know if it works? And even if it failed? That way we can all learn from each other!

Happy Baking!