If you need to prepare a frugal meal, but you are missing a key ingredient, there is no need to panic or run to the store. Save time and money with some budget baking and cooking budget substitutions.
Yesterday, in Budget Baking Substitutions, we talked about how it pays to use what you have on hand. We covered what to do when you run out of baking powder, brown sugar and chocolate chips. Today, we’ll concentrate on making some diary substitutions.
I don’t know about you, but I do use a lot of dairy in my baking an cooking, especially milk and cream. Many times, a recipe will call for something, such as a little bit of buttermilk. I really hesitate to buy something like this, since it is so expensive and I would have to think up other uses for the rest of the carton. Of course, it can be frozen, but I find making a substitution to be an easier solution, most of the time.
Now, on to the substitutions. These are all based on 1 cup measurements.
For that buttermilk that we talked about, you can substitute 1 cup of regular milk with 1 tablespoon of either lemon juice or vinegar.
If your recipe requires whole milk and you only have skim, try adding 2 tablespoons of melted butter. You can also use up your buttermilk by neutralizing it. Just add 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder to each cup. Unsweetened evaporated milk can also be used as an easy whole milk substitute. Just mix 1/2 cup of the canned evaporated milk with 1/2 cup of water.
Need sour cream? Try using an equal amount of plain yogurt. It is important that the yogurt be plain, not vanilla or any other flavor.
For heavy cream (I never seem to have this around, anyway), you can use 3/4 cup of whole milk and 1/3 cup of melted butter.
Mary Ann Romans also writes for the Computing Blog here at Families.com where she shares everything from the latest news on technology to cool downloads and fun websites.
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