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When you are new to the world of cooking and baking everything can feel a little bit complicated. And it can get even more frustrating when you set out to make a recipe and realize you are missing an important ingredient. Luckily, there are many ingredients that you can use to replace the missing item from your latest recipe. Here are some common replacements that can help you out if you find yourself in a pinch.
Eggs
One common ingredient that needs to be replaced in a recipe is eggs. Eggs are important to many recipes because they do a variety of jobs. They can be used as a leavener to make a dish fluffy and light, they can add creaminess, or they can even add to the structure of a dish with their strong protein. Replacing eggs depends on their intended use in a recipe. If you are looking to make a meringue or something similar, you can actually use the liquid from a can of garbanzo beans, it will whip up to a very similar texture. If you are baking and need an egg replacement in a recipe that already has a leavener, you can use buttermilk.
Milk
Milk is another important ingredient that can be difficult to replace in a recipe. One lucky thing is that there are many milk substitutes readily available. From almond milk to coconut milk, you have many options to get a creamy liquid into your dish. Soy milk has many essential nutrients like dairy milk. If you have simply run out of milk, you can use a combination of cream and water to reach a similar texture if you have cream at hand.
Lemon Juice
Acid is essential in many recipes and it can be used as a flavor element and also to help in the leavening process. If a recipe calls for lemon juice, you can actually use a similar amount of vinegar to get a similar effect. This is effective in cases when the lemon is only needed to be an acid, and not when the lemon is the main flavor profile. If you are trying to make lemon bars, for example, vinegar will not leave you with the ideal flavor.
Learning the basics of replacing ingredients can help you to become a better cook. You never know when you’ll run out of an ingredient, and it’s nice to know how you can replace it. When you are able to easily make these substitutions, you will know you are a very accomplished cook.
For more on cooking tips, check out this article on why vegetables are important in every dish!
