Betty Crocker

Emergency Substitutions

risotto

Find substitutions for common ingredients.


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Emergency Substitutions

If you must make a substitution for a recommended ingredient, try the following:

Instead of: Amount Use:
Arborio rice 1 cup uncooked 1 cup uncooked short-grain white rice, regular long-grain rice or brown rice
Baking powder 1 tsp 1/4 tsp baking soda plus 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
Balsamic vinegar 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp sherry or cider vinegar
Beer 1 cup 1 cup nonalcoholic beer, apple cider or beef broth
Bread crumbs, dry 1/4 cup 1/4 cup finely crushed cracker crumbs, corn flakes or quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
Broth, chicken, beef or vegetable
1 cup 1 tsp chicken, beef or vegetable bouillon granules (or 1 cube) dissolved in 1 cup boiling water
Brown sugar, packed
1 cup
1 cup granulated sugar mixed with 2 Tbsp molasses or dark corn syrup
Buttermilk or sour milk 1 cup 1 Tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 cup; let stand a few minutes. Or 1 cup plain yogurt.
Chocolate
Semisweet baking


Semisweet chips

Unsweetened baking

1 oz


1 cup

1 oz

1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate plus 1 Tbsp sugar

6 oz semisweet baking chocolate, chopped

3 Tbsp baking cocoa plus 1 Tbsp vegetable oil or melted shortening or margarine
Cornstarch 1 Tbsp 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour or 4 tsp quick-cooking tapioca
Corn syrup
Light

Dark
 
1 cup

1 cup
 
1 cup granulated sugar plus 1/4 cup water

1 cup light corn syrup; 3/4 cup light corn syrup plus 1/4 cup molasses; 1 cup maple-flavored syrup
Eggs 1 large 2 egg whites; 1/4 cup fat-free cholesterol-free egg product; 2 egg yolks (for custard or puddings); or 2 egg yolks plus 1 Tbsp water (for cookies or bars)
Flour
All-purpose

Cake

Self-rising
 
1 cup

1 cup

1 cup
 
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp cake flour

1 cup minus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt
Garlic, finely chopped
1 medium clove
1/8 tsp garlic powder or 1/4 tsp instant minced garlic
Gingerroot, grated or finely chopped 1 tsp 3/4 tsp ground ginger
Herbs, chopped fresh 1 Tbsp 3/4 to 1 tsp dried herbs
Lemon juice, fresh 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp bottled lemon juice or white vinegar
Lemon peel, grated 1 tsp 1 tsp dried lemon peel
Milk, regular or low-fat 1 cup 1/2 cup evaporated milk plus 1/2 cup water; or nonfat dry milk prepared as directed on package
Mushrooms, fresh 1 cup cooked sliced
1 can (4 oz) mushroom pieces and stems, drained
Mustard, yellow 1 Tbsp 1 tsp ground mustard
Poultry seasoning 1 tsp 1/4 tsp ground thyme plus 3/4 tsp ground sage
Pumpkin or apple pie spice 1 tsp Mix 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/8 tsp ground allspice and 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg.
Sour cream 1 cup 1 cup plain yogurt
Tomato juice 1 cup 1/2 cup tomato sauce plus 1/2 cup water
Tomato paste 1/2 cup 1 cup tomato sauce cooked uncovered to reduce to 1/2 cup
Tomato sauce 2 cups 3/4 cup tomato paste plus 1 cup water
Tomatoes, canned 1 cup About 1 1/3 cups cut-up fresh tomatoes, simmered 10 min
Wine,
Red


White
 
1 cup


1 cup
 
1 cup nonalcoholic wine, apple cider, beef broth, tomato juice or water

1 cup nonalcoholic wine, white grape juice, apple juice, chicken broth or water
Yeast, regular or quick active dry 1 pkg
(1/4 oz)
2 1/4 tsp regular or quick active dry or 1 package (0.6 oz) compressed cake yeast
Yogurt, plain 1 cup 1 cup sour cream

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Member Comments (4)

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JimJim said:
I printed your "Emergency Substitutions." The printing was so small I could hardly read it. Page one was blank except for a Betty Crocker logo. Its kind of a waste of printing paper.

3/8/2010 12:38 PM

cmhueto said:
Another tip I've found online stated to "make buttermilk" For every 3/4 cup (175 ml) regular milk add 2 tsp (10 ml) vinegar or lemon juice let stand a few minutes to sour, use instead of buttermilk. The author stated her grandmother had used it in banana bread and it worked great.

2/27/2010 1:49 AM

cmhueto said:
Use applesauce in place of oil for baking. I have also used equal amounts of shortening instead of oil, but melted it and added a tablespoon of water. Its still a little denser than if I'd had oil, but works in a pinch! Also when substituting cocoa powder for baking chocolate bark or chips use: 3 T cocoa(level) + 1 T shortening = 1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate 1 T cocoa + 2 t shortening + 3 1/2 t sugar = 1 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate

2/27/2010 1:44 AM

Saintly said:
Ok, where on earth is the article on Emergency Substitutions? I was hoping to find out... in a crunch I can replace _______ with _______. I don't want recipes, I want information. Thanks, Lea

2/24/2010 6:25 PM
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