Here’s the scoop on ingredient substitutions

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flour, eggs, milk and sugar

Ever been in the kitchen, ready to whip up a dessert, side dish or casserole, only to find that you don’t have enough of an ingredient or are missing one or more of the ingredients? Thankfully, there are substitutions for numerous common ingredients, from allspice to tomato soup.

Although your final product might end up slightly differently than a recipe using all recommended ingredients, substitutions will still result in acceptable flavors, textures and appearances.

Here are 21 common ingredient substitutions:

Ingredient Amount Substitution
Allspice 1 tsp ½ tsp cinnamon and ½ teaspoon ground cloves
Baking Powder, Double-Acting 1 tsp ¼ tsp baking soda and ⅝ tsp cream of tartar
Baking soda Baking soda cannot be substituted with any other ingredient
Butter 1 cup 1 cup regular margarine or 1 cup vegetable shortening (for baking); Use an equal amount of oil for melted butter in a baking recipe
Buttermilk 1 cup 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar added to milk to make 1 cup; let mixture stand for 5 minutes
Chocolate (unsweetened) 1 oz. 3 tbsp cocoa and 1 tbsp butter, margarine or vegetable oil
Cornstarch 1 tbsp 2 tbsp flour
Cream, whipping 1 cup unwhipped 2 cups already whipped product
Egg 1 whole egg ¼ cup egg substitute, or reconstituted powdered eggs, or 2 tbsp mayonnaise (for cake batter), or ½ tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp vinegar and 1 tbsp liquid (for baking)
Flour, all-purpose white 1 cup ½ cup whole wheat flour and ½ cup all-purpose flour
Flour, cake 1 cup 1 cup minus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
Flour, self-rising 1 cup 1 cup minus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour plus 1 ½ tsp baking powder and ½ tsp salt
Herbs, fresh 1 tbsp, finely cut 1 tsp dried leaf herbs or ½ tsp ground dried herbs
Lemon zest 1 tsp ½ tsp lemon extract
Mayonnaise 1 cup 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup yogurt or 1 cup cottage cheese (pureed in blender); any of these ingredients can be used as part of the mayonnaise
Mustard, dry 1 tsp 1 tbsp prepared mustard
Pumpkin pie spice 1 tsp ½ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp ground allspice and ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
Sugar, confectioners’ or powdered 1 cup 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 tbsp cornstarch; must be blended in a food processor until the consistency is powdery
Tomato juice 1 cup ½ cup tomato sauce and ½ cup water
Tomato soup 10 ¾ oz. can 1 cup tomato sauce and ¼ cup water
Red wine Any amount The equivalent amount of grape or cranberry juice
White wine Any amount The equivalent amount of apple or white grape juice

Source: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension of Lancaster County

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