Cooking Substitutions

• Sour cream. Yogurt! Plain yogurt, preferably not non-fat, is the perfect replacement for sour cream.


• Wine. In a recipe that calls for wine, you can substitute juice. Try grape or cranberry juice instead of red wine, and toss in a little vinegar for good measure. To sub for white wine, try white grape juice or apple juice, with a splash of vinegar or lemon juice in it. In some dishes, you can use champagne instead of white wine, as in shrimp scampi. And have a Mimosa while you're at it!


• Mayonnaise. If you run short on mayo, you can replace 1 c. of it with 1/2 c. mayo plus 1/2 c. yogurt. Alternatively, you could whip up some fresh mayo.


• Heavy cream. This is not for whipping, but in other applications like soups and whatnot, you can replace 1 c. heavy cream with 3/4 c. milk plus 3-4 T. melted butter. Yum! This is a handy cooking substitution in a pinch, and you may find you love the subtle flavor difference.


• Cornstarch. Arrowroot is an excellent sub for cornstarch, used as a thickener in recipes. Just use the same measurement amount. OR, you can use flour in twice the amount that cornstarch was called for. If possible, try to incorporate the flour earlier in the recipe, mixed with an oil or butter, to give it a chance to cook away the raw taste.


• Cream of Something Soup. In lieu of a cream soup to thicken a recipe, try some sauteed and pureed vegetables and potatoes with salt and butter. You might prefer the taste anyways! And this is a cooking substitution that you can prepare ahead of time, and have little batches in the freezer, just waiting for you! (GREAT way to use excess leftovers!)


• Tomato sauce. 1 c. of tomato sauce can be replaced with 1/2 c. tomato paste mixed with 1/2 c. water. Adjust the amounts as needed for flavor and consistency desired.


• Poultry seasoning. Mix a hefty portion of sage with some thyme, black pepper, and a smidge of rosemary.