The Food Substitutions Bible: More than 5,000 Substitutions for Ingredients, Equipment and Techniques [Paperback]

Most informative... I find I am using it all the time... information about the characteristics of foods, equivalents, and measurements. (Peg Rahn Pasadena Star-News 20060328)

A terrific resource... an instant must-have reference in my kitchen, and I know of nothing like it. (Dana Carpender Ventura County Star 20061213)

Entries are careful, offering definitions, detailed substitutions and often including suggestion for varying flavors or boosting nutrition. (Food Network Kitchens Orange County Register 20060810)

Well-researched, well-tested reference book... The guy is seriously detailed-oriented... endlessly useful. (Andrea Clurfeld Neptune Asbury Park Press 20050914)

From abalone to zwieback, The Food Substitution Bible by David Joachim is one of the best resources on the subject. (Kansas City Star 20091027)

A must-have for the serious cook. All charts, no recipes and no prose. Useful when you need it. (Marlene Parrish Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 20051215)

A compendium of alternatives for everything from allspice to wild rice. (Plus antelope, alligator, bear... (Aleta Watson San Jose Mercury News 20051123)

Packed with useful information... more than two pages of substitutes for butter alone. (Janice Okun Buffalo News 20090924)

This would be handy reference for any cook to keep on the bookshelf. (Natalie Haughton Los Angeles Daily News 20050928)

This is the hands-down best [guide] I have ever found... you need this book. (Susan Miller Lewisboro Ledger 20050929)

The book to turn to when you've found what you to make... [but don't want] to run to the store. (Kim Davaz Eugene Register-Guard 20051207)

It is truly the bible of food substitutions and should be in every reader's kitchen. (Sue Epstein Jerusalem Post 200601)

More than 5,000 substitutions for almost every type of food... directions for making reliable replacements. (Sharon Thompson Knight Ridder Newspapers 200510)

Offering practical information and great ideas, this book is packed with creative solutions. (Detroit News 20051026)

Full of very practical information... A must for the inquisitive cook. (Jennifer Mackenzie Peterborough Examiner 20051115)

A solid, useful work on using substitute ingredients and tools in the home kitchen... a clearly written and well-organized book. (Andrea Dietze Library Journal 20051128)

625 pages of highly useful information... If you've got questions, Joachim's got answers. Highly recommended. (Restaurant Hospitality 20090807)

A blessing to cooks all over... 5,000 substitutions for almost every kind of food, ingredient and measurement imaginable. (Jo Ellen O'Hara Birmingham News )

Great book... more than 5,000 creative solutions and fascinating info on everything from exotic ingredients to common cooking techniques. (Lynn Nusom Las Cruces Sun-News )

A complex, valuable guide to alternative ingredients, techniques and equipment. (Douglas Levy Oakland Press )

[This] is one of the best resources on the subject. (Jill Wendholt Silva Houston Star-Telegram )

More than 5,000 substitutions for almost every type of food... directions for making reliable replacements.

Well-researched, well-tested reference book... The guy is seriously detailed-oriented... endlessly useful.

The best and most complete substitutions guide, by the author of A Man, A Can, A Plan.

Some of the greatest cooking discoveries are the result of creatively substituting one ingredient, one piece of equipment, or one cooking technique for another.

The Food Substitutions Bible compiles all types of substitutions into one comprehensive, easy-to-use handbook. Simply organized from A to Z, its 1,500 entries have more than 5,000 substitutions. This reference covers:

• Common cooking measure equivalents
• Metric conversion tables
• International equivalency tables for temperature, weight and volume
• Emergency substitutions
• Time-saving substitutions
• Healthy substitutions
• Alternatives for hard-to-find and ethnic ingredients
• Alternatives for vegetarians
• Innovative ideas for varying the flavor of a dish in countless ways

Every substitution includes instructions with exact proportions for accurate, reliable replacements. When multiple substitutions are given within an entry, they are organized into categories for quick reference. Some of these include: If You Don't Have It, To Vary the Flavor, To Save Time, and For Better Health. The book also has an appendix with handy reference charts.

The Food Substitutions Bible is the most authoritative, comprehensive and easy-to-use book on substitutions ever published.

(20051225)

David Joachim has authored or edited more than 25 cookbooks. His book A Man, A Can, A Plan has sold more than 800,000 copies. He lives in Pennsylvania.

(20050913)

Introduction

Ain't nothing like the real thing, Baby
Ain't nothing like the real thing

Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing

Substitute me for him
Substitute my coke for gin
Substitute you for my mum
At least I'll get my washing done

The Who, Substitute

Both of the songs quoted above summarize my general philosophy of cooking. The lyrics of the first song make an impassioned plea to accept no substitutes, while the second song essentially says, "do whatever works."

When it comes to cooking, I truly believe that there "ain't nothing like the real thing." For instance, nothing tastes or acts quite like butter in cooking. But I am also a realist. I know from experience that sometimes you just have to get by with a substitute. Most cooks have, at one time or another, been in the middle of making a meal or special dish and found that they have run out of a key ingredient or don't have that special pan called for in the recipe. Other times, cooks simply want to create a different flavor or texture by experimenting with something new and exciting.

The answer to these dilemmas? Substitute.

Some of the greatest cooking discoveries have been and continue to be made by substituting one ingredient for another, one piece of equipment for another, or one cooking technique for another. Thousands of years ago, when our ancestors experimented with cooking food in clay pots rather than directly over an open flame, they opened the door to a slew of new moist-heat cooking methods, such as boiling, blanching, poaching, stewing, and steaming. Today, innovative cooks make all kinds of substitutions to suit their preferences. Those who like the taste of deep-fried food but don't care for the extra calories may turn to oven-frying, a lower-fat technique that simulates deep-frying by lightly coating the food in oil then baking it in a very hot oven. Other cooks improvise in a pinch by using whatever they have on hand. They substitute vinegar for lemon juice, oil for butter, and hot sauce for ground red chile peppers. Don't have the mirin called for in the recipe? Use a mixture of sherry and sugar instead. Can't find your fondue pot? Use a heavy stoneware dish set on a warming tray or a heating pad. Cooks make these sorts of last-minute adjustments all the time. Whether you change your ingredients, equipment, or techniques, substituting is a matter of tailoring your cooking to meet your immediate needs.

This book compiles a wide range of substitutions into one comprehensive, easy-to-use guide organized from A to Z. Beginning with Abalone and ending with Zwieback, it offers alternative ingredients, equipment, and techniques, including emergency substitutions, time-saving substitutions, healthy substitutions, alternatives for hard-to-find ingredients, alternatives for vegetarians, and ideas for varying the flavor of a dish in countless ways.

Many of the substitutions yield results that are remarkably similar to those you would achieve with the "real thing." For instance, 1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 mL) baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt makes a very close approximation of 1 cup (250 mL) store-bought self-rising flour. For those seeking a less-rich alternative to whipped cream, evaporated milk whips up surprisingly well and makes a creamy, lower-fat substitute that you can dollop onto your favorite desserts.

Other substitutions in the book are not intended to imitate the original item. Instead, they are meant to inspire creativity or stimulate experimentation in the kitchen. For example, replacing apple butter with pumpkin butter will not approximate the original. But it may provide a flavor variation that takes your recipe where you want it to go.

Just keep this cardinal rule in mind: Substitutes will always produce slightly different results. Sometimes the results will be fabulous. Sometimes they may be even closer to what you are going for (if you are experimenting). No matter what you anticipate, expect the results to be at least slightly different when substituting one ingredient, piece of equipment, or technique for another. For instance, using all-purpose flour instead of cornstarch as a thickener produces a slightly coarser, fluffier texture and faintly wheat-like, somewhat earthy flavor. Cornstarch produces a finer, smoother texture and an ever-so-slightly sweet flavor.

Keep in mind, too, that food and cooking are subject to myriad minute variables of time and temperature; ingredient and equipment type, quality, age, and handling; and, of course, user skill level. Whenever you alter one of these variables by substituting, the results, however microscopic, are bound to be different. The fact is that in the ever-changing world of food production, there are few absolutes. And these are mostly mathematical equivalents. For example, 3 teaspoons (15 mL) will always equal 1 tablespoon (15 mL). But, believe it or not, many other mathematical measurements change, depending upon variables such as time, temperature, ingredients, cooking technique and even location. For instance, the boiling point of water is 212°F (100°C), right? Well, that's only at sea level. Go up 5,000 feet (1,525 meters) and water actually boils at about 203°F (95°C) because there is less atmospheric pressure on the surface of the water as it heats. Cooks who bake cookies and cakes at such elevation often increase their oven temperature by 25°F (14°C) and slightly reduce cooking times. The higher oven temperature helps batters and doughs set before the leavening gases overexpand as a result of the thin, dry air at that altitude.

As you can see, substituting is something that certain cooks do all the time without even thinking about it. If you live at high altitude, you are probably used to substituting amounts and temperatures for those given in recipes. If you are lowering your saturated fat intake, you probably substitute oil for butter when sautéing. If the herb cilantro tastes soapy to you, then you probably substitute another more agreeable herb such as parsley.

Substitutions can solve many problems in the kitchen. But they can't work magic. If you have run out of an ingredient and really want to replicate the original exactly, my advice is simple: don't substitute. If you absolutely must have the flavor of cardamom in a recipe, go buy some cardamom instead of substituting another spice such as cinnamon. Cinnamon will taste like cinnamon and not like cardamom. However, if you want to experiment with changing the flavor of your recipe, cinnamon may be an acceptable substitute.

Often, that's the reason I substitute one thing for another: just to try something new With that in mind, I hope you find this book both practical and enjoyable, a reference that inspires you with fresh ideas and gives you all the information you need to improvise with confidence at home or in a commercial kitchen.

I hope you have as much fun experimenting in your kitchen as I have in mine. Happy substituting!

--

How To Use This Book

1. The entries in this book are arranged alphabetically and cross-referenced like an index. The entries are alphabetized by the letter rather than by the word so that multiple word entries are treated like single words. For example, the entry Applejack appears after Apple Corer and before Apple Juice.
2. Each entry has been arranged into two columns. The left-hand column contains introductory and reference information. The right-hand column contains the substitutions.
3. The introductory information in the left-hand column begins with a brief description, useful tip, or interesting fact about the item. If the item is known by any alternate names, these alternate names appear just before the description. For example, the entry for Annatto Oil begins, "Also known as manteca de achiote." These alternate names are followed by the item's description, in this case, "Food coloring made from the hard reddish pulp that surrounds the seeds of the annatto, a tropical American tree. In Jamaica, annatto oil is used to color codfish cakes."
4. In many entries, the introduction is followed by a box of useful measurement equivalents, such as 1/2 cup (125 mL) 4 oz (125 mL). In some cases, the equivalents have been rounded for ease of measuring.
5. The substitutions in the right-hand column appear in bulleted lists and have been categorized under one of five subheadings. Most substitutions fall under the subheading "If You Don't Have It," which appears in a shaded box at the top of the right-hand column. These substitutions are intended to replace items that you have run out of or cannot find in your market. However, in some cooking situations, you may want to intentionally vary the flavor of the finished dish, save time when preparing it, or improve its healthfulness. These types of substitutions appear under the subheadings "To Vary the Flavor," "To Save Time," and "For Better Health." If a particular item, such as Eggplant, has several varieties, those varieties and their characteristics appear beneath a fifth subheading, in this case, "Eggplant Varieties."
6. In some entries, the suggested substitution is a basic recipe that may replace a common store-bought item. For instance, in the Annatto Oil entry, the first suggested substitution is a simple recipe for Homemade Annatto Oil. Every entry lists the preferred substitutions first, followed by those that less closely match the replaced item but still make a fair substitute. In most entries, canned, jarred, and frozen versions of fresh ingredients are not listed as substitutions. It is assumed that the reader will use discretion and preferences when choosing these common substitutes. In those few cases in which a canned, jarred, or frozen substitution is listed, the item being replaced is listed as fresh. For instance, in the Bell Pepper entry, the first substitution... (20051207)