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Time is short and company's coming. You're on a schedule and haven't got time to go to the store. Aunt Sadie's coming to dinner and she's lactose-intolerant or a vegan or can't eat wheat products. Or--the classic problem--that wonderful new recipe calls for an ingredient that you can't find at a grocery within a hundred miles.
In today's world of international recipe-sharing, busy schedules and ever more numerous food allergies and dietary dogma, the successful cook must be both flexible and resourceful.
Learning to substitute is a basic skill that our grandmothers knew well. Unfortunately, the prosperity and growing availability of food and out-of-season produce made the skill obsolete for our parents and many of us need to re-learn the simple---and sensible---rules of substitution. -
Start with identifying the function of the ingredient you need to substitute. Does it help the bread rise or does it give a specific flavor to a stew? Once you've decided what function you need to replace, you can consult any number of substitution lists. Any good cookbook or kitchen guide should have a section on ingredients and what they do. If your cookbook is missing such a section, invest in a basic text like The Boston Cooking School, Good Housekeeping or Doubleday Cookbook or "The Joy of Cooking" to have on hand for reference. Whole Foods operates an online tutorial to the modern grocery.
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Take stock of your larder and note what you need. Consider limitations, such as dietary restrictions and availability of ingredients. Although some produce is always available, much of it is available only during its peak during its traditional season. No corn is as sweet as that harvested at the end of July and no cantaloupe as rich as that collected in early June. Substitute in-season produce when you can. That overpriced raddichio can be replaced by endive, broccoli rabe or even dandelion greens, depending on the dish.
Replace the meat in lasagna with spinach for vegetarians and use chicken broth or apple juice instead of wine for teetotalers. Keep basics like mushroom soup on hand and buy plain foods instead of processed. Having a good larder gives you more options. -
Own at least one classic text on cooking that you can use as a reference to find out what the effect of an ingredient is and how to approximate the function with a replacement. Dig out one of grandma's old cookbooks and keep it in your kitchen.
These old cookbooks provided a basic cooking course for housewives who had no television (much less cable cooking shows).
Although some of the recipes in these books are frightening in their fat content, the information on basic ingredients is as helpful as ever.
To update your understanding, bookmark some websites that offer substitutions for foods and cuisines you regularly use.
