RE: Vegan Substitutes

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Tony
Date: May 20, 2007 9:46 PM


Thanks! ~
ShelLibra
MsTERIous
King Michael, The Loving, of Christ
the DINO effect
Tierra :*(



Dairy

[edit] Milk

Milk in cooking provides flavor, moisture, and thickness. Replacing milk with water frequently results in less rich foods, and so a plant milk should be considered.

[edit] Soy Milk

Soy milk can generally be substituted directly for milk in any recipe, though it does not curdle in the same way cow's milk does when heated. There are a massive variety of soy milks available; the best tend to be refrigerated brands, such as Organic Valley, Silk, Whole Foods private brand, Alpro, and Trader Joe's private brand. Because of the preponderance of soya in many vegans' and vegetarians' diets, allergies from the toxins in soy are becoming more common.

[edit] Other Non-Dairy Milks

Other non-dairy milks include oat milk, almond milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, and rice milk. Coconut Milk is a wonderful substitution for milk and cream in many recipes. It has a thick rich taste, which is wonderful for vegan cream sauces and cream soups. It also doesn't become grainy like soy milk. Be careful though, it's one of the few plants that has saturated fat in it. Rice milk is relatively watery and grainy. A good rice milk is Rice Dream. Oat milk can be very thick and creamy. Almond milk is also somewhat watery, but has a rich flavor. A good almond milk is Almond Breeze, made by the Blue Diamond Grower's Cooperative. Unlike soy milk, which comes in an unsweetened variety which is genuinely unsweetened, these other non-dairy milks are high in sugars. When using them in replacement of milk, you will want to cut down on the other sugars in the recipe.

Any of these non-dairy milks make a fine replacement for cow's milk in recipes.

[edit] Buttermilk

Add one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to one cup of soy milk or rice milk. Stir, and let stand for 10 minutes.

[edit] Butter

[edit] Margarine

Most margarines are made with hydrogenated oils, which are generally considered to be bad for human health. Margarine is also made by emulsing stabilizers such as protein powder, starches, or gums with oil. This technique may be better for human health, but is not widely adopted. One brand of vegan non-hydrogenated margarine, Canoleo, is spreadable and has a good buttery flavor.

For most purposes, GFA Brands' Earth Balance or Soy Garden make an excellent butter substitute. Earth Balance and Soy Garden are made from non-hydrogenated oils.

In some recipes, butter is a major ingredient, as in icing, and margarines often leave a greasy feeling in your mouth if used as a substitute; this is because the melting point of margarine (33-43 °C, depending upon formulation) is often higher than the temperature of the human body (37 °C), while the melting point of butter is below it (32-35 °C). In these situations cocoa butter can be used, since it has a melting point closer to that of butter (34-38 °C). See Ochef.com's answer to "Is There a Difference Between Butter & Margarine?" for more information.

[edit] Vegetable or Canola Oil

If a recipe calls for one stick of butter (1/2 cup), use 1/3 cup of oil.

[edit] Flax oil

Use it as a topping for potatoes, rice, popcorn, etc. Note: DO NOT cook with this! If used with eggplant or tempeh, can create a "fishy" taste for appropriate dishes.

[edit] Nut butter

Can be made from almonds, cashews, or other butters. Use the same amount you would for butter.

[edit] Applesauce

Use for sweet baking only. Use the same amount you would for butter. Especially yummy in brownies! For muffins, etc., replace up to 3/4 of the butter with applesauce, using vegan butter for the rest.

[edit] Prune Puree

Use in the same way as applesauce: Puree 1/2 cup of pitted prunes with 1/4 cup of water. You will want to reduce the amount used, or the final product may be too moist. If the recipe calls for a half cup use 1/3 cup instead. You may also want to add a little oil, maybe a tablespoon per cup of fat needed, because a little fat goes a long way in taste and texture.

[edit] Cheese

Most substitute cheese is made of soy, though there are also nut varieties. Beware; some soy cheeses contain casein/caseinate, a milk derivative.

A very tasty vegan cheese which melts well, especially on pizza, is Follow Your Heart's Vegan Gourmet Cheese Alternative. Other brands include Tofutti's Soy Cheese Slices, Cheezly, and VeganRella (VeganRella's sister brands, TofuRella and AlmondRella, contain casein).

The Rella brands are all made on the same machinery, as noted in this mailing list post.

Cashew cheese or nutritional yeast "cheese" sauce are also be appropriate for some dishes.

Replace cottage cheese or ricotta cheese with crumbled tofu in lasagne and other dishes. Adding a little miso can give a "bleu cheese" flavor.

An excellent vegan cream cheese is Tofutti's Better than Cream Cheese, which is available in various flavors and without hydrogenated oils.

[edit] Cream

Alpro make an excellent cream substitute, which has a very similar texture to real cream and tastes extremely similar.

[edit] Yogurt

There are a variety of soy yogurts ("cultured soy") available that can be used in place of dairy yogurt including Whole Soy, Stonyfield Farms O'Soy, Silk and Alpro.

[edit] Sour Cream

A vegan sour cream is Tofutti's Sour Supreme, a non-hydrogenated variety is Tofutti's Better than Sour Cream.

[edit] Mayonnaise

An excellent vegan mayonnaise is Follow Your Heart's Veganaise, available in canola oil ("original"), expeller-pressed canola oil, grapeseed oil, and organic expeller-pressed soybean varieties. Another vegan mayonnaise is Nayonnaise.

[edit] Eggs

Eggs have a varied role in cooking; as a wash they provide a glossy texture to breads, when the whites are whipped they provide volume, sometimes (as in pancakes) they are simply traditional and play no structural role, other times they are used to make mixtures stick together.

Vegan egg replacements are generally not good for washes or where they are a major component, as in meringue.

[edit] In Baking

1/3 cup Applesauce (muffins, brownies, and cake)

1/4 cup Soy Yogurt (Quick breads, muffins, cakes)

1/3 cup Pumpkin Puree (for pies and baking)

1/2 small mashed Banana (for quick breads, muffins, cakes, and pancakes)--helps browning

1 heaping Tbsp. Soy flour plus 1 Tbsp. Water (muffins, cookies and cakes)

(Note that the strong flavors of some substitutions such as banana or pumpkin will come through in the finished dish.)

[edit] For Binding

To bind things like burgers, use mashed potatoes, bread crumbs (blended), cooked rice/oatmeal, or tomato paste.

[edit] Other

These can be used for a large variety of things:

• 1/4 cup of Silken Tofu blended (Dense cakes, brownies, use only 1/2 cup to replace 3 eggs for lighter/fluffier baked goods, add a teaspoon of arrowroot or cornstarch for cookies to keep the right texture, bad for pancakes) -- leaves no taste

• Flax Seed "Gloop": 1 tablespoon flaxseed, finely ground in blender or coffee grinder or 2.5 tablespoons pre-ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water (for pancakes, breads, and other baking) -- distinct earthy granola taste great for things like pancakes, and whole grain items, such as bran muffins and corn muffins. It is perfect for oatmeal cookies, and the texture works for cookies in general, although the taste may be too pronounced for some. Chocolate cake-y recipes have mixed results, I would recommend only using one portion flax-egg in those, because the taste can be overpowering.

• Arrowroot powder

• Agar powder: Use with recipes that call for egg whites. For each egg white, dissolve 1 tbsp plain agar powder in 1 tbsp water. Whip, chill and whip again.

• Ener-G Egg Replacer: A versatile, commercially available egg replacer made from potato starch, tapioca flour, and vegan leaveners. You can find it at natural/health food stores. One whole egg = 1 tsp Ener-G® powder + 2 tbsp water. Tastes chalky.

  To make something similar to Ener-g:

  • Mix together 1 tsp Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp Baking Soda, 2 Tbsp Flour, 3 Tbsp Water.
  • A heaping tablespoon of soy flour or bean flour mixed with a tablespoon of water.
  • 2 tablespoons of cornstarch beaten with 2 tablespoons of water.

• Lecithin: Can give an "eggy" flavor to bland-flavored items, such as tofu or soymilk-based sauces.

Some others:

1 tsp baking powder, 1 Tbsp water, 1 Tbsp vinegar

1 tsp yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water

1 Tbsp apricot puree

1 1/2 Tbsp water, 1 1/2 Tbsp oil, 1 tsp baking powder

[edit] Honey

While some vegans eat honey, others would like to avoid it. Agave nectar is a general-purpose liquid sweetener derived from the agave plant that serves well as a honey substitute. It is produced by Sweet Cactus Farms and Madhava, among others. Golden syrup is also a good substitute. Other excellent substitutes include rice syrup and other grain syrups, which have a similar taste.

[edit] Meat

Meat can be replaced with varying degrees of success by tofu, tempeh, seitan, textured vegetable protein, vegetable or nut mixtures, or a commercially available meat substitute such as tofurkey, soyrizo, or soy taco.

Many Asian foods stores have false meat available. False squid is especially realistic, but there is also false chicken, pork, duck, and fish. These are usually made from gluten, but often also have soy ingredients.

[edit] Miscellaneous

[edit] Fish Sauce

Fish sauce is made of fish. This cookbook has a recipe for vegan fish sauce.

[edit] Worcestershire Sauce

Worcestershire sauce is traditionally made with anchovies. There are many vegan Worcestershire sauces including varieties by Edward & Sons Trading Company and Annie's Naturals. Some grocery store brands of Worcestershire sauce are also vegan.

[edit] Broth & Bouillon

Chicken or beef broth can be replaced by a vegetable broth or by vegetable bouillon cubes such as Organic Country Bouillon Cubes.