Substitutions?

[LoreD]

I think the hardest part for new vegans is understanding that the recipes in the Vegan cookbooks don't have to be rigid. You don't have to go out and buy the exact ingredients in the recipe. Look around the fridge and try something. Even with sauces I feel confident to change a few things. The recipe said brown sugar. Well, I only had coconut sugar, and it worked just fine.

I looked at a recipe for an eggplant stir fry. I didn't have any eggplant, so I looked in the fridge and substituted tofu. Worked great.

I've been looking in the fridge for substitutions for 40 years. It has made being a vegan remarkably easy.

 

[silva]

I think the hardest part for new vegans is understanding that the recipes in the Vegan cookbooks don't have to be rigid. You don't have to go out and buy the exact ingredients in the recipe. Look around the fridge and try something. Even with sauces I feel confident to change a few things. The recipe said brown sugar. Well, I only had coconut sugar, and it worked just fine.

I looked at a recipe for an eggplant stir fry. I didn't have any eggplant, so I looked in the fridge and substituted tofu. Worked great.

I've been looking in the fridge for substitutions for 40 years. It has made being a vegan remarkably easy.

that's just true for everybody. Some people follow recipes almost to the letter, every time. Others read recipe books to get ideas.
When I want to make something, or see a recipe that intrigues me I search for others for comparison, to understand what makes it special, what are the commonalities of proportions.
Other than bakery I can't follow a recipe at all.I can't follow the ones I make up and write down without changing.
It's an individual thing

One thing though, is many people aren't used to the way things are combined, or how to switch around sauces and seasonings.
Like stop trying to call things what they aren't--like the vegetable sauces people insist on calling 'cheese' sauce . Call it a vegetable sauce- that's what it is!

It's good to see interest in healthier foods now, veg or not, they do inspire creativity and make it easier to make plant based

 

[Thabo]

Yes I also had the same problem when I started but now I literally have come up with so many new recipes while I was looking for certain substitutes and it does indeed make things easier.

 

[shyvas]

Once you know the basics of cooking, nearly every recipe can be tweaked according to one's personal taste and ingredients available.

There are many vegan substitutions available ; both processed and wf. I find the ones that are most challenging are eggs in certain baking/dessert recipes ex; lemon curd (require egg yolks), Victoria sponge, custard. I have never been able to make a real hollandaise sauce for asparagus without egg yolks so have given up! Cornflour is not a tasty substitute for eggs! Honestly, a quiche made with tofu doesn't really taste great neither!

Everyday basic recipes such as cottage pie, stews, curries and pasties taste delicious with plant based subs. lentils, soya (Quorn) mince and nuts. These kind of dishes are very easy to make without using meat. Plant based spreads make excellent pastry and cakes and are one of the best substitutes for dairy butter. Some brands taste even better than low quality brands of butter.

Dairy cheese is also very difficult to substitue when making savoury dishes such as pizza and bakes and especially authentic parmesan when making pasta or risotto. None of the substitutes taste anything like the real thing.

Hopefully in the near future, industrials will come up with a more authentic plant based cheese assortiment.

Top 10 vegan substitutes | BBC Good Food

www.bbcgoodfood.com

 

[MorellaRat]

It's a treat to have a vegan cook book but the majority of things cooked in this house come from non vegan recipes that are then veganised. I love using seitan as a meat replacement.