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Kathy McEwan

FCS Agent, Southwind District

Editor's Note: Kathy S. McEwan is a K-State Research and Extension family and consumer sciences and 4-H extension agent assigned to Allen County, Southwind Extension District. She may be reached at the Iola office (620) 365-2242 or by email at kmcewan@ksu.edu.

K-State kitchen guide highlights successful substitutions

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

If you have ever been elbow deep into a recipe only to discover you are missing a key ingredient, you know how frustrating that can be. It may leave you wondering how to substitute something else for that ingredient and hoping it doesn't alter your product too much.

Good news: A recently updated K-State Research and Extension publication features alphabetical listings for substitutions for more than 100 recipe ingredients.

"Ingredient Substitutions" includes recommended stand-ins for essential items -- baking powder, condiments, spices or dairy products -- that may be missing from the cupboard.

"Ingredients typically fulfill specific roles in recipes," said Karen Blakeslee, the K-State Research and Extension food scientist who recently updated the kitchen guide. "While some results may vary in color or texture, recommended substitutions are typically successful stand-ins and will yield an acceptable product."

Examples of recommended substitutions:

* Use all-purpose flour or granulated tapioca to replace cornstarch as a thickening agent.

* Substitute plain yogurt or sour milk blended with butter or margarine for sour cream.

Suggested substitutions also provide simple recipes, such as combining tomato sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, ground cinnamon, cloves and allspice for chili sauce, or blending molasses with granulated sugar as a substitution for brown sugar.

To view and download the kitchen guide, go to the K-State Research and Extension bookstore/library at: www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/fntr2/l730.aspx).

A four-page, three-hole punched folder version of the publication is available at each of the Southwind Extension offices for 50 cents each -- limit two per person. Larger quantities can be purchased from the K-State Research and Extension bookstore at: www.ksre.ksu.edu/library.