🔄 Ingredient Substitution Reference
A filterable reference of common ingredient substitutions for cooking and baking.
Search for what you have run out of
Twelve swaps, each written at a fixed quantity so the ratio is unambiguous. The filter looks at the left-hand column only - the ingredient you are missing - so typing "cream" brings up sour cream and heavy cream, while typing "yogurt" returns nothing even though yogurt is the answer to one of them.
Two entries are really arithmetic. Cake flour is a cup of plain flour with two tablespoons swapped for cornstarch, dropping the protein from about 11% to nearer 9%. Self-rising flour is a cup of plain flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder and 0.25 tsp salt - and using it means deleting the baking powder and salt the recipe already listed, or you leaven it twice.
What each swap costs you
- Butter to oil is 3/4 cup, not 1 cup. Butter is about 80% fat and 16% water, so 3/4 cup of oil carries the same fat. You lose the water that becomes steam, and oil cannot be creamed with sugar, so the crumb is denser.
- Milk plus melted butter will not whip. It stands in for cream in a sauce or a batter, but whipping needs intact fat globules that a stir-together mixture does not have.
- Home-made baking powder is single-acting. Soda plus cream of tartar fires the moment it is wet, so bake at once - the shop-bought version keeps a second lift in reserve for the oven.
- Dried herbs are 1 tsp to 1 tbsp fresh, and that ratio stops holding as you scale up. Add dried early to rehydrate, fresh at the end, and taste before tripling anything.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make buttermilk with milk and lemon juice?
One tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar, milk topped up to one cup, five minutes to sit. It curdles slightly and supplies the acid that reacts with baking soda, though not the thickness of the cultured original.
Can I use oil instead of butter in a cake?
Yes, at 3/4 cup oil per cup of butter. Expect a moister, flatter cake with less flavour - fine in a chocolate cake, poor in shortbread or anything that relies on creaming for lift.
What can I use instead of cornstarch to thicken a sauce?
Two tablespoons of plain flour per tablespoon of cornstarch, since flour thickens at roughly half the strength. Cook it a couple of minutes longer to lose the raw taste, and accept a cloudy sauce rather than a glossy one.