Substitutes for common cooking ingredients

Good idea!

I've found that the brand "Goldsaft" (found near honey & jams) is nearly IDENTICAL to molasses, and their "karamel" version is just like light corn syrup in the US.

As I remember more that I've come across, I'll post them.

The British_and_American_Foods wiki page has a short list, as do good cookbooks. I recommend the Joy of Cooking. Stuff like substitute for a cup of buttermilk with a cup of milk - 1 tablespoon milk +1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice.

To make a substitute for canned pumpkin purée:

Preheat your oven to 200° C. Cut a hokaido or other small pumpkin in half, remove the seeds and membranes, lightly salt the cut surface, then place cut side down on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Remove the skin from the flesh (the skin peels away easily). Put the flesh in a bowl and mash it up with a fork or potato masher. You might need to add a pinch of salt to bring out the flavors. Then put the purée into a strainer lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter over a bowl and let it drain in your refrigerator overnight. The drained purée freezes well, so it's a good idea to bake several pumpkins and freeze some for later.

Am I the only person amused to find instructions for subbing fresh pumpkin for canned?

I think buttermilk exists in Germany. My husband made a face when I told him I was planning to use some in the pancakes. (It is called Buttermilch, of course of course.)

I remember seeing canned pumpkin this time last year in the grocery downstairs in Karstadt...(the "home" store on Neuhauserstr.)

Sure buttermilk exists here, yes, it's Buttermilch. The subsitution is for when you're baking and don't want to have to run to the store for something you don't have.

You substitute fresh pumpkin for canned because the canned version isn't available everywhere here like it is in the US, and I think even most cookbooks indicate canned pumpkin. Easier to store too as freezers here are very small.

He who doesn't like buttermilk pancakes doesn't deserve them, is my rule.

Well, actually when I started this thread the idea was to mention substitute ingredients that COULD be found here, vs. what couldn't be found here ie: "zuckerruben" in place of "corn syrup".

But I guess it's not a bad idea to list "emergency" substitutes as well. For instance, if you don't have buttermilch on hand, you can add 1 teaspoon of either white vinigar or lemon juice to a cup of milk...

kitty-kat, have you used the Goldsaft in place of corn syrup in candymaking? Or in what kinds of recipes?

I used it last Thanksgiving to make a pumpkin-pecan pie. The consistency and taste was very much like light corn syrup, but that was my first time making that recipe, so I don't know what the comparison might be.

is there something similar to club soda that I can get in the supermarket or somewhere? or should I just use carbonated water? Thanks for any ideas.

Panama, sorry I didn't see this sooner. club soda is basically just seltzer with a tiny bit of salt added, to mimic "olden days" when people used to carbonate their own water using sodium bicarbonate.

Dr Oetker has a productalike for UK Angel Delight
Paradies Creme
Not a new product but new to me.
Unfortunately (because I love banana Angel Delight).

You can take the girl out of Essex...

Have you seen ready made custard in Penner Markt too?
But I think its too thin compared to brining you own custard power from the UK.

Way too thin that is. But this is childhood. I had a mad thing for banana angel delight as a kid. I'd even eat it like a sherbert dip but using a banana instead of a lolly.
Gorgeous stuff and less than 1€ a pack. Bananaramatastic.

What was needed yesterday at the chili cookoff was some warm buttery cornbread. Looking at how to make it here some of us were talking about what you could subsitute for the cornmeal...

I dont really think that corn flour will keep the cornbread the same texture, but it could work. And someone else thought about using polenta, which might work as well. Was wondering if anyone had tried using polenta?

ALSO, most recipes also need buttermilk. Any ideas for what I could use instead? Or does anyone know where I could get some...

thanks for any help!

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