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Passover

Don’t Want To Go Back Out? Use this Substitution Guide Instead

Brynie Greisman March 20, 2018

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There’s just something about Passover shopping that usually entails multiple trips to the grocery store. For some reason, there’s always just one or two ingredients we forget to buy. Circumstances are a little different this year, so for anyone who can’t make that extra trip to the store, or simply don’t feel comfortable going back out, we’ve created a guideline for substituting products for ingredients you might already have on hand.

 

INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTE WITH
Flour

½ teaspoon potato starch for every 1 tablespoon of flour. 5/8 cup of potato starch or matzo cake meal (or a combo) for every cup of flour.

NOTE: Potato starch has more thickening power than flour and acts instantly. It doesn’t need fat to congeal, and it thickens at a lower temperature than flour does. It’s made from pure starch so has nothing to support it either. Add at the end of cooking (for ex. To thicken a soup) and keep temperature low so it doesn’t break down.

Confectioners’ Sugar

For every 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar, use 1 cup white sugar minus 1 tablespoon sugar + 1 tablespoon potato starch. Pulse in the blender or food processor to create powdered sugar.

Buttermilk

For every cup of buttermilk (or sour milk), substitute 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 1 cup measuring cup, then fill with milk or pesachdik non-dairy creamer. Let sit for a few minutes. Milk or parve milk will thicken and mimic the creamy texture of buttermilk.

Margarine

Substitute equal parts of coconut oil – not melted! Or in some cases, oil put in the freezer for a few hours. Oil will be very creamy and thicken somewhat. 

Eggs

Difficult to substitute for Pesach, however you can cut down. For each yolk eliminated when baking, use an extra egg white plus ½ tablespoon nut oil.

Milk For every 1 cup of milk, substitute 1 cup water plus 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, melted or ½ cup fruit juice and ½ cup water or water with raspberry syrup added.
Corn Syrup

For every 1 cup of corn syrup, substitute 1¼ cups white sugar plus 1/3 cup water, boiled until syrupy.

Semi-Sweet Chocolate For every 8oz, substitute 3 tablespoons cocoa + 2 tablespoons oil + 3 ½ tablespoons white sugar.
Graham Cracker Crumbs For every 1 cup of crumbs, substitute 1 cup of ground cookies +1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Corn Starch For every cup of corn starch, substitute 7/8 cup potato starch (a bit less than a cup).
Peanut Butter Equal amount of almond butter. And it will taste even better!
Maple Syrup Honey or apple juice concentrate. The taste will be different, but it will add good flavor and liquid sweetener.
Honey For every 1 cup honey, substitute 1¼ cups white sugar dissolved in ¼ cup warm water.
Cream Cheese For every 1 cup of cream cheese, subsitute 1 cup cottage cheese blended with 50 grams/1/2 stick of butter.
Breadcrumbs For every 1 cup of breadcrumbs, substitute 1 cup matzo meal. For frying chicken cutlets, you can use a batter of egg/spices/potato starch or use part almond flour. Delicious!
Orange Liqueur Equal amount of undiluted orange juice concentrate.
Soy Sauce

¼ cup beef broth or gravy saved from your cooked meat, strained, ¼ cup brown sugar (dark is better for color), ¼ cup red wine vinegar (see note), ¼ cup water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, rounded ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, pinch of pepper, salt to taste. Boil uncovered for 10 minutes or until reduced to ½ cup. Store in fridge. 

Note – for red wine vinegar: use 3 tablespoon dry red wine, 1 tablespoon vinegar and a pinch of sugar.

Vinegar

lemon juice (this will provide the sharp acidic taste in a salad)

Cider Vinegar

Lemon juice + apple juice concentrate or apple juice to taste

Craisins If you don’t use craisins on Pesach, you can sub a finely diced sweet/tart apple in a salad or kugel. It will not taste the same, but will add good texture and taste to your dish. Tried and true!

 

For more great tips and tricks, check out our Passover Prep HQ!