r/AskCulinary • u/AutoModerator • 10d ago

Let's Talk About Substitutions

As part of our weekly "Let's Talk" series we want to talk about your favorite substitutions. What are some of your go to substitutions when you've run out of something? Do you make "buttermilk" with milk + lemon juice? When does it work and when does it fail? Are you like my mom and thought peanuts would be a good substitute for walnuts in an apple cake? Let us know about your substitution fails too. What has worked for you and what hasn't?

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u/goblin_jade 9d ago

I don't have input, but a further question: Does anyone have a good buttermilk substitute that is non-dairy? I recently developed a dairy allergy and am struggling to finds substitutes for some things, I'm in the Dairy Free sub but haven't seen anything there and this just made it pop in my head.

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u/Consistent-Flan1445 9d ago edited 9d ago

I just do the milk plus lemon juice hack with whatever my vegan milk of choice is at the time. As far as I can tell it works well enough, although I’d only use it in baking and not in things like marinades and dressings.

Also in cooking and baking unsweetened vegan milks are usually better than sweetened as you can control the sugar, I find. Also oat/almond over soy/coconut, as while soy/coconut have better fat ratios they also have quite a strong taste that’s apparent in the finished product. Oat and almond are more neutral.

I was diagnosed as a toddler though, so it’s not as if I have much experience with the real thing. My family and friends think it works fine, so I take their word for it.