Some people feel overwhelmed when they find that they are preparing a meal for a vegan diet.
Substitutions for cooking vegan often do not jump into a person's mind when they are faced with this challenge.
Cooking for a vegan requires that a person eliminate any food products that are, or contain, animal products.
This includes honey and other items that may have an animal product used in the processing of the food.
Knowing some easy ingredients for substitution when cooking will make creating delicious vegan dishes much easier.
When cooking for a large group, making foods that can be enjoyed by vegans and non-vegans alike will cut down on the amount of cooking that must be done.
A great tip for cooking with substitute ingredients is to use a bit more spice and herbs than you would use in the normal recipe.
Many vegan products do not have the full flavor that is found in non-vegan dishes, so you will need to add zest to the dish to create the flavor that you want.
Most people automatically select honey when they are not going to use sugar in a recipe; however, honey is not an option in a vegan diet.
Therefore, you need to expand your horizons and look to natural syrups.
When using syrup as a sweetener, you will want to decrease some of the liquid that is called for in the recipe, as the liquid in the syrup will create some of the liquid called for in other parts of the recipe.
Agave, Golden, and Date syrup are excellent sweeteners.
Depending on the syrup you select, you can create a slightly fruity flavor in your recipe.
Maple Syrup is the healthiest syrup a person can use for sweetener and acts as an excellent binding agent when baked.
The syrups also add a distinct flavor to herbal tea and can give you a caffeine and sugar-free hot drink that is totally relaxing.
Many ingredients react differently when used for baking or other cooking.
Most substitute ingredients will react in a way you may not be familiar with.
Choosing your substitutes based on how they will interact in the recipe and react to the heat they are in, will help in making an excellent dish.
Soy and Almond milk have more fat in them than other types of milk and work very well when baking.
The substitution ratio is the same as for regular milk, so you do not have to calculate a different amount of milk.
When making a dish or gravy on a stovetop, rice milk is an excellent medium when mixed with cornstarch for thickener.
Soy and Almond milk will burn and scorch more easily on a stovetop than rice milk, and their fat content often will overpower a delicate dish.
When you need a heavier milk for whipped cream or pudding, coconut milk is a great choice.
This milk is very sweet so you do not need the amount of sweetener that is called for in the recipe.
It whips beautifully and will create the peaks that regular whipped cream makes.
When cheese is needed for a pasta dish, it is very easy to create a Ricotta cheese substitute.
Silken Tofu or Mashed Tofu that is blended with a bit of lemon juice gives the Ricotta cheese flavor and bakes in pasta just like the real cheese.
This cheese also works very well when making old-fashioned cheese break.
When using substitute ingredients in recipes, a touch of lemon juice can brighten up the flavor of any dish.