It’s not every day that you have a jar of capers in your fridge or a pineapple waiting in the wings. And when unexpected guests come, they want to surprise them with something – exquisite and unusual. And even preparing for a feast in advance, you can not always meet the budget. Spending money on delicacies. What can replace them?
- Meat
Delicious tenderloin or steak is not the cheapest product. But keep in mind that the great merit of the prepared dish is in the skills and the successful combination of spices with other ingredients. Buy pork – it is softer and gives more juice or chicken – this way you can significantly save on the festive table.
Parma ham for salad can be replaced with smoked ham or bacon, instead of pepperoni, chop the salami.
- Fish
Fish can only be replaced with fish, but with a much cheaper analogue. So pollock will replace cod, flounder – halibut, sprat – anchovies. Any fish is supplemented with spices, and in some multicomponent dishes it is not at all important which type of fish to use.
- Ingredients for desserts
Very often, the dessert recipe contains expensive cream cheese – for example, mascarpone can be replaced with sour cream or cream. Despite the difference in taste, the dessert won’t get any worse. If you don’t have chocolate on hand, replace it with cocoa with vegetable oil (mix 3 tablespoons of cocoa and a tablespoon of butter – equal to one bar of chocolate).
Coconut milk is easy to substitute for low-fat liquid cream. Lemon juice is interchangeable with citric acid powder. Replace vanilla extract with vanilla sugar.
Brown sugar and molasses can be substituted for regular sugar, and almond flakes can be substituted with oatmeal.
Instead of fresh pineapple, buy canned pineapple – it is much cheaper and can be stored for a long time.
- Cheese
Mascarpone is also replaced with homemade soft cottage cheese, salty hard parmesan with regular hard cheese, traditional Italian ricotta cheese can be replaced with low-fat cottage cheese, and Greek feta with cheese soaked from salt.
- Spices and vegetables
You don’t have to buy fresh tomatoes to give a dish a tomato flavor, especially in the off-season. It is enough to add tomato paste or ketchup.
Capers can be replaced with finely chopped pickles, olives, olives and gherkins, expensive saffron with turmeric and paprika, and marjoram with oregano.
Artichokes in some dishes will replace celery stalks or pickled bell peppers. Celery stalks can be replaced with cabbage.
Instead of Japanese wasabi and Dijon mustard, use regular mustard with horseradish, cumin instead of bitter cumin, and dried rosemary or oregano instead of Provencal herbs.
- Refueling
Replace such expensive oils as sesame, rapeseed, linseed, grape seed oil with ordinary vegetable oils – sunflower or olive.
If you need to make a wine-based sauce, buy an inexpensive bagged one. Or replace it with red juice, fruit drink. White wine is a good substitute for chicken broth.
Replace balsamic vinegar with wine – in a dish or sauce it will be unnoticeable.