Substitutions

The more I research, shop, and question, the more information I find all the time about substitutes for many different foods -- below is just a sample.  If you are looking for substitutes for a particular food and you don't see it here, please tell me about it via the comment box below and I will be happy to help! 

Also check out my new Substitutions Guide available on Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/Food-Allergies-Beyond-Substitutions-ebook/dp/B00A5GSVUK.

TO REPLACE: 
             

CRANBERRY    Fresh*:  lingonberry, currant, gooseberry, jujube berry (Chinese date, annab)

                             Dried*: raisin (dried grape), currant, goji berry, blueberry, jujube berry
                             (Chinese date, annab)

                             Substitutes with similar taste & texture when cooked: lingonberry, currant,

                             mayhaw (hawthorn berry), goji berry

                             Other substitutes* when cooked: cherry, blueberry, rhubarb, quince

EDIBLE FOOD-WRAPPERS (wheat-derived)  
                     ·      Edible leaves (cooked only): grape, fig (young leaves), cabbage, swiss chard, spinach, taro, Mexican chaya

              ·      soy-derived: soybean paper (mamenori), tofu/bean curd skins

              ·      rice paper/spring roll wrappers (cooked)

              ·      tapioca sheets (cooked)

              ·      prepared Chebe dough (commercial product, primarily manioc flour)

              ·      nori (seaweed)

GELATIN (animal-derived)   
              1½ tsp. gelatin powder = 1 tsp. agar powder or 1½ Tbsp. agar flakes or                                                               ½ agar/kanten bar
(Note: any of these three will gel 1 c. liquid)

               1 T. gelatin = 2 c. liquid + 1 tsp. granulated agar (kanten) or  2 T. flaked agar (kanten)

                Other substitutes*:

                 ·   starch made from arrowroot, rice, corn, tapioca, water chestnut, sago, taro, kudzu

                 ·   guar gum, xanthan gum, agar (kanten)

                 ·   methylcellulose (vegetable-derived)

                 ·   egg

                 ·   carrageen (sea vegetable sold dried)

Note:  Although xanthan gum and guar gum are usually interchangeable in recipes, xanthan is derived from corn sugar bacteria whereas guar is plant-derived.  Neither should be over-consumed, as they could have a laxative effect.

POTATO (white)
·   Mashed:   boiled or steamed cassava (manioc, tapioca or yuca root), cauliflower, celeriac (celery root), or rutabaga  (swede) mixed with butter and cream or milk of any sort; can do same with yams or sweet potatoes if not allergens
·  Chunks:    chestnuts, water chestnuts, turnip, jicama, burdock root (gobo), salsify (scorzonera), Chinese potato (arrowhead, arrowroot tuber), celeriac (celery root),  lotus root, sweet potato, yam, rutabaga (swede), kohlrabi, Jerusalem artichoke (sunchoke), or whole Chinese artichokes (chorogi, crosnes), chayote (vegetable pear), arracacha (Peruvian white carrot, mandioquinha), breadfruit, bamboo shoots
·  Chips made from: taro root (dasheen), rutabaga (swede), yam, jicama, yuca root (cassava, manioc, tapioca), sweet potato, turnip, parsnip, malanga, kohlrabi, salsify (scorzonera), plantain, arracacha (Peruvian white carrot, mandioquinha), yacon tuber/root, rice, corn

                                     Note: Potato starch is made by extracting and refining the starch in the potato, whereas potato flour is dried, crushed potato; they behave differently in cooking, and potato flour has a distinctive potato flavor.

POTATO (sweet) -- Often known as "yam" in the USA.

Substitutes similar in taste & texture when cooked:
         camote (Mexican sweet potato, Japanese nagaimo), winter squash (butternut, acorn), cooked mashed persimmon, cherimoya, Mexican eggfruit (canistel, yellow sapote)

PUMPKIN, cooked

Substitutes similar in texture and color when cooked and mashed*:

                                   sweet potato (USA “yam”), winter squash (butternut, acorn), persimmon, mamey sapote

QUINCE

Fresh*: apple, pear, Asian pear (nashi)

Cooked*: persimmon, apple, pear, apricot, rhubarb, mayhaw (hawthorn berry), loquat, prickly pear (cactus fruit), fig, cranberry, guava

* Flavor may differ somewhat from original ingredient.