Sometimes you read a recipe, and your hands drop ... Fennel, capers, anchovies, mascarpone, coconut milk, mirin - what is it and where can I get it all?
And we often postpone the desired recipe with a sigh of disappointment: either you need to go to a distant supermarket for the ingredient, or the price for it is in the clouds. However, nothing in the world is irreplaceable! Let's try to cheat a little.
Anchovies
The funny thing is that many still confuse them with gherkins or pickles - small, young cucumbers. In fact, anchovies (lat. Engraulidae) are a family of fish of the herring order.
The notorious anchovy often an eyesore to housewives in meat and chicken pates, various salads. AT meat dishes anchovy gives a slightly noticeable flavor. You can replace it with a sprat of spicy salting, and if you need a light tone, then it’s completely ordinary, worker-peasant. You can also replace the anchovy with Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce. It is possible, however, that there will be no problems with the latter. But it's definitely cheaper.
Mascarpone cheese
In fact, mascarpone is not cheese at all, but rather creamy yogurt. It is prepared from fresh cream of high fat content: lemon juice or white wine vinegar is added to heavy cream and slowly heated.
Cream for mascarpone is made from the milk of cows fed only fresh flowers and grass. Mascarpone is very high-calorie - 450 kcal per 100 g. Traditionally, this gentle cream cheese taken as a dessert. Most popular dish with mascarpone - dessert "Tiramisu".
You can buy mascarpone in supermarkets or in specialized stores of Italian products. True, it is not cheap. You can replace either greasy mashed cottage cheese, or a mixture of heavy cream and cottage cheese.
Cooking rice wine, mirin
Cooking rice wine is a type of sake, the only difference is that it is used in cooking. dry wine with a low alcohol content, which is not usually classified as alcoholic beverages. Adding rice wine is a common technique in Japanese and Chinese cuisines.
AT Japanese cuisine sake is not used for the sake of the alcohol it contains, but to eliminate the smell of fish dishes. For this reason, sake is sometimes boiled to evaporate the alcohol it contains before being added to other foods. In addition, with the help of sake, you can significantly improve the taste of many products, rice wine is used as a marinade. When cooking Japanese and Chinese food dry white grape wine can be used instead of sake.
In Japanese cooking, sweet cooking rice wine, or mirin, is also almost universally used. It is a thick sweetish liquid. yellow color with a low alcohol content. Mirin is obtained from the appropriate varieties of rice, rice malt and sweet potatoes. Like sake, mirin is also used to impart a specific aroma and delicate sweetness to dishes. There are two varieties of this product: hon mirin and shin mirin, slightly different in taste, but equally used in the manufacture of sushi rice. Mirin can be replaced with light dry sherry, but in smaller quantities.
Balsamic vinegar
AT Italian cuisine balsamic vinegar is used in sauces for vegetables, meat, fish. The preparation of the vinegar begins by squeezing the juice from the Trebiano grapes from the provinces of Modena or Reggio Emilia in the Emilia-Romagna region. Grape juice is heated until it turns into a thick dark syrup. Then the syrup is mixed with wine vinegar and kept in wooden barrels. Each manufacturer uses their own spices. The ripening period of vinegar is at least 3 years, and its best varieties can withstand up to 50 years.
Instead of expensive traditional balsamic vinegar, you can buy affordable, which is industrially produced in Modena. Balsamic vinegar can also be substituted for wine vinegar. And if you want to get a little closer to the original taste of balsamic vinegar, try infusing wine vinegar with herbs and spices. This will give it a more refined taste and aroma.
You can do it like this. Ratio - 1 cup of herbs to 2 cups of vinegar. For example, apple. It is delicious to use wormwood tarragon for making vinegar. To begin, leave the herbs in a dark, warm place overnight to dry. Pour the vinegar over the herbs so that the vinegar completely covers them. Leave to infuse for 6 weeks in the dark. You also need to store the tincture in the dark, remembering to shake it from time to time.
Vanilla extract, vanilla essence
Vanilla extract is an alcohol tincture of vanilla beans with an alcohol content of 35%, which is usually used to add to creams, puddings, desserts, does not tolerate heat treatment. Therefore, it is better not to use it for baking. You can make your own vanilla extract. To do this, pour 100 g of vodka 4 vanilla pods cut lengthwise into 2 parts, clog the container with a jam and leave in a cool place for at least 2-3 weeks. It can be stored for 4-5 years.
But when there is no extract, sugar is also suitable - instead of 1 tsp. liquid, take 10-15 g of vanilla sugar. Just keep in mind that vanilla sugar can be either based on natural vanilla or synthetic vanillin. Of course, the first option is preferable.
Vanilla essence is a nature-identical food flavoring that contains both natural and non-natural ingredients and is therefore significantly less expensive than extract. 12.5 g of vanilla essence can be replaced with 1 g of vanilla powder or 20 g of vanilla sugar.
Fennel
Fennel is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Apiaceae family. It has a tall (up to 2 m) branched stem, which, like the leaves, has a bluish color. By appearance similar to dill, and tastes and smells like anise. Often found in fish and vegetable dishes, salads, teas. In hot dishes, fennel often coexists with capers. In cooking, both stalks and "heads" of fennel are used. The latter are stewed and fried.
Fennel root can be substituted petiole celery. If fennel is prescribed in the recipe for taste, then its fresh herbs can be replaced with seeds. The latter are sold in seasonings, they taste like cumin.
capers
Until now, in Russia, salted green balls in jars are treated with caution - it is not clear what kind of fruit it is and what it is eaten with. In fact, capers are not fruits at all, but the unopened buds of the thorny caper shrub (Capparis spinosa). By the way, they are an important ingredient original salad"Russian salad". From which you have already guessed what you can replace capers with.
Capers add piquancy and sourness to the dish. And you can replace them with olives, olives or gherkins.
Coconut milk
Coconut milk is a creamy liquid obtained by special processing of coconut meat (not to be confused with coconut juice formed inside the fruit) and is often used in Indian, Thai, Indonesian, Malaysian, Caribbean cuisines. It is an ideal base for oriental cream soups, an ingredient in sauces for meat, fish and seafood, curries, and is used in desserts and cocktails.
Coconut milk is sold in stores canned in tin cans, but you can not buy it everywhere and not always, besides, some people do not like the smell and taste of coconut. Therefore, in sauces, coconut milk can be replaced with low-fat (10-15%) cream, in desserts - with regular milk. If you want to give a coconut flavor to pastries, you can use coconut flakes. But replacing coconut milk, for example, in national Thai soups, perhaps, is not worth it.
tomato trade wind
Universal italian sauce Passata has a thick texture, is made on the basis of mashed tomatoes without skin and stones and is used to make tomato puree soup, meat and various sauces. You can buy it ready-made, but it's easy to make your own.
To prepare the sauce, you will need 1 kg of tomatoes, 1 medium-sized onion, 1-2 tsp. salt, 1 bunch basil. Scald the tomatoes, remove the skin from them and chop finely. Finely chop the onion and fry in vegetable oil until golden. When the onion is browned, add the tomatoes to it. Simmer the resulting mixture for 25 minutes, during which time the excess moisture should evaporate. 10 minutes before cooking, salt and add chopped basil.
What else can be replaced without losing taste
- Baking powder (baking powder) - for 20 g you need to mix 5 g of baking soda, 3 g citric acid and 12 g flour. This amount of powder is calculated on 500 g of flour.
- Unrefined sugar is replaced with regular sugar.
- Fudge is replaced with icing or melted chocolate.
- Corn starch is replaced by any other starch.
- Fresh cream is replaced with thick non-acidic sour cream.
- Fromage fré - thick yogurt or sour cream.
- Garam masala (spicy mixture) - 1 tsp each turmeric, coriander and cumin.
- Light molasses is easy to replace sugar syrup or honey.
- Maple syrup can be replaced with honey.
- Pancake flour - plain flour and baking powder.
- Artichoke: Fresh artichokes can be substituted for canned ones. And canned artichokes, in turn, are replaced by canned sweet peppers.
- polenta ( corn porridge wholemeal flour) corn grits. Grind it in a coffee grinder, you get real flour for making polenta!
- Feta cheese is replaced with cheese and vice versa.
- Mozzarella cheese replaces suluguni.
- Shallots - ordinary small onions.
- Leeks can also be substituted onions, and vice versa, for a milder taste, you can replace onion leek.
vanilla essence is the best substitute for vanilla pods. In fact, this is a food flavoring that is not much inferior to natural in taste. The big plus and clear advantage of the essence over other similar products is that it takes very little to cook dishes, unlike the same vanilla powder or pods.
When preparing the essence, she insists on alcohol and gives him some of her essential oils, a small amount of enzymes, resin and tannins, not to mention vitamins and useful minerals. The latter include sodium, calcium and iron, vanilla pods and phosphorus are not deprived, but also potassium and zinc. There are 288 kcal per 100 grams of essence.
Vanilla arrived in Europe in the 16th century. She was brought from America. Subsequently, this spice has become widespread in cooking and perfumery.
How to do at home?
At home, the essence is quite simple to make, following the instructions, but it will take a lot of time to bring it to readiness. To make vanilla essence, you will need the following ingredients:
- 1 vanilla pod;
- 100 grams of alcohol (at least 40%).
After cutting the pod lengthwise, and then into several parts, place it in a dark glass container, fill it with alcohol and close it tightly so that the alcohol does not evaporate. Leave the bottle of essence for 2-3 months, shaking occasionally. Remember, the longer it sits, the stronger and brighter the aroma will be. Store vanilla essence in a dark, cool place.
After bringing the essence to readiness, it can be filtered from the remains of the vanilla pod through a coffee filter.
From the spent pods, with their preliminary drying, in the future, you can make vanilla sugar, aromatic bath salts, or use them in soap making.
If you do not have the time or desire to wait until the essence is infused at home, then you can simply buy it at the nearest supermarket or online store.
Application in cooking
Vanilla is widely used in cooking. Many people love this spice for its delicate and sweet aroma. Vanilla essence is often used in:
- desserts;
- drinks;
- meat dishes.
Also, vanilla goes very well with alcohol and some types of fish. In addition to carbohydrates, vanilla pods contain proteins and fats, which means they are highly soluble in alcohol and give it a subtle exotic flavor. This led to the widespread use of vanilla in the creation of alcohol and alcoholic cocktails.
If you have vanilla essence in your kitchen, then a couple of drops will be enough to replace a packet of vanilla sugar or powder. How much vanilla to add to a dish depends on the recipe or on your taste preferences. But the essence is used a little differently than the extract. Due to the alcohol base, the essence evaporates during heat treatment. Therefore, it is correct to add it at the very end of the cooking process.
Now natural vanilla not often used in industrial scale, in particular, because of its cost and difficulties in preparing for use. Vanilla is replaced with synthetic vanillin, which is cheaper and more convenient to produce.
What can replace vanilla essence?
You can replace vanilla essence with vanilla powder (vanillin) or vanilla sugar. Vanilla powder has a brighter flavor than sugar, so you need a lot less of it.. Thus, observing all proportions, you can replace 25 grams of vanilla essence with the products indicated in the table.
For a person who loves vanilla, vanilla essence will be a real find!
The most characteristic and most popular flavor that is added to the dough is vanilla. A few drops of this essence can give culinary masterpiece unusual smell and taste.
The word "essence" in Latin means "essence", "substance". In cooking, food essence is used, which is a concentrated extract that must be diluted with water before use.
Vanilla is an important ingredient in many sweet foods, including cookies, cakes, ice cream, candy, and chocolate. It is also used in aromatherapy - in candles, creams, salts, perfumes and incense. Vanilla is one of the varieties of orchids. Its pod secretes a substance called vanillin. The most valuable vanilla beans are grown in Madagascar or (formerly known as Bourbon) off the east coast of South Africa. It is vanilla essence that will be the best substitute for vanilla or its pod.
Some of you may be wondering why use an extract when fresh vanilla beans are available? And the answer is that one and the other do not serve the same purpose. Fresh pods must be immersed in a liquid (milk, cream, syrup, etc.) to release their flavor, so they can only be used in recipes that include such ingredients (sauces, ice cream, or creams). And the vanilla essence is ready to use directly, without soaking. Moreover, it is stored much longer than the pods. It was first invented by the Aztecs, and it is she who is one of the most exquisite aromas that you cannot do without in the kitchen.
Vanilla essence can be made at home using alcohol or vodka and a vanilla stick. You can use any liqueur or other drink that contains at least 40% alcohol. Vodka is usually used because of its neutral taste, due to which vanilla aroma is heard. The pod is better to choose flexible, but hard. cook dark bottle. For 100 ml of vodka, you need one vanilla pod, cut lengthwise and cut into small pieces. You can add 2-3 teaspoons of sugar. The contents of the bottle should be shaken from time to time. The longer the bottle sits, the more aromatic the vanilla essence will be. Ideally, it takes 8 weeks to get the extract. This tincture is suitable for all sweet bakery products- alcohol will evaporate, and only the smell of vanilla will remain.
Moreover, vanilla essence perfectly stores its taste in the refrigerator or in a dark, cool place, in a separate closed container away from other spices and seasonings.
But what to do when you're already making cake batter and find that vanilla essence is missing from the house? What to replace and can it be replaced? The answer to this question is yes, but with some caveats.
Vanilla offers a simplicity and purity of taste unlike other extracts. You can replace it with other spices only as a last resort. Consider, for example, if you are cooking lemon extract would be a suitable substitute. It is not neutral like vanilla and will taste different, but a good substitute. Maple syrup, vanilla bean or brandy will also be an adequate replacement for the essence. However, it should be noted that in addition to replacing vanilla extract, you will change the recipe and the final aroma and taste of the product.
If you are using maple syrup instead of vanilla essence, use a one to one ratio. If you are using a vanilla bean, use half for each tablespoon of extract. If you're substituting vanilla for alcohol - cognac or liqueur - make sure the substitute doesn't compete with the rest of the ingredients in the recipe. Do not use more alcohol than you could use vanilla extract.
There is no more unique and versatile culinary scent in the world than vanilla. And no more easy way to use this exotic and affordable fragrance than in the form of an essence.
Vanilla essence is a concentrated vanilla extract with alcohol. The reference product is obtained from dark, almost black pods with a smooth elastic surface with a slight white coating, infused with alcohol, with a strength of 40%.
Naturally, such a concentrated substance as vanilla essence has all the beneficial qualities inherent in vanilla fruits, since during the aging process, the valuable components of vanilla fruits gradually turn into alcohol. As a result, the elixir:
- gives strength;
- activates the production of the “hormone of happiness”;
- enhances concentration;
- relieves nervousness;
- beneficial effect on libido.
The finished essence is used to make original hand made soap or an aroma candle, scented salts and even perfumes. In this form, vanilla perfectly exhibits its sedative properties.
The calorie content of the essence is 288 kcal, and its the energy value will be:
- proteins - 0.06 g;
- carbohydrates - 0.06 g;
- fat - 12.65 g.
How to replace the essence
When using analogues, it is necessary to take into account that the concentration of the aromatic component in them is an order of magnitude less than that of the essence: literally two or three drops of a strong liquid are similar to a pack of vanilla sugar.
There are a number of contraindications regarding the use of the product. The first is individual intolerance to vanilla, which manifests itself in allergic reactions. The presence of alcohol also makes its own adjustments: the elixir cannot be used during pregnancy, lactation, children, as well as during periods of antibiotic treatment. Even in small doses, this fluid can play a negative role in the life of a vehicle driver.
How to make essence at home
A handmade product guarantees naturalness and maximum benefits. To get high-quality vanilla essence you need:
- in a clean glass container, preferably dark in color, with a tightly screwed lid, pour alcohol (at least 40%);
- vanilla pods are placed in it at the rate of 1 pod for every 100 g of liquid;
- the lid is closed, the dishes are placed in a dark cool place.
Vanilla essence will be ready in 2-3 months. Peak exposure - 6 months. In the process of infusion, the bottle is shaken periodically (every few days). Instead of alcohol, you can take another strong alcohol: cognac or brandy. It is believed that it is in combination with vanilla vodka that it is possible to maximize and reveal all the advantages of its aroma.
To speed up the process, the pods can be cut. Then the fruit is cut lengthwise. The seeds are removed from it with a knife and placed in alcohol. The peel is finely chopped and also placed in a bottle. The product will be ready in 4-5 days. The liquid is filtered. A whole fruit is placed in the purified tincture (both for beauty and to continue the aging process).
Traditionally, vanilla essence is used in the manufacture of a variety of desserts and pastries: biscuits and muffins, muffins and puddings, ice cream and cocktails. One drop of fragrant liquid makes any of the products much tastier. Vanilla essence is enriched with meat and vegetables, coffee, tea, cocoa and alcohol-containing cocktails.
Important: the basis of the product is alcohol, which instantly evaporates under the influence of high temperatures, so this elixir is added to ready-made, already cooled dishes.
Vanilla essence is characterized by a long shelf life and versatility of use: just a couple of drops are enough to fill the house with enchanting aromas.
