Ask a question: What do I substitute for...

Finally... internet so slow its just now i could rush a post.
Unlike many, some ppl perhaps take for granted many ingredients abundant where you live. Years ago, I read dairy production in the country is a mere 3% of its needs, and now sad to say, I saw 95% of our dairy needs are still being met by foreign companies or imported.
Tho we sometimes had butter when small, we grew up w/ margarine for most baking needs, altho I now see how much better butter is for stir-frying veggies and fish fillets, wc don’t sizzle too much and scald like most local oils for cooking so common here.
When I run out of butter or marg, peanut butter also for pie crust, I’d sub some honey, wc mind you is diluted many times also=( so runny. We used to be able to buy from the wet market honey with the comb, but the last time I did, you know it hadn’t the tang of pure honey. Never mind the crumbly consistency of graham crumbs, as long as theres a crust for egg pie or some other, but with plain flour what else can be used aside from lard also. There was that recipe of dates used as base for some cake-or pie-like recipes but lacking a food processor, we cannot always make the simple crusts or bases that seem so easy for some to make.
Oldnnew, yes milk and yogurt in eggs are nice. I was thinking also, yogurt when cooked would lack most its live bacteria content, wont it? Do you know how much heat/cooking or how long it could tolerate to be still live?

Finally... internet so slow its just now i could rush a post.
Unlike many, some ppl perhaps take for granted many ingredients abundant where you live. Years ago, I read dairy production in the country is a mere 3% of its needs, and now sad to say, I saw 95% of our dairy needs are still being met by foreign companies or imported.
Tho we sometimes had butter when small, we grew up w/ margarine for most baking needs, altho I now see how much better butter is for stir-frying veggies and fish fillets, wc don’t sizzle too much and scald like most local oils for cooking so common here.
When I run out of butter or marg, peanut butter also for pie crust, I’d sub some honey, wc mind you is diluted many times also=( so runny. We used to be able to buy from the wet market honey with the comb, but the last time I did, you know it hadn’t the tang of pure honey. Never mind the crumbly consistency of graham crumbs, as long as theres a crust for egg pie or some other, but with plain flour what else can be used aside from lard also. There was that recipe of dates used as base for some cake-or pie-like recipes but lacking a food processor, we cannot always make the simple crusts or bases that seem so easy for some to make.
Oldnnew, yes milk and yogurt in eggs are nice. I was thinking also, yogurt when cooked would lack most its live bacteria content, wont it? Do you know how much heat/cooking or how long it could tolerate to be still live?

In chat tonight (or this morning, depending on time zone) we were talking about food substitutions. Thought I'd open a thread for a place of reference for new (and experienced) cooks to make suggestions.

My qualifications? I've been a home cook, and an excellent one for 36 years, and I've parlayed that interest into a full time food business. I'm all about making it work and maybe not doing everything 'technically' correct or following a recipe EXACTLY, but how to make things work for my palate and the ease of daily cooking.

So... have any questions?

Lynn - I'm so sorry I missed this!

I understand that the ratio is a 1:1 UNSWEETENED apple sauce for oil substitution in cakes - but it'll give you a moister, denser cake. In the case of brownies? They will come out cakey. You actually need fat to make some of the crispy edges. Another suggestion, if you want a fudgier brownie is reduce the egg by one, unless your recipe only has one.

BUT? You can also use mashed black beans (unseasoned refried black beans works, just get the fat free ones so you don't have any added fat there), or pumpkin puree, or prune puree (you can use baby food for that last one), and other people use banana. Some people were using mashed avocado, but it's fatty - though a good fat.

All of those solutions are 1:1 substitutions.