SUBSTITUTIONS WITH YOGURT

Yogurt is an extremely versatile ingredient. You can use it in several ways with recipes.

Grab a container of flavored yogurt and a bowl of dried granola and take it to work with you. Now you have an excellent breakfast or lunch when you dump the yogurt over your granola instead of milk.

If you have a recipe asking for sour cream, use some plain yogurt instead.

If it is for a dessert, use some flavored yogurt to give your recipe an extra punch.

BUYING FRESH DAIRY

When you are shopping for dairy products, take a few extra minutes to check your expiration dates.

A lot of the time if you look back a few rows you will find products that have a later expiration date.

Be especially careful with items like sour cream and cottage cheese.

They are not as quick of movers as milk, and when they are left out in the coolers than can tend to warm up.

If you pick cartons that are buried in the back or toward the bottom they will have been kept cooler and will also keep longer once you get them home.

EVAPORATED MILK

The recipe asks for Evaporated Milk, what is it?

Evaporated milk is exactly that, milk that has had 60% of the liquid evaporated (cooked) from it. The milk is then pasteurized by heating, giving it a light caramel appearance.

You can find cans of Evaporated (condensed) Milk in the baking aisle of your grocery.

You can add equal amounts of water to evaporated milk to replace regular milk in a recipe.

Once you open the can to use the evaporated milk, you can store covered tightly in the refrigerator for no longer than a week.

Evaporated Milk cannot be interchanged nor should be confused with Sweetened Condensed Milk.

MILK (PRODUCT) SUBSTITUTION

If you are trying to cook and you find that you don’t have some ingredients that you need you can try using these substitutions. Your recipe may not turn out exactly right, but these are close substitutions when you are in a pinch.

SEASONING ICE CREAM

When making homemade ice cream, sometimes the flavor is just a bit off when you serve it fresh from the machine.

The next time that you make ice cream try “seasoning” it a bit before serving.

To do this, just remove the paddle from inside the bucket and replace the lid. Place salt and ice over the top and let it sit for up to 4 hours.

If it is a hot day, keep an eye on your ice to make sure that it doesn’t melt down too much, replace as needed.

Letting the ice cream sit for a bit will allow the flavors to blend, giving you richer taste.

FREEZING WHIPPED CREAM

You have just made the best dessert for the family and topped it with whipped cream.

Now that you are cleaning up you are trying to decide what to do with the left over whipped cream.

You hate to throw it away, but it does not store well in the refrigerator.

The answer is simple: freeze it.

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.

Spoon the whipped cream into mounds on the lined baking sheet and pop in the freezer.

Freeze until set, then cut apart the waxed paper and store in a tightly sealed container in the freezer until ready to serve. (No longer than 1 month)

Now, when you need whipped topping for a dessert, pull the number of whipped cream puffs that you need from the freezer, let sit at room temperature for 5-7 minutes, remove the waxed paper, and place on top of your dessert.

WHIPPED CREAM

To make the best Whipping Cream, chill the bowls and the beaters to help the cream remain cool.

Begin whipping at high speed with a hand mixer or stand mixer. Do not mix too long or you will make butter!

Once peaks begin to form, add your sugar and flavoring and whip for about another 30 seconds to fully incorporate.

Serve immediately.