Re: OT: Question for the vegans

On Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:10:58 -0800, "Kathy Applebaum"
<KathyA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I know we have at least a couple of vegans here, so I thought I'd ask for a
bit of help.

Background: not a vegan, no intention of becoming one, but we are trying to
have a couple of meatless days a week for various reasons (health and cost
being big ones). I have a number of food allergies, so many vegan recipes
work well for me.

So here's my question. In vegetarian recipes calling for cream, what's the
substitution? Soy milk usually subs nicely for milk, but cream has me
stumped. Would a full-fat coconut milk work? Something else?

It completely depends on what use you are substituting for.
For example when it comes to reasons of health and cost, throw out the
cool whip and go back to the real cream, so long as you are willing to
whip it yourself.

Coconut may or may not be a healthier choice, depending on who you
talk to. Coconut oil has it's share of detracters for sure. Where I
live it certainly would be a LOT more expensive, probably because
dairy cows are third on the list behind dogs and cats in numbers in
this county.

I have never been fond of soy milk or rice milk, but we do have
non-dairy family members so we use it. In sauces and cooked dishes
you can sometimes substitute soy or rice milk with a spoonful of
non-dairy coffee creamer for real cream. But bear in mind that often
you cannot make a substitution at all and have it come out.
The problem is that it is not just the fat that is involved when it
comes to cooking with cream. Cream also contains milk solids, notably
caseins, and the lack of those may alter the texture of your dish
quite dramatically. Cream also does not seperate as easily as the
alternatives, and that often means that if you intend to substitute
for it you either have to dramaticly alter the other ingredients, or
make significant changes to the way the recipe is prepared.

If the recipe calls for a quarter cup or less of cream, try the
soymilk and cremora trick. But the more cream the recipe calls for,
the less likely that is to work.
There is no _good_ substitute for cream, it is just one of those
things where if you want to avoid it you are better off reworking
recipes from scratch, or trying something completely new.

We have gone to a whey based milk substitute for most of our drinking
milk. Sometimes those of us without lactose problems treat ourselves
to some blackmarket Jersey or Gurensy milk. Until Monsanto loses
firmly on the rights of producers to lable their products as
containing no GMOs, we are shying away from soy.

NightMist
--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Pear Clafouti
    ... substitute all kinds of fruit for the pears.... ... would work with halved pears. ... The recipes I have used all called for milk. ...
    (rec.food.cooking)
  • Re: OT: Question for the vegans
    ... milk, especially casein, in it is out. ... I have a number of food allergies, so many vegan recipes ... Soy milk usually subs nicely for milk, but cream has me ... and that often means that if you intend to substitute ...
    (rec.crafts.textiles.quilting)
  • Re: "" Boom Boom Calm Chowder...its American taste..""Eat it Yahhh..
    ... recipes that I liked... ... There was no cream or milk in the chowder recipe. ... Calm chowder isn't supposed to have cream or milk, ...
    (rec.food.cooking)
  • Garlic Ice Cream
    ... Garlic Ice Cream ... garlic-free meal as the slight hint of garlic will be extremely offensive ... Soak the gelatin in cold water while you heat to a boil the milk, ... Only recipes and recipe requests are accepted for posting. ...
    (rec.food.recipes)
  • Re: "" Boom Boom Calm Chowder...its American taste..""Eat it Yahhh..
    ... recipes that I liked... ... There was no cream or milk in the chowder recipe. ...
    (rec.food.cooking)