Sometimes you’re looking for ways to make food a little healthier; other times you just don’t have an ingredient on hand. No matter the reason, you can use a number of substitutions for ingredients in most recipes. Some of the more common include sugar, flour, milk, sour cream and chocolate.
They start with a rich, sweet, dough, then they're deep-fried, and finally they're tossed in sugar, filled with jam or topped with a sugary glaze. While there are ways to make the doughnuts themselves healthier, deep-frying rem...
If you need to watch your caffeine consumption, try making your morning cup with roasted chicory root instead of coffee. As a coffee substitute, a hot beverage can be made from the large tap roots of the chicory plant. Consider...
Dumplings are one of the most-loved specialties in Asian cuisine. They can be steamed, baked, pan-fried or simmered in soup and filled with anything from pork and shrimp to tofu or even soup broth. Like perogies, ravioli and si...
A cast-iron skillet might not seem like a family heirloom to some folks, but a well-seasoned one, handed down through generations, can become a treasured piece of kitchenware for preparing traditional family recipes. "Seas...
If you suddenly realize that you’re all out of vegetable oil just as you're about to bake your favorite banana bread recipe that calls for it, you don't have to make a dash to the grocery store. You may have other ingredi...
If you love moist, chocolate brownies but want to cut down on calories and saturated fat, you can easily substitute the vegetable oil with something healthier. Fruit purees often can serve as partial or total replacements for o...
Most boxed cake mixes and cake mix recipes call for the addition of oil and eggs to provide moisture. Some recipes suggest substituting mayonnaise for the oil and some or all of the eggs. The Hellmann's Mayonnaise website sugge...
These steaks may be cooked as is in a heavy pan. Some steaks, though, are marginally tender and need some oil to help them get started. The use of cooking oil depends on the size and type of the steak in the pan.
French fries are a simple side dish or snack you can make at home with minimal ingredients. To make basic french fries, you simply need potatoes, cooking oil and a bit of salt. However, by coating your homemade french fries wit...
Many Mexican restaurants serve taco salads in basket-shaped taco shells they create by frying flour tortillas. A taco salad must have a taco shell for an authentic taco taste. Replicate that taco salad taste at home by making y...
Preparing a sliced sirloin dish does not require a great deal of time. Rather than soak the sirloin in a marinade to make it more tender, this recipe relies on a locking-in tenderness via a higher-than-usual heat. If you use a ...
Vegetable oils supply energy-dense calories to your diet. They may also contain essential fatty acids and serve as a vehicle for absorption of fat soluble vitamins. Vegetable oils are derived from the seeds of a variety of plan...
If you fondly remember mom's fried pork chops and cream gravy, you can recreate this rich and filling dish at home. This southern style supper is delicious, particularly when served with mashed potatoes, cornbread and fresh gre...
Adding pudding to a packaged cake mix helps stabilize the cake form and provides additional flavoring. You might use pudding to change the flavor of a plain, vanilla mix to chocolate or just as an additive to create a moist cak...
Frying potatoes at home lets you make a delicious side dish similar to the home fries or hash browns you find in restaurants. Frying them in a skillet lets you control the fat and sodium content in the dish, making it healthier...
To ensure success when baking a tart, you need to use the right-style pan. A pie pan will not work because its design does not allow you to remove the contents intact before serving. In contrast, a tart pan allows you to disass...
Vegetable oil is one viable solution to chapped hands because of its ability to lubricate and hold in moisture. Chapped, dried hands often itch and may even burn, especially when they are washed or exposed to chemicals. To reco...
The tilefish is native to the Atlantic ocean and ranges in size from 2 to 50 lbs. It eats crab and other crustaceans almost exclusively, which gives its texture a delicacy and its flavor a slight sweetness, which is surprisingl...
Making phyllo dough by hand is tricky and labor intensive, though rewarding in sweet baklava or savory spanakopita. The intricate layering of phyllo pastry belies the simplicity of its ingredients. Authentic phyllo dough uses f...
Go retro for your next party or family movie night with a tasty and quick cracker snack mix, flavored with Italian dressing mix and red pepper. This easy treat takes only minutes to make and can be customized to your tastes. Ta...
Indian samosas, flaky triangular pastries stuffed with meat or vegetables and deep-fried, bear considerable resemblance to Spanish empanadas. Their fillings vary across India, according to Meena Pathak, author of "Complete Indi...
At a minimum, a manual defrost freezer should be defrosted and cleaned once each year. While it can take this long for frost to build up to the 1/4-inch thickness that signals it is time to defrost, a number of factors can spee...
Too much fat consumption stimulates weight gain, increases cholesterol levels and contributes to heart disease and cancer. While vegetable oil is a healthier option over butter and lard, this oil contains 13.6 g of fat and 120 ...
For example, say you're cooking macaroni and the small tubes clump together. Later, during your meal, you might find a large clump of macaroni with only a sparse coating of sauce. Some cooks pour a little vegetable or olive oil...
Looking to avoid the expense and hassle of going out to a steakhouse, home cooks -- with varying degrees of success -- attempt to create the perfect steak at home. If you've been frustrated with cooking steak, look to your cupb...
Although popcorn is a whole grain that provides plenty of nutrients, such as protein, iron and vitamins B and E, it is not always a healthy snack food. Popcorn cooked on the stove in oil contains roughly 55 calories per cup, co...
Moist banana cake is similar to banana bread but with a finer texture. Using vegetable oil instead of butter when baking banana cake reduces the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol. Moist banana cake can be a light snack or...
If you love the taste of lemonade, you can add lemonade concentrate to cake mix to make a delicious dessert. Vanilla flavored frosting can be used to decorate the cake or cupcakes you create using the lemonade and white cake mi...
Making healthier food choices can lead to a healthier lifestyle. Applesauce is a healthier option than oil, and may be substituted when you are baking. Substitute applesauce for oil by cutting the amount of oil recommended by t...
Tilapia is a flaky white fish farmed in tropical waters. The easy availability of this species makes it a sensible choice for grilling. As seafood, tilapia is fragile; adding vegetable oil to both the rack and the skin of the t...
Traditional Irish lamb stew, also called mutton stew, uses specific ingredients, equipment and a specific cooking process. While the key difference in the traditional version is that you do not brown the meat before cooking, br...
Using vegetable oil in a cake pan is not taboo. Though most professional bakers utilize butter or shortening as a preferable medium to prevent sticking in cake pans, vegetable oil may be used as well. There are certain consider...
The type of fat you use when baking can change the shape, texture and moistness of your finished goodies. There are various substitutions for vegetable oil in brownies to make them lower in fat and/or calories. Among them are b...
Safflower oil falls under the broader category of vegetable oils, according to the American Heart Association. If you substitute another type of vegetable oil for safflower oil, you're unlikely to change the taste or texture of...
To produce the best deep-fried foods, cooking temperatures should be about 375 F. This quickly cooks the outer coating and keeps the oil from absorbing into the food and making it greasy. Cooking oils used in deep frying should...
Vegetable oil in a cake is what provides moisture and a sense of richness. However, it also contributes to the fat and calories the cake contains. If you are following a low-fat diet or need to limit your caloric intake, elimin...
Most boxed cake mixes require you to use vegetable oil or butter to prepare them. If you want to lighten the fat content of your cake or do not have vegetable oil available, you may want to consider some common cupboard ingredi...
To avoid burning and help the seasonings adhere to their surface, vegetables are often tossed in a mixture of cooking oil and seasonings. Due to its rich and unique flavor, olive oil is a popular choice for such recipes. As rep...
You have butter but you want to bake that cake mix that has been sitting in the cupboard for ages. The box says to add vegetable oil. You ask yourself, "Can I substitute vegetable oil for butter without ruining the cake?" Baki...
Mineral oil and vegetable oil have different properties and uses. Vegetable oil comes from plants, whereas mineral oil is a petroleum derivative. Mineral oil is used primarily in cosmetics and as a laxative; vegetable oil is us...
There are several reasons to substitute butter for vegetable oil in your brownie mix. You might be out of oil, have excess butter in your refrigerator or be making dessert for a butter-lover. Whatever your reason, this easy sub...
Made from animal fats, butter contains cholesterol and lots of saturated fat, like all fats that are solid at room temperature. Vegetable oil, on the other hand, contains no cholesterol. It does contain some saturated fats, bu...
Oils you'll commonly find in the grocery store are vegetable oil and canola oil. Vegetable oil is typically a blend of vegetable based oils that might include cottonseed oil and other highly processed oils. Canola oil is derive...
If you are comparing oils for seasoning and cooking your foods, you should choose canola brands over vegetable oils. Although canola oil is high in fat and calories like all other oils, it is rich in healthy unsaturated fatty a...
Food and Drug Administration started requiring food manufacturers to specifically list the content of this particular fat on product labels in 2006. While trans fats occur naturally in certain animal foods, the artificial kind,...
The body uses dietary fat as a structural component of cell membranes, to produce hormones and as the vehicle to absorb fat-soluble vitamins. Fat exists in several different forms. Plants contain unsaturated fats, while animal-...
Vegetable oil is a common ingredient in recipes. Adding whey protein to the vegetable oil will thicken it, creating a firmer baked product, and will also convey the nutritional benefits of added protein, according to "Technique...
Partially hydrogenated oils are added to many products such as cookies, crackers and baked goods and are used in restaurants to prepare food. If you are looking to eat a healthier diet, it is important to understand the negativ...
Arterial damage caused by high triglycerides can lead to a heart attack or stroke if left untreated. Triglycerides can be lowered with medications and dietary changes that involve vegetable oils.
We need fat in our diet. Not all fat is the same, however. Saturated and trans fats damage your health, while unsaturated vegetable oils are a necessary component of good health. The United States Department of Agriculture, USD...
Vegetable oils provide a number of nutrients the body needs, including essential fats and vitamins. They also offer a wide variety of ways to flavor your food while boosting its nutrient content. You might add olive oil to soup...
Transfat is simply a way of explaining the molecular structure of a fatty acid, which is a type of naturally occurring lipid important for living organisms. It is a structural component in cell membranes and also is a source of...
Hydrogenated vegetable oil comes from hydrogenation, a process where hydrogen is added to vegetable oil and creates trans fat. This makes the vegetable oil much more solid than regular oil and thereby less likely to spoil. This...
A person could have a renewable lease on their home. A library book might be renewable. People do have renewable skin--when the outer layer dies, a new layer is produced. But in the past few decades, the word "renewable" has...
Biodiesel is an alternative, clean-burning fuel that can be used in any diesel engine. You can make your own homemade biodiesel using a few basic ingredients: vegetable oil, methanol and lye. The oldest technological university...
Your pantry may contain the not-so-secret ingredients to glowing skin, says Barbara Close, author of "Pure Skin: Organic Beauty Basics." Vegetable oils, especially those that are all-natural, organic and cold-pressed, contain m...
If you're worried about acne, it's a good idea to understand the products you're using and whether another product might be better. You may have heard that some vegetable oils can be used as skin moisturizers. However, results ...
Savon de Marseille are soaps made from a minimum of 72 percent vegetable oil. According to the company website, Savon de Marseille soaps are made of pure olive oil and are free of detergents and animal fats. Premium Marseille l...
Vegetable oils consist of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids contain double bonds, which are susceptible to oxidation. Oxidation can lead...
Hydrogenated vegetable oil is created by adding hydrogen atoms to unsaturated fat. Because partially hydrogenated oils don't spoil as quickly as non-hydrogenated fats and can withstand repeated heating, and because the hydrogen...