Storing Tips

1 Alcoholic substitutes Bourbon can be replaced with vanilla extract and red wine with grape juice; vegetable stock; cranberry juice; tomato juice or grape jelly.

2 Baking powder substitute If you don't have baking powder, use 1/4 tsp. baking soda plus 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar (ignoring the cornstarch) for each tsp of baking powder required.

3 Better batter When next making batter for fried fish, use ice-cold ginger beer (or beer if you don't mind alcohol). This makes the batter lighter in texture. And if the batter is kept really cold, it will absorb less oil in the fryer.

4 Buttermilk substitute If your recipe calls for buttermilk, but you don't have any, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, then let it stand for 5 minutes before using.

5 Castor sugar substitute Run out of castor sugar? Make your own superfine sugar by churning regular granulated sugar in a food processor or blender.

6 Crême Fraïche A naturally thickened fresh cream that has a sharp, tangy flavor and rich texture. A good substitute can be made by mixing heavy cream with uncultured buttermilk and allowing it to stand, well covered, in a warm place until thickened.

7 Cream substitute If a recipe calls for double-thick cream, but you don't have any, substitute with 2/3 cup milk and 1/3 cup butter.

8 Eggs and baking powder If you increase the eggs in a recipe, decrease the baking powder by 1/2 teaspoon for each extra egg added, and vice versa.

9 Flavourful gravy Instead of salting gravy, enrich both the gravy's colour and flavour by using a little soy sauce.

10 Forget the salt If you do not want to use salt in pasta, try a squeeze of lemon juice or a shot of vinegar instead.

11 Ginger ale Use ginger ale as a clever alternative to other liquids in a fish batter mix. During preparation, the ale should be kept as cool as possible. The ginger ale prevents the oil from penetrating the batter excessively, while it continues to cook. The result is a lighter texture for both fish and coating.

12 Instant vs regular oats You can use instant and regular oats interchangeably in recipes. The difference between them has to do with how they're made: instant oats are cut into several pieces before being steamed and flattened whereas regular (rolled) oats are steamed, then flattened into flakes. Instant oats take 5 minutes to cook and old-fashioned oats take about 15 minutes.

13 No cream, low cal Substitute evaporated skim milk for cream in frozen desserts, puddings, pie fillings, and sauces. It's especially compatible with caramel, butterscotch, and chocolate.

14 No fish stock? Simply use bottled clam juice.

15 Special pancakes For a taste treat and extra light pancakes, try substituting apple cider for the milk.

16 Tomato pasta Use tomato paste to colour pasta dough instead of tomato sauce.