substitutions – Red Apron

Grocery shopping when you are allergic and food intolerant can be rather difficult. The frozen food section is full of enticing pre-made meal offerings, most of which contain ooey, gooey, delicious cheese. The produce section contains dangerous items like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and kale, none of which I can eat. The canned food aisle is full of beans. Nuts are everywhere and in everything!

supermarket refrigerators — Photo by Fancycrave.com on Pexels.com

I wander over to the dairy section to grab my lactose-free milk to make some homemade farmer’s cheese (yum!) and glance longingly at the yogurt section. I see a sign. “Lactose-Free Yogurt” it says! My heart leaps, then sinks slowly to my feet as I realize that it is made from soy milk, or almond milk, or cashew milk. Still nothing for me. I decided to search the internet for assistance. Surely there are recipes for lactose-free yogurt out there. What I found out is that there are lots of recipes for homemade yogurt, most of which require the use of…yogurt. Sigh. With a lot more searching, I finally found a recipe for lactose-free yogurt that used nut milk and a culture that could be purchased online. I decided to try an experiment with my lactose-free milk (thank you, Lactaid!) and this recipe and see what I ended up with. I ordered some Bulgarian yogurt cultures from Amazon and gave it a shot. Neither of these companies pay me to advertise for them…I just have good results from using them.

the brand of culture I used

the milk I used

I heated up the milk with my sou-vide machine (my new favorite kitchen tool) to 180 degrees F and held it there for 30 minutes.

I then cooled it to 110 degrees F in an ice bath in the sink.

I added the cultures and poured it into a jar. Since I wasn’t sure what part lactose (the milk sugar I cannot digest) plays in the development of yogurt-y goodness, I added a tablespoon of honey (from my sister’s bees) just in case sugar was a necessary component.

I put the jar back into the sou vide bath with the timer set for 24 hours at 110 degrees F. I knew I wouldn’t need that long but wanted to over estimate just in case. It only took 6 hours.

The instructions that came with the yogurt cultures said to check after 5 hours. I stuck a spoon into the jar at hour 6 and a glistening spoonful of whey appeared atop a creamy concoction that looked an awful lot like yogurt!

The jar came out of the water bath and into the refrigerator it went. A couple of hours later, I opened the jar and took a taste. Sweet, tangy, creamy and delicious yogurt!

Since I like Greek yogurt better than regular yogurt I had to strain the initial supply into a thicker form. Coffee filters work really well for this, but I had to strain it in small batches of two cups at a time.

I ended up with a little over two pints of creamy Greek yogurt from two quarts of milk.

Two pints plus a half cup of strained yogurt

I kept out six tablespoons of the original yogurt to make another batch.

Unstrained yogurt saved for the next batch.

I have never liked plain yogurt before but this stuff is delightful. I have mixed it with a cut up peach, sprinkled it with granola, eaten it plain, and mixed it with cherry jam so far. I think I can see tzatziki in my future!

According to what I’ve read, I can make more yogurt from this yogurt. I do feel a sense of obligation to those six little tablespoons of starter yogurt that I set aside. I don’t know how long the cultures will live in my refrigerator and how soon I have to make more yogurt. But so far, I am happy with the stuff I have and have found myself turning to yogurt with fruit as a tasty snack. I’ve already eaten most of the original batch and will make more this weekend. Experiment successful!

I don’t eat soy. It’s a legume and my body does not react well to legumes, so I have decided to avoid soy as much as I can. But soy sauce adds a little certain something to most dishes and I miss it when it’s not there. It’s a way to add salt and “umami” flavor to soup and stew. Mix it with ginger and garlic and honey and you have a dipping sauce that will change a bland piece of chicken to a delicious meal! But, I really want to avoid soy sauce, so I went looking for a substitute.

I happened to be wandering down a YouTube “rabbit trail” of cooking shows and found a channel, called Townsends, that shares 18^th Century recipes. One of the recipes that they shared was for Mushroom Ketchup. It apparently was frequently used back in the 18^th century as a regular sauce or condiment for meat. I was intrigued with the idea of using this as a substitute for soy sauce. Mushrooms are full of glutamates, which are the flavoring agents that add that meatiness and richness that soy sauce contributes to food. They are full of minerals (potassium, copper, selenium, phosphorus, and a bit of iron, zinc, manganese and magnesium according to the internet) and contain fiber and protein. I like mushrooms, they add some of the same flavor enhancers that soy sauce does, and the recipe contains salt like the soy sauce, so I thought it might make a good substitution.

I adapted the Townsends recipe quite a bit. I didn’t cook it over an open fire in the woods, and I used modern tools and ingredients. I also didn’t have the spices they used so added the ones in my cupboard, that I like. I also cut the recipe in half since I wasn’t sure I’d like it and didn’t want to waste ingredients. In the future, I have decided to keep making the recipe as written below because it makes an amount that I can use up in a reasonable amount of time. I will definitely make it again because it is delicious and is a fantastic substitute for soy sauce.

Here is the recipe I used:

1 pound button or Cremini mushrooms

2 Tablespoons kosher salt

1 bay leaf

1 medium onion

Zest of one lemon

1/2 Tablespoon grated horseradish

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel and dice them into 1/4 inch pieces. Place them into a glass bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Add the bay leaf and stir thoroughly, continuing to break up the mushrooms. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on the counter overnight or for about 12 hours. Pour the mushroom mixture into a large saucepan and add the onions, lemon zest, spices and vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool and pour through a fine strainer lined with cheesecloth placed over a large bowl. Squeeze all the liquid out of the solids into the bowl and pour into a bottle (I used a clean coffee creamer bottle). This is your mushroom ketchup! Mine has kept in the refrigerator for three months so far with no change in quality.

Save the solids! Do not throw these away because they still contain a great deal of flavor. Spread the solids out onto a parchment lined baking tray and place in a 175-200 degree oven for 3-4 hours until completely dried out. (I mean completely–no moisture at all!) Pour these dried bits of deliciousness into your nearest spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Sprinkle this on anything, especially steak, chicken, fish, pork or vegetables. It will change your life.

I have used mushroom ketchup as a replacement for soy sauce in dipping sauces, marinades and braising liquids and it has worked beautifully. It adds all the salty umami flavor I could want without the soy that my body does not like.

Category: substitutions

I made homemade, lactose-free yogurt!

Mushroom Ketchup is Amazing!