Q&A - Substituting non-dairy milk

I received a message asking if I’m taking questions on the blog. Yes! Exciting that I have at least a few readers J If you have questions about a specific post, post a comment. Or you can email more general questions to yorkandspoon@gmail.com

I will answer them here so everyone benefits.

How has your cooking changed? For example, can you still make non-vegan recipes using soy milk or almond milk instead of dairy milk? Does consistency stay the same?

Substituting non-dairy milk for dairy milk in most recipes is simple. Just make a switch for equal amounts. There are many choices; soy, almong, rice, oat, coconut, hemp... Works well in baking, smoothies, sauces, etc. I prefer unsweetened soy milk as the regular can taste a bit sweet in some sauces & I try to avoid added sugars. My favorite non-dairy milk is almond milk. I prefer the aseptically packaged boxes you find on the isle vs the refrigerated half gallons. I can keep them in the pantry until opened.

Benefits of non-dairy milks are lower calories & zero cholesterol. A cup of 2% milk has 130 calories vs 60 in almond & 90 in soy. Plus their expiration is much longer. I’ve never had to toss unused non-dairy milks.

Some recipes would definitely not work, such as an alfredo sauce that calls for cheese, cream & milk. I would just find a vegan cream sauce recipe.

Here is a website with a great guide on substituting, especially in baking. http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=2763&catId=2

Because this is getting long, I will answer the second question regarding egg substitution in a separate post.