An empty pantry? Try these substitutes

Happy Halloween! As all the little ghosts and goblins (or perhaps Dora the Explorers and Harry Potters) get their costumes ready, it's time for a little old fashioned candy-- brown sugar fudge.

This is an OLD recipe, but a good one. Unfortunately, we don't hand out homemade candy at the door anymore, but this would be a great treat for a party you might be going to this weekend-- and easy!

I thought this week I'd take some time to run over a few cooking and baking terms that you may see in your cookbooks, but you may not be certain of:

Blanch: to immerse foods briefly in boiling water, usually followed by a quick cooling in cold water. Used to remove skins or as a start in the preparation of vegetable dishes.

Braise: to simmer in a covered dish in a small amount of liquid.

Carmelize: to heat dry sugar or foods containing natural sugars until light brown and of a caramel flavour.

Cream: to work foods until soft and fluffy. Usually applied to shortening, butter or other fat and butter.

Dredge: to coat completely with flour or other mixture.

Dust: to sprinkle lightly as with flour or sugar.

Fold: to combine a solid ingredient with a delicate substance such as beaten egg whites with a folding motion rather than beating-- this is to prevent a loss of air.

Mince: to chop very fine.

Poach: to cook slowly in hot liquid. Usually applies to eggs or fish.

Saut?: to cook in a skillet with a small amount of fat over medium-high to high heat.

Scald: to heat just below the boiling point.

Score: To cut lightly so as to mark the surface of the food with lines. (for example you may score a cake before cutting to ensure you get the required number of servings out of it)

Whip: to beat rapidly with a wire whisk or beater to incorporate air and make a substance light and fluffy.

And as we head into the season where we tend to do more baking, here is a list of substitutes you may find handy:

Have fun and keep cooking!

Ingredient - Amount - Substitute

Butter - 1 cup - 1 cup of shortening or margarine

Chocolate - 1 square of unsweetened chocolate - 3 tbsp cocoapowder plus 1 tbsp butter

Cream - 1 cup light cream - 7/8 cup milk plus 3 tbsp butter

Cream - 1 cup 35% cream - 3/4 cup milk plus 1/3 cup butter

Milk - 1 cup whole milk - 1 cup skim milk plus 2 tbsp butter or 1/2 cup evaporated milk plus 1/2 cup water

Milk - 1 cup sour milk or 1 cup buttermilk - 1 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar plus enough fresh milk to bring to 1 cup

(Lori and Gerry can be reached at whatscookin@independentfreepress.com)