Mistakes With Omission, Substitution, and Miscalculation

[The Late Night Gourmet]

A thread that mentioned over-salting (because table salt was measured out in place of kosher salt) reminded me of all the fun I've had in the kitchen. I'm not talking about the successes, but the failures. And, while the odd flavor combination that doesn't quite work counts as a failure, the really spectacular disasters seem to come from omission, substitution, or miscalculation. I remember these better than I do my successes or my weird flavor combinations...and a good thing, too, because I don't want to repeat these.

I'm sure there have been others, and possibly my nightmares will come flooding back when I see others have had similar experiences.

Too Much Heat - We're supposed to taste as we go so we can get the seasoning where we want it, right? But, when it comes to spiciness from fresh peppers, I've sometimes added too much when it was already perfect. This happens when a stew, for example, is not fully blended: the spiciness is in pockets, and I miss those pockets when I taste it. So, I'll add more pepper. Sometimes, I'll make the same mistake twice, tasting and concluding that I need more heat a second time, and only find out my mistake when it's already too late. I've lost track of how many times I've added hot sauce to chili at a restaurant, rendering the chili inedible. I do like heat in my food, but I also like to be able to taste it.

Sugarless Scones - All my scone recipes use 2 tablespoons of sugar for 2 cups of flour, which works out to about 4 grams of sugar for each scone. That doesn't sound like much, but when it's not there, you really notice.

Baking Soda Scones - I decided to make scones for my parents when I visited them one time, since they had all the ingredients...except, they didn't have baking powder. I use 1 tablespoon of baking powder in my recipe. I knew that baking soda was half as strong as baking powder - in terms of the rinse it gives - so I used 2 tablespoons of baking soda. They turned out inedible due to the bitterness: I hadn't accounted for the fact that baking powder needs an acid to neutralize it.

Should I stop trying to make scones?

 

[Francesca]

@The Late Night Gourmet

Good advice and well penned however, do not substitute baking powder for baking soda !!

Have a nice weekend ..

 

[Morning Glory]

I tried to make vegan croissants today (son has gone vegan ) by substituting a hard vegetable margarine (Stork brand) for butter. The result? Burnt on the outside after just 15 mins in the oven and soggy on the inside - plus, the baking tray was swimming in fat. I've no idea why any of this happened - but its such a process to make croissants I don't think I can face another attempt.

Should I use less fat? Is vegetable margarine melting at lower temperatures or something?

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Should I use less fat? Is vegetable margarine melting at lower temperatures or something?

I'm hardly an expert (trying to make baked products for my gluten-free and just-about-everything-free brother). But, I know that there's such thing as vegan butter.

 

[Elawin]

I tried to make vegan croissants today (son has gone vegan ) by substituting a hard vegetable margarine (Stork brand) for butter. The result? Burnt on the outside after just 15 mins in the oven and soggy on the inside - plus, the baking tray was swimming in fat. I've no idea why any of this happened - but its such a process to make croissants I don't think I can face another attempt.

Should I use less fat? Is vegetable margarine melting at lower temperatures or something?

It is interesting to note that Stork have loads of recipes on their site for pastries, but none for croissants! Are they trying to tell us something? Some recipes online do indeed say use vegan butter, but others say dairy-free stick margarine.

 

[MypinchofItaly]

I tried to make vegan croissants today (son has gone vegan ) by substituting a hard vegetable margarine (Stork brand) for butter. The result? Burnt on the outside after just 15 mins in the oven and soggy on the inside - plus, the baking tray was swimming in fat. I've no idea why any of this happened - but its such a process to make croissants I don't think I can face another attempt.

Should I use less fat? Is vegetable margarine melting at lower temperatures or something?

If you could don't add margarine, that would be better..this is my personal point of view. Maybe you could try with oil as substitute.. olive oil or seeds oil ( sunflowers). Not Evoo because for croissants is too strong.
Olive oil then is more healthy instead of margarina and is also vegan.

 

[Elawin]

I'm allergic to or intolerant of so many things, that my recipes often have substitutions and, touch wood, I haven't had any actual disasters, although some haven't turned quite as expected but still quite edible. If I substitute items in a recipe I post on here, I try it first and usually (but not always) use my own photo on here. If I share a recipe as is, I credit it but don't necessarily try it.

I often put an extra bit of chilli in food because I like it hot, but I definitely wouldn't do the same to the first chilli recipe I ever tried in the 1970s - it already contained four tablespoons of chilli powder! About 20 years ago, I gave this recipe to a friend who wanted something different for dinner. She phoned me afterwards, called me a bitch, and asked me if I was trying to kill her and her husband! I'd quite forgotten that in the 1970s there was just chilli powder over here in the UK, whereas by the 1990s there was chilli powder and there was chilli powder, and the one I use now is so hot I can just about manage a tablespoon of chilli in it!

I rarely add sugar to food, but I do like a bit of cake. I tend to reduce the amount of sugar by about a quarter when I make cakes, and then slice them up and put most of the cake in the freezer. I'd rather just have a slice of cake occasionally than have one which does not taste sweet enough. However, I do not put any sugar in scones - I'd rather have a sweet filling, or a savoury scone!

Baking powder is a mix of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and cream of tartar. You definitely forgot

 

[Morning Glory]

If you could substitute also margarine

Not sure what you mean. I used margarine

Maybe you could try with oil as substitute.

This wouldn't work I'm afraid. Croissants are like puff pastry - the cool hardened fat is needed to separate the layers of pastry as it is folded and rolled. Oil wouldn't do that. The fat has to be hard.

I may have one more try and reduce the amount of margarine. But sorry - I'm hi-jacking this thread with my particular mishap!

 

[MypinchofItaly]

Not sure what you mean. I used margarine

I meant to not use margarine, to substitute it.


This wouldn't work I'm afraid. Croissants are like puff pastry - the cool hardened fat is needed to separate the layers of pastry as it is folded and rolled. Oil wouldn't do that. The fat has to be hard.

I may have one more try and reduce the amount of margarine. But sorry - I'm hi-jacking this thread with my particular mishap!

Oh yes, as you prefer. I only suggested you to use sunflowers oil because is more light and adapted than Evoo for this type of recipe ( evoo is right for biscuits/crust). Anyway, maybe you can try to reduce the amount of margarine as you've written.

 

[Cinisajoy]

I tried to make vegan croissants today (son has gone vegan ) by substituting a hard vegetable margarine (Stork brand) for butter. The result? Burnt on the outside after just 15 mins in the oven and soggy on the inside - plus, the baking tray was swimming in fat. I've no idea why any of this happened - but its such a process to make croissants I don't think I can face another attempt.

Should I use less fat? Is vegetable margarine melting at lower temperatures or something?

What did the recipe call for? Most margarine has a higher water content than butter.
Let me google that margarine. Ok googled it. The problem is you used margarine. It has about 56% oil to 44% water. Too much water, not enough fat.

 

[Cinisajoy]

Now as to mishaps,
Do not ever put rolls to rise on the vent burner of an electric stove if the oven is on. Well you could if Wayne Gretzky is in town. He would have a use for them.

On spaghetti sauce, do not season to taste then let simmer for an hour. If your kitchen window is open, you will make all the neighbors crave spaghetti but yours will be way to spicy to eat.

Nutmeg chicken: I had a recipe that called for 3 tablespoons of nutmeg. One teaspoon was plenty the next time I made it.

On baking soda: it does not make a great substitute for cornstarch.

 

[Morning Glory]

What did the recipe call for? Most margarine has a higher water content than butter.
Let me google that margarine. Ok googled it. The problem is you used margarine. It has about 56% oil to 44% water. Too much water, not enough fat.

I think you are right. The cold margarine is much softer than butter (due to the water content, I think). So when it melts in the layers of pastry in the oven, it all goes soggy.

I had no specific vegan recipe. I was just using a butter croissant recipe and I substituted margarine for butter. So er - what do I use instead?

 

[Morning Glory]

3 tablespoons of nutmeg.

That is a LOT! Nutmeg can cause hallucinations in that quantity!

 

[Morning Glory]

I have a lead regarding vegan substitutes for laminated pastry: http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/fats/vegan-butters/vegan-butter

This seems very well researched.

 

[Cinisajoy]

I think you are right. The cold margarine is much softer than butter (due to the water content, I think). So when it melts in the layers of pastry in the oven, it all goes soggy.

I had no specific vegan recipe. I was just using a butter croissant recipe and I substituted margarine for butter. So er - what do I use instead?

Don't make the vegan croissants.