Trying weird recipe substitutions: swaps home cooks use

Home cooks reported using aquafaba instead of egg whites, mayonnaise instead of butter for toasting, and pecans instead of walnuts. Other weird recipe substitutions included dried fruit in place of raisins and applesauce for eggs or oil in some baking, with results depending on the recipe and personal preference. These ideas come from a cooking discussion among home cooks, so treat them as reported experiences rather than universal substitution rules.

What can replace raisins or walnuts?

Changing the dried fruit was one of the more widely supported ideas in the discussion. Home cooks named multiple alternatives to raisins, though they did not agree on which fruits they enjoyed.

• Dried apricots
• Dried cherries
• Dried blueberries
• Dates
• Dried cranberries

The useful distinction is between a substitution someone has enjoyed and one that will suit every reader. Some cooks liked apricots or blueberries in place of raisins; others disliked those fruits or their texture. The discussion supports trying a different dried fruit, not expecting it to reproduce raisins exactly.

Pecans also came up repeatedly as a replacement for walnuts, including in banana bread. That recommendation was largely a matter of preference: some cooks favored pecans, while at least one questioned crunchy additions to soft foods altogether. If the crunch itself is what bothers you, the discussion does not establish that changing the nut solves that concern.

Can aquafaba replace egg whites?

Multiple home cooks described using aquafaba, the liquid from canned chickpeas or chickpeas cooked in water, in egg-white applications. Meringue-like preparations were among the examples they reported.

The discussion identified two sources for the liquid: draining canned chickpeas or saving the liquid after cooking chickpeas in water. One cook said using just enough cooking water produced a concentrated liquid. That is an individual preparation tip, not a standardized method established by the thread.

The missing detail is a replacement ratio. The discussion does not establish how much aquafaba should replace a given amount of egg white. It offers a reported use to consider, but not a complete meringue recipe or a promise that the swap works in every egg-white preparation.

Can mayonnaise replace butter on garlic bread?

More than one cook described mayonnaise as a toasting agent in place of butter, with garlic bread and grilled cheese as examples. This recommendation was tied to those uses, rather than presented as a general replacement for butter in every kind of cooking.

One garlic-bread account included a specific method. It is worth keeping that attribution attached to the details, because the amounts and sequence came from one person’s experience:

1. Mix half a clove of minced garlic with two tablespoons of mayonnaise.
2. Let the mixture sit for an hour or so.
3. Spread a 4mm layer on barely toasted crusty bread.
4. Grill until it begins to turn golden.

Increasing garlic was another frequently mentioned adjustment, although it is an amount change rather than an ingredient substitution. One cook used four garlic cloves instead of the two called for in a recipe; another reported using 4x the listed amount. Those examples describe personal preferences, not a required change to the mayonnaise method.

Can applesauce replace eggs or oil?

Multiple cooks reported using applesauce in baking, but they described different substitutions. One used it for eggs in some recipes; another replaced oil while keeping the eggs.

Those are separate approaches, not instructions to remove both ingredients. A cook also cautioned that applesauce does not work for everything, making this a more conditional suggestion than a blanket baking rule.

No universal replacement amounts were established. The useful advice here is limited: applesauce has worked for some home cooks in some baking recipes, either for eggs or for oil. The discussion does not support assuming the original flavor or texture will remain unchanged.

Which less-common swaps were reported?

A few additional ideas appeared only once. They add variety to the roundup, but have less support than the repeated suggestions above.

• One cook replaced honey in salad dressing with pear or plum jam and blended it.
• When fresh ginger was unavailable, one cook used 3 lemon-and-ginger tea bags in chicken soup for the final 10 minutes of simmering.
• One cheesecake suggestion kept about 3/4 of the cream cheese while replacing some with sour cream or yogurt.

These accounts are specific examples, not established formulas. In particular, the dressing and cheesecake suggestions do not supply complete recipes or universal replacement ratios.

What should you try first?

Start with the repeatedly reported ideas that match the recipe you are making: another dried fruit for raisins, pecans for walnuts, aquafaba in an egg-white application, or mayonnaise for toasting. Keep applesauce conditional on the baking recipe, and let your own taste and texture preferences guide fruit and nut changes.