Ingredients that are combinations of other ingredients

[Shalmanese]

I like keeping a minimal set of required ingredients around to make any particular dish. That means, if there are ingredients that can be made up on the spot, I generally prefer making it vs keeping another thing in my pantry.

For example:

• Half & Half is half whole milk and half cream.
• Light Brown Sugar is half dark brown sugar and half white sugar.
• Coconut Milk is pretty reasonably approximated by half coconut cream and half water.
• Popcorn/Pickling Salt can be made by grinding kosher salt in a spice grinder.
• Confectioner's Sugar can be made by grinding white sugar in spice grinder/food processor with optionally a bit of cornstarch.
• Salted Butter can be made by mixing unsalted butter with salt.

Does anyone else have examples of ingredients that they regularly make from other ingredients?

[Hassouni]

I mean, do garam masala/"curry powder" and "cajun seasoning" count? Because I tend to make those from scratch.

[andiesenji]

I make my own baking powder 1 part bicarbonate of soda to 2 parts Cream of Tartar. Some people add a little cornstarch but I don't see any need for it in my area which has low humidity.

For folks who live in more humid climates - close to the ocean, in the south, etc., adding a little cornstarch will allow it to keep longer.

I like it fresh.

[Lisa Shock]

The Pumpkin Pie Spice mix that seems to be in everything right now is just a dry, ground mix of: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice with maybe some clove added. No need to pay extra for a jar that contains spices you probably already own.

[Bojana]

Love this kind of topics!

I can now think of invert sugar, most spice blends, nut butters ( hazelnut, tehina lately), bread crumbs and of course ground spices (lots of cinnamon lately).

[Vlcatko]

• almonds -> blanched almonds, toasted almonds, almond halves, almond slivers, almond meal, marzipan, almond butter, almond milk (repeat for any nut)

I also make my own sugar "cubes" (I do different shapes) from caster sugar - we don't get visitors very often so I don't see why I would need a pack of sugar cubes in my pantry...

cinnamon and vanilla sugars

[Shalmanese]

* Clarified Butter & Ghee is unsalted butter, heated and strained

* Simple syrup is sugar & water

[mm84321]

Water is hydrogen and oxygen.

[cakewalk]

Interesting. There are certain things where I think, "I know this is simple to make, but I can't be bothered." There are other things where I think, "I'll be damned if I'm spending $xxxx on that when I can just make it myself." I guess everyone has different limits. I find things like pumpkin pie spice and simple syrup sort of bewildering. I mean, why buy that ready-made? But others might find them to be great conveniences.

[nickrey]

Heated milk plus a small amount of vinegar = ricotta cheese. This was something of a revelation when I found out about it.

[Anna N]

• almonds -> blanched almonds, toasted almonds, almond halves, almond slivers, almond meal, marzipan, almond butter, almond milk (repeat for any nut)
• I also make my own sugar "cubes" (I do different shapes) from caster sugar - we don't get visitors very often so I don't see why I would need a pack of sugar cubes in my pantry...
• cinnamon and vanilla sugars

Do tell how you make sugar cubes!

[andiesenji]

This recipe has been around for decades. I used to make these for afternoon tea events when I was catering.

sugar molds

I learned to make molded hollow sugar cake decorations (bells, etc.) back in the 1950s - when I attended baking school.

Solid cube are a cinch compare to the hollow ones.

[Anna N]

This recipe has been around for decades. I used to make these for afternoon tea events when I was catering.

sugar molds

I learned to make molded hollow sugar cake decorations (bells, etc.) back in the 1950s - when I attended baking school.

Solid cube are a cinch compare to the hollow ones.

Well, thank you, Andie. Sounds easy enough.

[Vlcatko]

This recipe has been around for decades. I used to make these for afternoon tea events when I was catering.

sugar molds

I learned to make molded hollow sugar cake decorations (bells, etc.) back in the 1950s - when I attended baking school.

Solid cube are a cinch compare to the hollow ones.

Yup, that's basically how I do it - thank you, Andie, for the link

I use silicone molds but I have also seen people "roll" the sugar into a sheet and cut it with cookie cutters. Once you get the sugar properly moistened you can even shape it by hand - tiny sugar loaves, rustic cubes...

[andiesenji]

I have - or used to have, haven't seen them for a while, some miniature cookie "presses" - the stoneware ones - in the shapes of the regular playing card symbols, leaves, moon and stars, dominoes, etc.

I would just press them into the slab of sugar and then let the entire batch dry before breaking the "scraps" away from the shapes. Much easier and much less deformity and breakage of the shapes.