Don’t substitute when baking: MiniTip XIV

TL;DR

If you are just starting out baking or don’t know quite what is happening scientifically during baking, be wary of substituting when you bake.

Tip Expanded

Chronically ill people have a limited amount of energy, and busy people who work during the day have a finite amount of time, so it’s important to get the most proverbial bang for your buck for the energy and time you spend. I haven’t found anything more disheartening than consuming the little energy I have to bake something and it doesn’t come out.

Around Christmastime last year, I made microwave fudge. I didn’t have sweetened-condensed milk, so I used evaporated milk and added some sugar in. It smelled amazing. But it didn’t set, so we had to use a spoon to eat it, but then someone put it in the freezer at an angle and half of it ended up all over our freezer.

Then, that night, I made peanut butter cookies, but used soft-tub margarine instead of a stick of margarine. They were more like a sticky mess than a cookie dough. But they worked to some extent, they just didn’t turn out the way they always had before.

So, I tell you those two things because I replaced things during the baking process. Evaporated milk + sugar for sweetened condensed milk, and soft-tub margarine for a stick of margarine. I replaced them and they didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to.

So, unless you are okay with things not turning out the way you want them to, I caution you against substituting. However, if you know what you are doing regarding baking and have the energy, go ahead.

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