Recipes for Shabbat

Pesach Substitutes

By Eileen Goltz

Here is the column that every cook who has wrestled with the dilemma of how to make a chametz recipe kosher for Pesach will want to cut out and tape to their refrigerator for the next week or so. 

The following list is a compilation of the most asked for substitutions for the week of Pesach. If anyone has any others that they would like to share please let me (ztlog@aol.com) know and I'll attach them to the next Pesach article.

1 oz. baking chocolate (unsweetened chocolate) = 3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon. oil or melted margarine

16 oz. semi-sweet chocolate = 6 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder plus 1/4 cup oil and 7 tablespoon granulated sugar

14 oz. sweet chocolate (German-type) = 3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder plus 2 2/3 tablespoon oil and 4 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 cup confectioners' sugar = 1 cup granulated sugar minus 1 tablespoon sugar plus 1 tablespoon potato starch pulsed in a food processor or blender 

1 cup sour milk or buttermilk for dairy baking = 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 1 cup measure, then fill to 1 cup with Passover nondairy creamer. Stir and steep 5 minutes

Butter in baking or cooking use pareve Passover margarine in equal amounts.

Use a bit less salt

1 cup honey = 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar plus 1/4 cup water

1 cup corn syrup = 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar plus 1/3 cup water, boiled until syrupy

1 cup vanilla sugar = 1 cup granulated sugar with 1 split vanilla bean left for at least 24 hours in a tightly covered jar

1 cup of flour, substitute 5/8 cup matzo cake meal or potato starch, or a combination sifted together

1 tablespoon flour = 1/2 tablespoon potato starch

1 cup corn starch = 7/8 cup potato starch

1 cup graham cracker crumbs = 1 cup ground cookies or soup nuts plus 1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup bread crumbs = 1 cup matzo meal

1 cup matzo meal = 3 matzoth ground in a food processor

1 cup matzoth cake meal = 1 cup plus 2 tablespoon matzo meal finely ground in a blender or food processor and sifted

3 crumbled matzo = 2 cups matzo farfel

1 cup (8 oz.) cream cheese = 1 cup cottage cheese pureed with 1/2 stick butter or margarine

1 cup milk (for baking) = 1 cup water plus 2 tablespoon margarine, or 1/2 cup fruit juice plus 1/2 cup water

For frying: Instead of chicken fat, use combination of olive oil or vegetable oil and 1 to 2 tablespoons pareve Passover margarine.

Eggs: Passover egg substitutes don't work quite as well as the chometz egg substitutes. For kugels, matzo balls, fried matzo and some cakes the recipes will probably be ok. However, if you want to avoid them (and I do) you can add one extra egg white and 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil for each yolk eliminated when baking. Use only egg whites as the dipping to coat and fry meats.

Eileen Goltz, a professional chef and caterer, is the author of the new cookbook, Perfectly Pareve.