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Date Sugar: This is How You Make the Healthy Sweetener Yourself

Date sugar is made from dried, finely ground dates. You can also easily make the sugar at home in the oven. You can find out exactly how this works and why we can only recommend date sugar to a limited extent here.

If you want to sweeten in a healthier way, you can use date sugar. This consists only of dried and finely ground dates. Date sugar has a more subtle sweetening power than conventional sugar, but also has a fine caramel note that goes particularly well with sweet baked goods. On the other hand, if you want to sweeten drinks, date sugar is not suitable. The fine date powder does not dissolve in liquid.

Since date sugar consists only of dried dates, it still has some healthy ingredients. For example, it is high in fiber. However, the crystalline date sweetener is still a sugar, so you should use it sparingly.

Also with regard to the ecological balance of dates, it is advisable to use date sugar consciously. Dates come from far away areas like Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia, so they have to travel long distances in transportation. Dates are also susceptible to pest infestation, which is why pesticides are often used.

If you make your own date sugar, you have the option of buying dates that are as environmentally friendly as possible. We recommend dried dates from organic farming that does not use chemical-synthetic pesticides.

Make date sugar yourself: Here’s how it works

Making date sugar yourself is very easy. In addition to the dried dates, you only need an oven and a powerful blender. First let the dates dry completely in the oven and then use the mixer to pulverize them.

You can do this step by step:

Halve the dates and remove the stone if necessary.
Place the dates on a wire rack lined with parchment paper or a more sustainable parchment paper alternative.
Allow the dates to dry through at 100 to 120 degrees Celsius.
Depending on the oven and the residual moisture content in the dates, the drying time can vary, from 60 minutes to two or even three hours. Place a wooden spoon between the oven and oven door to allow moisture to escape.
The dates should start to harden in the oven, but not burn. So check them regularly and reduce the heat if necessary.
Let the dates cool down completely overnight in the switched off oven with the oven slightly open. This makes them very hard.
Put the completely cooled dates in a blender and process them into a powder.
The resulting date sugar may start clumping from the humidity, but you can still use it.
The date sugar can be stored in an airtight container for up to eight weeks.

Make date sugar yourself: Healthier, but energy-intensive

Because the oven time can get long and the oven door is left open during this time, constantly escaping heat, the power consumption of making your own date sugar is quite high. Therefore, drying the dates in the oven can not only be expensive, but also increase the ecological footprint.

With a few tips, however, you can make the eco-balance of homemade date sugar a little more positive:

Do not use so-called soft dates, but dates that are as hard as possible, for example the Deglet Nour variety. The harder the dates are, the less time they need in the oven.
Don’t just halve the dates, cut them into quarters. They also dry faster this way. Be careful not to burn the dates.
If you have a dehydrator, you can use that. Note, however, that while most dehydrators use less electricity than the oven when drying, the power consumption is not necessarily low here either.
In order not to have to dry them at all, you can soak the dates overnight and then puree them with a little lemon juice. This is how you get a date puree that you can use for many things just like the solid date sugar.

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Make Ginger Tea Yourself: How to Make It

Ginger tea is easy to make yourself. Its positive effect on colds, travel sickness, migraines and digestive problems makes ginger a versatile home remedy. Learn how to make ginger tea from fresh ginger here.

Make ginger tea yourself from one ingredient

Making ginger tea yourself is not witchcraft. For a cup of ginger tea you need:

a piece of organic ginger root – the slightly shriveled ones are usually a little hotter and therefore better suited for tea.
boiling water
some (vegan) honey if needed

Making the ginger tea

Wash the ginger root.
Don’t peel the ginger. Many important ingredients that make up the healthy effect of ginger are hidden in the peel.
Cut off a piece of the root, about 3 to 5 centimeters in size.
Either cut the piece into thin slices or grate it finely with a mandolin (online e.g. at **Memolife).
Put the ginger in a cup and pour hot water over it.
Let it sit covered for about ten minutes.
Complete! Depending on your preference, you can sweeten it with honey or a vegan alternative.
Enjoy the tea as hot as possible and sip it before or with meals.

Ginger tea variants

Ginger tea is very tasty on its own. But if you make ginger tea yourself and like variety, you can also add some freshly squeezed lemon juice to your tea. This provides even more vitamin C and strengthens your immune system.

But various herbs can also give your homemade ginger tea a special flavor. Just try the following:

peppermint
thyme
lemon balm
curry herb
rosemary

Ginger Tea: Common Mistakes

Even if there is no art in making ginger tea yourself, you should avoid a few mistakes:

Cut the ginger too early: So that no valuable ingredients are lost, only cut the root just before it boils.
Wrong water temperature: You should prepare the ginger tea with boiling water – unlike green tea, for example, which only needs temperatures of 60 to 90 degrees.
Peel ginger: As already mentioned, the peel contains valuable ingredients that are lost when peeled.
The wrong ginger: It is important to use organic ginger, precisely because the peel is also cooked. With conventional ginger, pesticides would otherwise get into the tea.

The Effect of Ginger

Ginger has a long tradition as a spice – and the root has also played an important role as a remedy, especially in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for thousands of years. The reason for this are the ingredients, especially the gingerols and essential oils, which are among the pungent substances. Gingerol’s chemical structure is similar to that of aspirin and has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, expectorant and analgesic properties. The pungent substances stimulate the gastric juices and stimulate digestion.

The root is also very popular with us, especially as a home remedy for colds. However, ginger is also a real miracle bulb. Among other things, she helps with:

Nausea (also with travel sickness) and nausea
digestive problems
headaches and migraines
loss of appetite
menstrual cramps

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Make Chocolate Yourself: Snack with a Clear Conscience

You can easily make chocolate yourself instead of buying it. With just a few ingredients and a few simple steps, you can make the candy at home. You can vary them according to your taste.

Make chocolate yourself: recipe with 5 ingredients

You can buy all kinds of chocolate in the supermarket, but it tastes so much better when you make it yourself. You also know what ingredients are in it. For two bars of chocolate you need these ingredients:

100 grams of cocoa butter
100 g baking cocoa
1 packet of vanilla sugar
2 tbsp sugar
a pinch of salt

Alternative: Instead of industrial table sugar, you can also use cane sugar, honey or agave syrup. Sugar substitutes such as erythritol or xylitol are also suitable.

In addition to the ingredients, you will need these items:

a small pot,
a big pot
and a chocolate mold.

Tip: You can get cocoa butter in health food stores or health food stores, for example. Make sure that you buy both them and the cocoa in organic quality and from fair trade. When you buy organic food, you can be sure that important ecological standards are met. Cocoa is also one of the foods that you should rather buy fairly, since poor working conditions often prevail on conventional plantations.

Step-by-step instructions for making homemade chocolate

Follow the basic recipe below to make your own chocolate:

Fill the larger pot with water and place or hang the smaller one in it. Add the cocoa butter to the small saucepan and increase the heat. Melt the cocoa butter, stirring, until it is completely smooth and there are no lumps.
Stir in the cocoa, vanilla sugar and salt. Add the sugar or your chosen sugar substitute and stir until creamy.
Fill the chocolate into matching chocolate molds and let them cool in the fridge. Alternative: If you don’t have any chocolate molds or don’t want to get them, you can simply spread the warm chocolate mass on a piece of baking paper and let it dry.

Refine chocolate

If plain chocolate is too boring for you, you can refine it. You can find inspiration for it here:

dried fruits: cranberries, raspberries, raisins
Seeds: pumpkin, sunflower
Nuts: hazelnuts, walnuts, peanuts
cornflakes
crumbled biscuits
gummy bear
chocolate lentils
chili flakes
grated coconut
Cinammon
Mini marshmallows

Add the ingredients of your choice to the chocolate once it’s creamy. Then you can let them cool as described above. You can combine different toppings for a special taste experience.

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Lievito Madre: This is How You Make the Italian Mother Yeast Yourself

Have you ever heard of Lievito Madre? Here you can find out what makes this sourdough variant special, how you can make it yourself and what delicious things you can bake with it.

Lievito Madre means mother yeast in German. It is the Italian variant of the sourdough known in Germany. You can make it yourself relatively easily and use it to bake various foods such as bread, rolls or pizza. Similar to yeast or baking powder, Lievito Madre ensures that the pastries are nice and fluffy. It has a much milder taste than German sourdough, so you can even use Lievito Madre for sweet pastries.

The next section shows you an example recipe to grow your own Lievito Madre. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it right on the first try. It takes time and experience to learn how the dough reacts and how best to handle it.

The sample recipe is designed so that you don’t have to throw anything away. Many recipes use relatively large amounts of ingredients and require regular disposal of appropriately sized leftovers, but this is food waste that you can easily avoid. You don’t need 100 grams or more flour for the first batch, you can also do it with less. However, dough residues always occur in the process. It is best to collect these in a separate container in the fridge and use them later when baking.

There are many different ways to schedule a Lievito Madre. Using dried Lievito Madre as a base, you can make a baking batch in just one day. Without it, the whole process takes up to 25 days at room temperature. But you can easily speed this up by placing the dough in a place that is around 28 to 30 degrees Celsius. In winter, for example, this can be with the heating, or you take a cooler and put the dough in it with a bottle of hot water, which you change regularly. In just five days at best, follow the steps below to create your own Lievito Madre.

How to make the Lievito Madre approach

Ingredients:

225 organic wheat flour
115ml water
0.5 tsp organic olive oil
0.5 tsp organic honey

Directions:

Day 1 Of the ingredients you need today: 30 g flour
15 ml lukewarm water
0.5 tsp honey
0.5 tsp olive oil Put the flour in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. First mix the ingredients roughly with a spoon and then knead them thoroughly by hand until a smooth dough is formed. It is really important here that everything is mixed and there are no lumps. Form the dough into a ball and cut a cross in the top with a knife. Then place it in an easy-to-clean jar with a lid. Just put the lid on loosely. Place the dough in a warm place and let it rest for 24 hours.
Day 2Today you need: yesterday’s dough
25 ml lukewarm water
45 g flour Mix your dough with the water until it dissolves. Then add the flour and knead again very carefully. Place the dough in a loosely sealed jar and keep warm until tomorrow. Today, and every day that follows, it’s important to make sure the dough doesn’t spoil. If mold does form, you’ll have to get rid of it entirely and unfortunately start over. Good dough smells pleasantly of flour, yeast and slightly sour. Even a slightly alcoholic smell is not bad.
Day 3 to 5 On each of these days you will need: 50g of dough from the previous day (collect the rest in a separate container in the fridge)
25 ml lukewarm water
50 g flour Mix your dough with the water until it dissolves. Then add the flour and knead again very carefully. Place the dough in a loosely sealed jar and keep it warm on the third and fourth day until the next day. On the fifth day, the batch is placed in the refrigerator with the lid closed for further storage. The Lievito Madre should now, on the fifth day, have doubled in size compared to the previous day and be nicely bubbled. If this is not the case yet, then continue the procedure of the last few days a little longer, sometimes it just takes more time.
You can simply use the dough leftovers from the past few days for a pastry. They are very mild, so they fit in bread or roll dough as well as in sweet yeast dough.

How to properly care for your Lievito Madre

You did it and bred your first own Lievito Madre. So that you can enjoy it for a long time, it is important never to use it up completely when baking and to feed it regularly. The more dough you have, the less often you need to feed him, generally every eight to ten days is recommended. You can also use the intensity of the smell of alcohol as a guide: the more intense it is, the more urgently the dough needs more flour and water.

14 days without feeding are normally not a problem for the Lievito Madre. If you’re going to be away for a longer period of time, you’d better dry it off beforehand. To do this, only add a very small amount of water when refreshing, so that the dough is very tough.

Feeding is very easy. Take the dough out of the fridge well in advance so that it comes to room temperature. Over time, a harder layer has formed on the surface. You can remove these and simply mix them in when baking. Mix the soft part thoroughly with 50 g flour and 25 ml lukewarm water.

If you are already planning to bake a specific recipe, you can adjust the amount of flour and water to get the amount of Lievito Madre you need plus a small reserve for storage. The important thing is that you always use twice as much flour as water.

Then put the batter in a fresh jar. Wait for the dough to double in size, then place it back in the fridge with the lid on.

Lievito Madre and Sourdough – What’s the Difference?

The difference between Lievito Madre and sourdough lies in the ratio of flour to water. With classic sourdough it is 1:1, i.e. just as much flour as water. For Lievito Madre, on the other hand, you use twice as much flour as water, i.e. the ratio is 2:1 flour to water.

Another difference is that you add olive oil and honey to the base for Lievito Madre, sourdough is always just flour and water. The types of flour are also different. Rye flour is usually used for sourdough, while wheat flour is used for Lievito Madre.

As a result, Lievito Madre is less acidic and contains more natural yeasts than a classic sourdough, making it more versatile. If you already have a sourdough starter in the fridge, you can easily make a Lievito Madre out of it. The necessary steps are:

Weigh the sourdough starter and add the same amount of flour and half the amount of lukewarm water. With 20 grams of sourdough, for example, 20 grams of flour and 10 milliliters of water.
Knead everything thoroughly and place the dough in a clean, loosely sealed container.
Place the dough in a warm place for 12 hours.
Repeat steps 1 through 3, adjusting the amount of flour and water, two or three more times. The dough should double in volume within 6 hours.
In the further procedure, i.e. use, storage and feeding, you don’t have to pay attention to anything other than with the directly applied Lievito Madre.

If you’re really in the mood for baking now, you’ll find a recipe to try in the next section.

How to make focaccia with Lievito Madre

Ingredients:

70 gLievito Madre (fed the day before)
350 gorganic wheat flour
280 ml lukewarm water
1 tsp salt
1.5 tbsp organic olive oil
Herbs, olives, tomatoes or other favorite ingredients

Directions:

Knead the flour thoroughly with 230 milliliters of the water to form a dough and leave covered for 30 minutes.
Add the Lievito Madre and the salt and gradually add the remaining water while kneading for at least five minutes. You can do this by hand or with a food processor fitted with a dough hook.
Grease a flat baking pan with some olive oil.
Spread the dough out in the pan and let it rise, covered, in a warm place for at least two hours. If you have more time, you can also put it in the fridge overnight. This way the result gets even better.
Press small indentations into the dough from above with your fingers.
Brush the dough with the olive oil and spread the olives, tomatoes, or whatever you have chosen on the dough.
Bake the focaccia in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 to 30 minutes. It should be lightly browned. Actual baking time will vary by oven.

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Mince Pies: How to make English Christmas tarts yourself

Mince pies are a traditional Christmas pastry from England. They are filled with dried fruits and Christmas spices. We show you a recipe with a vegan version.

Mince Pies or Mincemeat Pies are small English Christmas tarts filled with chopped dried fruit. While the mini pies were originally filled with meat (hence the name), today the sweet version is almost exclusively found. The base is shortcrust pastry or puff pastry, which is filled with mincemeat – a mixture of dried fruit, nuts, sugar, brandy, apples and spices. You can also find mincemeat in supermarkets in Great Britain, but the filling tastes best if you make it yourself.

Tip: Buy the ingredients for your mince pies in organic quality if possible. In this way you support ecological agriculture and ensure that no chemical-synthetic pesticides get into the baked goods and the environment. Recommended organic seals are, for example, those of Demeter, Naturland and Bioland.

You can also easily prepare the pies vegan. Simply use vegan butter or coconut oil instead of butter and replace the egg with two to three tablespoons of cold water. You can use plant-based milk to spread the mince pies.

Make mince pies yourself: the recipe

Ingredients:

160 g cold organic butter (or vegan butter)
275 g flour
80 gicing sugar
0.5 tsp salt
1organic egg
100 g dried figs or dates
50 g dried apricots
50 g almonds
1 apple (sour)
100 g raisins
50 g lemon peel and orange peel mixture
1organic lemon
50 g (vegan) organic butter
75 g coconut blossom sugar (or brown sugar)
2 teaspoons gingerbread spice
3 tablespoons brandy
1 organic egg (for brushing)
1 tbsp (vegan) milk (for brushing)

Directions:

Cut the cold butter into small pieces and place in a large bowl with the flour, powdered sugar, salt and the organic egg. For the vegan version, you can replace the egg with two to three tablespoons of cold water. Knead the ingredients into a shortcrust pastry using your hands or a food processor. Place the dough, covered, in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
For the filling, finely chop the dried figs or dates and the dried apricots. Roughly chop the almonds and cut the apple into fine cubes. Place the ingredients in a large bowl along with the raisins, candied orange and lemon peel.
Wash the organic lemon in hot water and grate the zest into the dried fruit mixture. Squeeze the juice from the lemon and add that as well.
Melt the (vegan) butter and stir it into the filling together with the remaining ingredients – coconut blossom sugar, gingerbread spice and brandy. Tip: If you don’t want to use alcohol, you can add apple or orange juice to the filling instead of brandy.
Grease a small muffin tin and preheat the oven to 180°C top/bottom heat. Of course you can also use a classic muffin tin, the larger pies will take a little longer in the oven.
Knead the cold shortcrust pastry until smooth and roll it out on a floured work surface. Using a glass, cut out small circles that are slightly larger than the diameter of the muffin cases. You can use small cookie cutters for the top of the pies or cut out circles with a slightly smaller glass.
Place the circles that will form the bottom of the mince pies in the molds and lightly press the shortcrust pastry. Prick the bases with a fork to prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes. Fill the molds with the dried fruit filling.
Whisk the egg with a little milk and brush the edges of the pies with it. Place the cookies or the smaller circles of dough on the tartlets and press them down lightly. Brush the pastry lids with the beaten egg as well. You can use plant-based milk for the vegan version.
Bake the pies for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool down a bit and serve the mince pies warm or cold sprinkled with a little powdered sugar.

Mince pies: tips for cooking

Prepare mincemeat: The filling tastes even better if you prepare it a few days earlier or the day before and store it covered in the fridge. This allows the flavors to unfold better.
Swap out dried fruit: You can swap out the dried fruit for the filling as you wish. For example, if you don’t like raisins, you can use more figs or dates instead. Cranberries, cherries or dried mango also go very well with the mince pies.
Make gingerbread spice yourself: If you don’t have gingerbread spice for the mince pies at home, you can mix different Christmas spices. Cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg should not be missing.

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Make Empanadas Yourself: Here’s How

Empanadas are a culinary specialty from Spain. Here you will find a simple recipe for the crispy dumplings – with various ideas for vegan and vegetarian fillings.

Empanadas are small dumplings that are a staple of national cuisine in most Spanish-speaking countries. Traditionally they are filled with meat, vegetables and cheese. Our recipe contains a basic vegan filling.

Make sure the ingredients for the empanadas are organic if possible. You support ecologically sustainable agriculture that treats the earth’s natural resources with care.

Make empanadas yourself: Here’s how

Ingredients:

600 g spelled flour
200 g vegan margarine
2 teaspoons cream of tartar baking powder
4 tsp salt
300 ml water
1 onion
1pepper
1 clove(s) garlic
2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
150 gkidney beans
150 gcorn
200 g chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon raw cane sugar
pepper

Directions:

First knead the spelled flour, the vegan margarine, the cream of tartar, two teaspoons of salt and the water in a bowl to form a smooth dough. Place the dough in the refrigerator covered with a damp tea towel.
Cut the onion and the pepper into small pieces. Chop the garlic.
Heat the canola oil in a large pan. Sauté the onions in it over medium heat for 3 minutes. Then add the peppers and tomato paste and cook for another five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Then add the kidney beans, corn and chopped tomatoes to the pan. Also add the raw cane sugar. Cover and let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes. Then season with pepper and the remaining salt.
Flour a work surface and knead the dough vigorously again. Then, using a rolling pin or a glass bottle, roll it out about half an inch thick. Then use a glass or bowl to cut out round pieces of dough. They should be ten to fifteen centimeters in diameter.
Place about 1/2 or 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of each piece of dough. Then fold them into a crescent and gently press the edges together with a fork.
Place the empanadas on a baking sheet lined with baking paper or baking paper substitute. Brush them with some liquid margarine.
Bake the empanadas at 200 degrees top/bottom heat for 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Complete!

Empanadas: possible variations

You can prepare empanadas with a wide variety of fillings. There are numerous vegan and vegetarian options:

A very simple variant of the empanadas, for example, is only filled with (vegan) cheese.
You can also make vegetarian ground beef and add it to the filling instead of the kidney beans.
Instead of the peppers, you can also fill the empanadas with zucchini, eggplant, spinach or kale.
A dip is traditionally served with the empanadas. For example, red salsa and salsa verde or homemade guacamole go well with the crispy dumplings.

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Make Mocha Beans Yourself: This is How the Chocolates Go Vegan

You can make mocha beans yourself from just six ingredients. We will show you how to make marzipan pralines vegan and gluten-free.

Mocha beans are chocolate pralines with a coffee note. You can use the beans to decorate cakes or for snacking. If you buy the beans in the supermarket, they are usually packed in plastic and cardboard. You can avoid the packaging by making the mocha beans yourself. You can also use high-quality chocolate and coffee to produce a particularly tasty and non-toxic product.

Since cocoa beans and coffee beans are grown in areas near the equator, you should look for the Fairtrade seal when buying. Among other things, the seal improves the working and trading conditions of smallholders. For example, they receive a cost-covering price guarantee. There is also a ban on the use of certain pesticides on the plantations.

Finding sustainable coconut oil, on the other hand, is not always easy. You can also pay attention to fair trade here, as well as the organic seal to avoid chemical-synthetic pesticides. In addition, there are now coconut oils that have received awards from the Rainforest Alliance.

Make mocha beans yourself: This is how the chocolates are also vegan

Ingredients:

200g marzipan
150 grams of chocolate
80 coconut fat
3 tsp ground coffee
2 teaspoons coffee liqueur
2 tbsp powdered sugar

Directions:

First cut the raw marzipan mixture into small pieces so that you can knead all the ingredients more easily.
Now put all the ingredients except the chocolate and coconut oil in a bowl and knead everything together. You can also make the coffee liqueur yourself.
Now form small oval beans from the marzipan-coffee dough and place them on baking paper.

After shaping, you can use a skewer to press small, long grooves into the beans.
After that, cool the beans and start melting the chocolate and coconut oil together.

Now cover the beans with chocolate. It makes sense to only glaze the underside of the beans, let them dry and then glaze the entire bean. Place the beans, bottom side up, on the baking sheet. Now brush the undersides with the chocolate icing. The chocolate may take 15 minutes to set.

Once the chocolate has set, you can glaze the top of the beans. Place the beans on a fine grid. This way, the excess chocolate can run off later and the finished pralines look nicer. Note: The small chocolates will slip through the normal oven grates. To avoid this, you can simply place two grids on top of each other. You should place a piece of baking paper substitute under the grid or place a flat plate. This way you can catch and recycle the chocolate that runs down.
If the beans are completely covered with chocolate, you should quickly put them on a plate or on a piece of baking paper. If the chocolate sets while the beans are still on the grid, they could stick to it.

Now all you have to do is set the chocolate. Let the beans set in a cool place for about an hour.

Use up the leftover chocolate

If you make the mocha beans yourself, there will be chocolate left over at the end because it runs down when glazing, for example. You should not throw away these leftover chocolates, but reuse them. How to use up leftover chocolate:

in a chocolate fondue
as a chocolate glaze on a vegan chocolate cake
as broken chocolate
in a drinking chocolate
as a chocolate sauce for desserts or ice cream
in a vegan chocolate salami.

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Breadcrumb Substitute: 5 Alternatives to Make Yourself

Homemade breadcrumb substitute is a convenient alternative to traditional breadcrumbs. We show you five ingredients that you can use to make a delicious breading without any breadcrumbs.

Breadcrumb substitute brings variety to the meal and is also suitable if you don’t have any crumbs at home. The options presented here are suitable for all dishes that are otherwise prepared with conventional breadcrumbs. For example, tofu or fresh vegetables such as kohlrabi and cauliflower taste particularly delicious if you turn them in breadcrumbs and then fry them.

Traditionally, breadcrumbs are made from breadcrumbs. A breading of breadcrumbs and egg then ensures that the food is crispy on the outside and stays juicy and soft on the inside.

But you can also prepare a crispy breading without breadcrumbs. We introduce you to five ingredients that are suitable as breadcrumb substitutes. You can make vegan or gluten-free breadcrumbs yourself from regional ingredients.

Tip: If you only have a few leftovers of an ingredient, you can also mix the breadcrumb substitutes.

Seeds and kernels as a substitute for breadcrumbs

Breadcrumb substitute made from seeds and kernels is gluten-free, vegan and can be made from regional products. The following seeds and kernels are suitable, for example, as a substitute for breadcrumbs:

sesame
linseed
sunflower seeds
pumpkin seeds
hemp seeds

To use the seeds as a substitute for breadcrumbs, you’ll need to crush or grind them in a mortar and pestle. This gives them a consistency similar to breadcrumbs. This increases the surface area of the seeds and turns into a crispy shell when cooked.

But be careful: seeds and kernels burn faster at high temperatures than breadcrumbs. Always keep a close eye on your food while it is roasting.

Also keep in mind that some kernels and seeds have a strong flavor of their own. You should therefore adjust them to the taste of your dish. Sesame seeds go particularly well with Asian dishes and tofu.

Breadcrumb Substitute: Nuts, chopped and ground

In addition to seeds, nuts are also suitable as a substitute for breadcrumbs. For example:

walnuts
hazelnuts
almonds

To make breadcrumbs from nuts, proceed in a similar way to seeds and kernels. Crush the nuts with a mortar or high-powered blender. The finer the nuts are, the better they work as a substitute for breadcrumbs.

Also keep in mind that the nuts burn faster than conventional breadcrumbs. In addition, their nutty taste should match the dish.

Breadcrumb substitute made from nuts is vegan and gluten-free. However, some nuts, such as almonds, usually come from other countries and have been transported a long way. This causes high CO2 emissions and makes imported nuts a less sustainable food. Therefore, preferably choose nuts from regional agriculture.

Pretzel Sticks: Substitute for breadcrumbs for extra flavor

Breadcrumb substitute made from pretzel sticks brings an extra spicy note to your recipe. The pretzel sticks are already salty and hearty – that goes well with a hearty breading.

To make breadcrumbs substitute from pretzel sticks, you need to crumble them. To do this, pack the pretzel sticks in a reusable freezer bag and mash them up in the bag. The pretzel stick breadcrumbs are ready when they have a fine, crumbly consistency.

Breadcrumb substitutes made from pretzel sticks are usually not gluten-free, as pretzel sticks are traditionally baked with wheat flour. If you avoid gluten in your diet, gluten-free pretzel sticks or other breadcrumb alternatives presented here are suitable.

Oatmeal: The classic

Oatmeal is a classic substitute for breadcrumbs because it’s naturally rough and absorbs a lot of moisture. They ensure a crispy outer layer on breaded dishes.

Use the oatmeal whole or ground. The fine oat flakes are usually already fine enough to use as a substitute for breadcrumbs. Coarse oat flakes can be crushed in a mortar if necessary.

You can get oat flakes in the shop from regional and organic farms. In addition, oatmeal is gluten-free and vegan. They are therefore a healthy and versatile alternative to conventional breadcrumbs.

Cornmeal and corn products as a substitute for breadcrumbs

Corn products are also suitable as a substitute for breadcrumbs. These products include:

cornflakes
Corn flour (polenta)
tortilla chips
Keep in mind that some of these foods come from other countries or have already been processed several times. Choose preferably products from regional and organic agriculture.

Like pretzel sticks, cornflakes and tortilla chips need to be crushed before use. You can either use the cornmeal directly as a substitute for breadcrumbs or grind it finely in a mortar beforehand.

The advantage of cornmeal and corn products is that they form a particularly crispy breading. In addition, the taste is quite neutral and goes well with many foods.

Tip: Mix cornmeal with seeds, kernels or nuts. This gives you a crispy breading that also has a nutty aroma.

Bread with the breadcrumb substitute

If you have decided on a breadcrumbs substitute, then you can make a delicious breading. The process is the same for each ingredient. Just make sure that nuts and seeds burn faster than the other ingredients when frying or baking.

How to prepare the breading with breadcrumb substitute:

Choose the ingredients you want to bread. Wash and cut them as needed.
Toss the food in some flour until coated on all sides. If you are gluten intolerant, use gluten free flour.
Traditionally you turn the ingredients in whisked egg – but you can also just use plant milk for it. Also read the article breading without eggs.
Finally, toss your ingredients in the breadcrumb substitute until evenly coated on all sides.
You can fry, grill or bake breaded foods. Follow the instructions in the respective recipe. For example, try breaded eggplant or breaded tofu.

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Food

Vegan Substitute Products: You Can Make Them Yourself with These Recipes

Vegan substitute products can expand the plant-based kitchen and facilitate the switch to a vegan diet. With these recipes you can make soy milk, tofu, vegan cheese and more yourself.

The range of vegan substitute products is getting bigger and bigger – from classics such as plant-based milk alternatives and vegan cream to schnitzels that do not contain any meat or other animal products. Some of these substitutes have become so popular that they’ve found their way into vegetarian and flexitarian kitchens.

The vegan substitute products are no longer only available in health food stores and health food stores, but also in all supermarkets. You can also make the plant-based alternatives yourself at home: in many cases you only need a few ingredients. We will introduce you to various recipes for vegan substitute products.

Vegan substitute products: it’s worth making your own

Many people find vegan cuisine to be more creative and varied than conventional cuisine with milk, cheese and meat. The reason for this is, among other things, the large variety of vegan substitute products, thanks to which you do not have to do without your usual dishes. For example, you can replace cow’s milk with one of the many plant-based alternatives, such as soy, oat or almond milk. There are also good alternatives for yoghurt, cheese and various meat products.

Above all, the plant-based substitutes make it much easier to switch to a vegan diet. So you don’t have to do without the usual dishes such as pizza, gratinated casserole or rice pudding.

Most people buy pre-packaged vegan substitutes at the store. You can often make the plant-based alternatives yourself with little effort. This has several advantages:

Costs: Doing it yourself is usually much cheaper than buying it. A liter of homemade organic oat milk only costs around 20 to 30 cents. You pay at least 90 cents for it in a shop, which is easily three to four times as much.
Ingredients: Purchased vegan substitute products sometimes contain additives such as emulsifiers, preservatives or flavorings. By making the vegan foods yourself, you have full control over the ingredients.
Health: The “Albert Schweitzer Foundation for our environment” examined 250 meat alternatives in a study. Compared to animal products, these fared significantly better in terms of health and the environment. Nevertheless, the researchers criticized the mostly excessive salt content and unfavorable fatty acid profiles of the products. You can make homemade substitute products healthier – for example with less salt and linseed oil or rapeseed oil instead of sunflower oil.
Less waste: By making vegan substitute products yourself, you create less waste. You can buy the basic ingredients such as soybeans, oatmeal or walnuts in larger quantities and don’t have to buy new packaging every time. This means that homemade substitute products are also more environmentally friendly.

Make vegan milk substitutes yourself

Milk is not only popular in coffee, but also as an ingredient for many dishes such as rice pudding, pudding or béchamel sauce. Vegan cuisine knows more than just one milk alternative and has something to offer for every taste.

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Food

Wild Garlic Oil: A Recipe to Make Yourself

You can make delicious wild garlic oil yourself from fresh wild garlic – you can find it in many shady places from March. In the following text you will find a recipe for wild garlic oil and ideas for its use.

From mid-March to early May you can find wild garlic in numerous parks and forests. The typical smell makes you want spring and invites you to extensive wild garlic harvest. You can conjure up many delicious dishes from the ingredient, such as wild garlic pesto or wild garlic soup. Wild garlic oil is another way of processing wild vegetables and preserving them at the same time.

Make wild garlic oil yourself: recipe

You need these ingredients:

100 g wild garlic (about a handful)
500 ml vegetable oil (olive oil, for example, works particularly well)
You also need a screw-top jar with a capacity of 500 milliliters or alternatively a sealable glass bottle with a wide opening. To filter the wild garlic oil you need a sieve and a large bowl.

The preparation takes about 20 minutes. The oil then has to steep for two to three weeks.

How to make wild garlic oil yourself:

Wash the wild garlic and gently pat dry. Make sure the wild garlic is dry before using it further. Otherwise it can easily rot and spoil the oil.
Roughly chop the wild garlic with a sharp knife and fill it into the glass jar.
Now fill the glass with the oil. The wild garlic should be completely covered with oil and not float on the surface. If necessary, you can swirl the jar a little to cover leaves on the surface. Do this carefully and do not shake the oil.
Seal the jar or bottle and store the wild garlic oil in a cool, dark place for two to three weeks.

After two to three weeks, the wild garlic oil has infused well and has taken on the taste of wild garlic. Get a bowl and a colander ready.

Pour the oil and wild garlic leaves into a sieve and catch the oil in the bowl.
Squeeze the wild garlic leaves well so that as little of the wild garlic oil as possible is lost.
Now you can fill the finished wild garlic oil back into a sealable glass bottle.
Wild garlic oil will keep for about a year in a dark, cool place.

How to use wild garlic oil

Wild garlic oil is particularly diverse:

Wild garlic oil is a good alternative to homemade garlic oil because it tastes similar but smells less intense.
The homemade oil is a tasty ingredient for (vegan) dips or salad dressing recipes.
You can also use wild garlic oil when grilling. For example, you can marinate tofu or vegetables or drizzle it over grilled bread.
Spaghetti, wild garlic oil, salt and pepper result in a delicious and quickly prepared meal. If you like spicy food, refine it with some dried chili.
Otherwise, you can use the wild garlic oil to season hearty stir-fries, vegetables or sauces.
Gift tip: fill the wild garlic oil in a pretty bottle, design a suitable label – you already have a souvenir for barbecue evenings or a small gift for your loved ones.

Important: Harvest only a few leaves per plant to allow it to regenerate. (More tips: wild garlic season: when wild garlic grows – tips for harvesting) You should also recognize wild garlic and not confuse it with the poisonous lily of the valley!

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