Conference turris::cooks

>    I have a recipe I would like to make lowfat - what is
>    the ratio when substituting applesauce for oil?  Also,
>    has anyone heard of substituting baby food prunes for
>    oil?  I have heard the prunes are a better substitute
>    for oil - what would be the ratio for that ingredient?

We just discussed this in a weight watchers meeting the other day.
You substitute an equal amount of applesauce for oil.  I have tried
this muffins and sweet breads and they turn out pretty good.  They 
said that you can also substitute with pureed prunes, but I have not
tried it myself.  I've heard that they work out good as a substitute
in things like brownies.  Again the ratio would be equal to the amount
of oil that would have been used.

....helen
    

    I have used prueed prunes as a substitute for oil in an "egg nog" cake
    recipe. There was absolutely no fat in the recipe (used egg beaters and
    skim milk) and it was SO moist it was almost gooey (but good). I
    thought it would make the bread pruple but it didn't for some reason.
    You need to make the puree by adding water to the prunes while
    puree-ing them.
    
    Debbie
    

On the BBC "Good Food Show" last week they presented a recipe for
low fat Mexican Sausages.  Since the extra lean minced pork would
have made the sausages have a crumbly, bready texture, the chef
added baked egg-plant (aubergine).  She simply baked a whole
egg-plant until thoroughly cooked, removed the skin and added the
pulped flesh to the dish.

Mike.

    I don't know but here's a recipe:
    
                                 SAUCY APPLE SWIRL CAKE
    
    1 pkg. Pillsbury Plus Yellow Cake mix       1/4 cup sugar
    15 oz. jar (1 2/3 cups) applesauce          2 tea. cinnamon
    Eggbeaters to equal 3 eggs (1 1/2 containers)
    
    Grease and flour bundt pan.  Combine sugar and cinnamon.  Blend cake
    mix, applesauce and eggbeaters - 2 min. high speed.  Pour 1/2 batter into
    pan, sprinkle with sugar mixture, cover with remaining batter.
    
    Bake 350 degrees, 35-45 min.  Cool upright 25 min., turn onto plate.
    
    1/12 slice (which is a generous size) = 190 calories
                             5 fats which = 45 fat calories
    
    

    I've substituted pureed prunes for oil on a 1:1 ratio, same as
    applesauce.  Pureed prunes work very well in brownies--much tastier
    than applesauce, I think.  But if I were making a white or yellow
    cake--something with a more delicate flavor--I'd use the applesauce.
    
    You could use baby food prunes, I suppose, but I think they'd be
    unecessarily expensive.  I've found canned pureed prunes (Solo Prune
    Lekvar) in the baking aisle of our local grocery.  You can also puree a
    jar of cooked prunes (remove pits first, of course) in the food
    processor.  I don't use the liquid from the jar--just the prunes. 
    
    Any prune puree left over keeps very nicely in the freezer.  I freeze
    mine in 8-oz yogurt containers because the 1-cup measurement is handy.
    

    What do you people think of the taste of things baked with these
    substitutions?  I've had brownies with prunes and cake with applesauce. 
    I'd rather go without, frankly.  That said, they were baked by my dad,
    who is a good cook, but not a good baker, so that could have been the
    problem.
    
    
    Susan

    I actually *like* the flavor of brownies made with prunes (note 59.23). 
    I also prefer muffins made with a fat substitute.  They simply taste
    better to me when they're made with very little or no fat at all.  And
    while I'm not in the habit of making my own doughnuts, I think that
    Entemann's 50% reduced-fat glazed doughnuts are the best doughnuts I've
    ever tasted.
    
    I also greatly prefer carrot cake made with applesauce instead of oil. 
    But I like a thin layer of *real* cream cheese frosting on top, because
    I think fat-free cream cheese tastes disgusting.  I won't eat reduced-fat
    Cool Whip because I think it tastes terrible, too.  If I can't get a
    small dollop of the real thing, I'll go without.
    
    All of which to say is I think it's really a matter of personal taste. 
    I don't substitute applesauce/prunes for fat because it's good for
    me--I do it because I like the taste.  If I did it for the health
    aspect rather than the taste, I might not be so enthusiastic about the
    substitutions.
    
    Sue