Soy-free substitutions

Nutritional yeast is rich in glutamates and nucleotides, the same compounds that make a stock cube taste savoury, and the salt supplies the rest of what a cube contributes.

Trade-offCheesier and slightly nutty in flavour, and it leaves a faint cloudiness in the liquid.

Allergen checkNutritional yeast is usually grown on beet or cane molasses and is generally gluten-free, but some brands are grown on a barley-derived medium. Look for an explicit gluten-free claim if you are cooking for a coeliac.

Oats absorb a great deal more liquid than bread does, so you need less of them to bind the same mixture without it going dry.

Trade-offChewier and denser in a meatball, and they will not crisp, so this is a binder and not a coating.

Allergen checkOats are naturally free of gluten but are routinely contaminated with wheat during growing and milling, so only certified gluten-free oats are safe for coeliac disease. This is a real distinction, not a labelling technicality.

Cornflakes are already dry and rigid, so they crush into shards that brown hard and stay crisp - and they are corn rather than wheat.

MethodCrush coarsely and press the coating on firmly. Because they are already toasted, they colour early - drop the oven temperature by about 25°F/15°C.

Trade-offSweeter and considerably crunchier, with a shattering rather than sandy crust. Poor as a binder inside a mixture.

Allergen checkCornflakes are corn-based but most mainstream brands contain barley malt, which means gluten. Gluten-free cornflakes exist and are labelled as such - check the box specifically if the swap is being made for coeliac disease.

Both are gelatinised starch that holds water and binds by stickiness, which is exactly what a panade does - this is the traditional binder in many meatball recipes around the Mediterranean.

MethodUse it cool and slightly overcooked so it mashes in evenly rather than leaving lumps.

Trade-offSofter and denser than a breadcrumb-bound mixture, and a little stickier to shape by hand.

Ground nuts absorb moisture and add fat and body, binding a mixture reasonably well without any grain - the usual choice for grain-free meatballs.

Trade-offRicher and denser with a distinct nutty flavour, and it browns faster, so lower the heat slightly.

Allergen checkThis introduces tree nuts, one of the most serious food allergens. Never use it for a shared dish without saying so clearly, check for peanut cross-contact warnings on the bag, and treat a diagnosed nut allergy as a medical matter rather than a preference.

Mild, already-cooked protein that shreds to roughly the same size, so a chicken salad sandwich is made exactly like a tuna one.

Trade-offNone of the sea flavour that tuna brings, so a niçoise or a tuna melt becomes a different dish rather than a substituted one.

Allergen checkThis is the sensible route when fish is the thing being avoided, since it introduces no top allergen of its own. Still check any pre-cooked or rotisserie chicken for wheat, soy or dairy in the seasoning.

Dried mushrooms are dense in glutamates and nucleotides, the same savoury compounds that make meat stock taste of something, so the depth is comparable even though the source is not.

MethodSteep the dried mushrooms in just-boiled water for 20 minutes, then strain carefully to leave the grit behind.

Trade-offDarker in colour and unmistakably mushroomy, which reads as depth in a stew and as wrong in a delicate chicken soup.

The same job done by hand - the point is a continuous film, and a pastry brush or a folded paper towel spreads one just as well.

MethodWork into the corners and up the sides, then wipe off any pooling. Excess oil fries the edges of a cake and makes them tough.

Trade-offHarder to get an even coat inside a bundt tin or a detailed mould, which is exactly where spray earns its place.

The fat sticks to the pan and the flour gives the batter something dry to climb, which is why creamed cakes release cleanly from it.

MethodTip the pan and tap out every loose speck of flour, then chill the pan for 10 minutes before the batter goes in.

Trade-offLeaves a faint pale crust on the outside of the cake, and the flour shows white on a chocolate one - use cocoa powder instead there.

Allergen checkThis version brings both wheat and dairy into a pan that may have been sprayed to avoid them. Use a gluten-free flour or fine rice flour with a vegan block where either is a concern, and check labels rather than assuming a dusting is too small to matter.

Kombu is the source of dashi's glutamate; the bonito adds inosinate on top, which multiplies the perceived savour. Kombu alone gives you a cleaner, gentler version of the same stock and no fish at all.

MethodSteep the kombu in cold water for a few hours, or heat it slowly and pull it out just before the water boils. Boiling kombu makes the stock slimy and bitter.

Trade-offNoticeably less savoury and without the smoky note bonito gives. This is the vegan and vegetarian dashi, and adding a dried shiitake to the steep brings back much of the missing depth.

Allergen checkThis is the version to use for a fish allergy or a vegetarian table, since it contains no bonito. Check that the kombu was not packed on a line handling dried fish if the allergy is severe.

Dried shiitake are rich in guanylate, a savoury nucleotide that works on the palate much as bonito's inosinate does, so it restores the depth that a kombu-only stock lacks.

MethodSoak them in cold water for several hours or overnight, then strain and leave the last of the gritty liquid behind.

Trade-offDistinctly mushroomy and darker in colour, which shows in a pale clear soup.

Allergen checkAlong with kombu dashi, this is the version to reach for when the fish in bonito is the problem, since it contains none. Dried shiitake are sometimes packed alongside dried seafood, so check the bag if the fish allergy is severe - that is a medical matter, not a seasoning one.

Cornstarch is nearly pure starch, so it has roughly twice the thickening power by volume and needs only half as much to reach the same viscosity.

MethodSlurry it into cold water before it goes anywhere near the hot pan, and add it in the last couple of minutes of cooking.

Trade-offGlossy and translucent rather than matte and opaque, which looks wrong in a traditional white sauce or a country gravy. It also cannot be held at a simmer or reheated repeatedly without thinning.

Arrowroot is a pure starch with roughly double flour's thickening power, and unlike flour it tolerates acid well, so it suits a sauce with wine, tomato or lemon in it.

MethodAdd it off the boil at the very end; sustained heat destroys its thickening power quickly.

Trade-offGoes slippery in dairy, so it is a poor choice for a béchamel. Clear rather than opaque.

This is essentially what the mix contains, so rebuilding it from scratch gives the same starch-thickened result with real vanilla and no stabilisers or colour.

MethodWhisk everything into the cold milk, bring it to a simmer while stirring, cook one minute, then chill with cling film on the surface.

Trade-offIt must be cooked and chilled, so it cannot be folded into a cold mixture the way instant powder can. The result is cleaner-tasting but softer, without the mix's firm stabilised set.

Allergen checkMade with dairy milk this contains milk protein. A plant milk works, though oat milk sets softest and soy or coconut hold best - and oat milk is not gluten-free unless the carton says so.