A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

I can't have vinegar or citrus for 8 months, and I really want to make a homemade ketchup... any ideas for what would give it a little zing?

I'm going to replace the sugar in the ketchup recipe with agave nectar...

Is white wine sugar free? I can have fruit juice...

Would pineapple juice work (it's not a citrus fruit, right?)?

Re: A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

No idea, but :bump

Re: A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

Wine might work... :think Otherwise a sour fruit juice - what about cranberry? There are some herbs that are sour - maybe one of those would work. Also, if you make sourdough bread starter, it ferments a liquid that is very sour.

Going without vinegar is hard!

Re: A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

I have a cranberry pomegranate juice that is a bit tart... That might actually work... :think

Re: A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

Did you know you can make your own vinegar from fruit juices? Will that help you?

Re: A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

Ume-boshi paste

Re: A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

No, I didn't know you could make vinegars from fruit juice, but I'm doing a candida cleanse, and that might defeat the purpose of no vinegars... :think

Please explain? I've never heard of it... Would it interfere with a candida cleanse, do you think?

Re: A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

It's a salted Japanese plum (sounds bizarre but tastes good). Apparently some of the standard brands have a lower salt content and need preservatives to stay good so I think they'd definately be out. I have an organic one which has only salt and ume-boshi-spendy but you only use a tiny bit.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umeboshi

It's recommeded on the few candida websites I've checked

Re: A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

If you're doing a candida cleanse, I'm surprised you're allowed to have fruit juice at all since it's so high in sugars. Also, no wine, since it's fermented too. Oh, and the sourdough bread is no good, since that's yeasty too.

Try googling "sour herbs" and see where that gets you.

Re: A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

One sour herb I know of is sorel.

My first thought was to use ginger to give it a zing. Maybe just cooking tomatoes with onions and ginger then a splash of Braggs to taste would work. A little cayenne and sea salt to taste.

Re: A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

I like that idea...

So now I'm trying to come up with a good tahini dressing recipe... here's what I have so far (after reading a gazillion recipes that ALL call for lemon or vinegar. :doh)

1/2 c tahini
2 t tamari
garlic (I like a lot... :giggle )
2 T coconut oil
1/2 cup water (or maybe juice? Not sure here...)
1/4 cup coconut milk (instead of lemon juice... :shrug )
1 t agave nectar
salt and pepper

What do you think? I am out of coconut milk or I'd whip some up right now... anyone want to try for me? :giggle

Re: A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

I thought you couldn't have soy? Tamari is soy & wheat.

Re: A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

I guess leaving apple peals in water to ferment would go against the no vinegar rule? It would take a long time for it to get that sour flavor though.

Re: A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

She said wheat free tamari is okay to have... :shrug I guess my body digests it in the fermented form fine... it's mostly to do with not having digestive enzymes that I'm not to have soy or wheat... not to do with the candida element.

Re: A good substitute for vinegar and citrus?
 

I don't have any ideas...but I do want to tell you that I think you are super brave for embarking on this journey! I'll be reading with interest.