Substitutes for milk in quiche

[Haylley Johnson]

Hi everyone! The other night, I managed to get myself into a bit of a predicament. I was making quiche for my roommate and myself, but when I pulled out my half and half, I realized that I only had a half cup of it left. I had a little bit of milk too, but the recipe called for about twice as much dairy. Is there something else I can use? Or can I just increase the number of eggs I use in the future?

Eventually, I just cut the recipe in half, but it would have been nice to make a full quiche. Anyone have an answer?

[Undead Molly]

If you had evaporated or dry milk on hand, you can mix up some of that. For a quiche I would have combined the half/half and milk to see how much I had, added a little chicken broth and butter to fill it out a little, then thrown in an extra egg or two. If you have powdered coffee creamer, you can dissolve that into the broth for a more milky flavor. If you're feeling adventurous you could also try throwing in a few tablespoons of plain yogurt, sour cream, or pureed cottage cheese.

I think that in quiche the milk is there more for moisture and fat than it's custardy stabilizing properties. The stability comes mostly from the eggs and cheese. You can substitute soy, coconut, or almond milk, it just might not be as perfectly emulsified.

My mom is allergic to dairy (and gluten) so I've had to do a lot of milk substitution experiments over the years. The only thing I try to stay away from is rice milk. I like it poured over cereal, but in my experience its low protein content makes it crap for cooking and baking.

[Haylley Johnson]

Thanks Molly, that is really good to know. I never would have thought about the chicken broth and creamer idea. That is genius. Would the cottage cheese throw off the flavor at all though or would it still taste basically the same?