Forum: cooking.stackexchange.com
Tags: <substitutions><kosher>
Title: What can substitute for the non kosher ingredients in bolognese sauce?
Question: I am trying to make bolognese kosher for my family and struggling. Here is the list of ingredients I hope to find a substitute for:   Pork  Pancetta  Heavy cream  Milk  Parmigiano Reggiano

Answers:
sents: text: None of those is a necessary element in bolognese; find a recipe that doesn't use them (use beef mince, or quorn).
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/36356/dbmag9
score: 20
sents: text: There are many bolognese variations out there, some which have milk in them, but there are many which do not as well.
text: My understanding is that a traditional bolognese does not have milk, but as always with Italian food
text: what's traditional is what Mama makes.
text: In any case, you can drop the milk products without substituting anything for them.
text: I don't think that adding soya or anything else will give you the same effect.
text: As for the pork you can replace it with ground beef or turkey, beef has more flavor than turkey but turkey is generally leaner.
text: I make bolognese with a mix of beef and turkey because I find it's less greasy while still flavorful, but that's subjective.
text: Pancetta adds richness, but is not essential.
text: Some people, myself included, use bacon in a bolognese.
text: If you want a substitute for that there are turkey bacons out there in some places but to be honest the ones I've tried generally haven't been very good substitutes for the real thing.
text: Bacon has fat, salt and smoke flavors (presuming it's smoked), so you could try and substitute any kosher cured and smoked meat sliced into thin strips.
text: You could just leave it out entirely as well.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/19707/GdD
score: 11
sents: text: Milk (and, I guess as an extension, cream and cheese) is included for richness, pork because a mix of pork and beef is somewhat lighter than beef alone, and pancetta for flavour.
text: None of these ingredients is essential and a "basic" Bolognese sauce would work just fine without all of them.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/24117/David Richerby
score: 3
sents: text: In the original italian recipe of " Ragù alla bolognese ", pork is optional, there is just beef mince simmered with red wine until reduced, some vegetables (carrot, onion and celery), tomato sauce, and absolutely no compulsory dairy products (cheese is added on personal taste when the dish is served).
text: this one seems perfect, notice: olive oil or butter and ½ glass of milk cream ( optional ).
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/54814/GodTaxist
score: 3
sents: text: When I was growing up, my family had a tradition of having bolognese once a week.
text: We liked putting cheese on top and my mother is vegetarian, so for both of these reasons we used soy "mince".
text: I don't know how easy it is for you to find
text: but I often see both dried and "fresh" varieties in my supermarket.
text: It's often sold under the name "textured vegetable protein", or TVP.
text: As long as you're not eating any other meat, you can use as much or as little dairy as you like.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/33577/CJ Dennis
score: 3

Summary of the answers:
These ingredients are not necessary, and can be omitted. The pork could be replaced with ground beef or turkey, while the pancetta can be replaced with kosher smoked meat.
The original Italian recipe for Bolognese sauce does not include pork, dairy or pancetta. All these ingredients can be left out or substituted. Beef and turkey can replace the pork and bacon or kosher cured meet can replace the pancetta.