Common Substitutions for American Ingredients

This is a really helpful cheat sheet! Am often stumped when trying to understand many ing. Thanks!!

Any one have a substitute if WINE is included in recipes

I've used beer, water, stock. Just reduce a bit to make up 4 alch. evap.

As an American living in England, I think I might help a bit to clarify a couple of ingredients on the above list. Most are right on, but here are some things I noticed: - "Granulated sugar" is actually just plain old white sugar, not necessarily caster sugar. Either would work in a given recipe, but it's a bit easier to use white sugar because most people would have it to hand, while not everyone would have caster sugar to hand. - I'm not convinced that corn syrup and golden syrup are the same thing; I would never, for example, put corn syrup on a waffle. Corn syrup is clear, although it is of roughly the same consistency of golden syrup. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think corn syrup is used almost exclusively as an ingredient, whereas golden syrup can also be used as a condiment. - You may also see "powdered sugar" in American recipes--it is the same as confectioner's (icing) sugar. - "Semisweet chocolate" is actually plain chocolate, not dark. If an American recipe calls for dark chocolate, it will say so. Also, in the "Cookery Terms" section, it says that an American "biscuit" is a British "scone"; while the two foods are very similar, scones are slightly sweeter than biscuits. A biscuits is more like a bread roll in that Americans would eat it with a savory meal (such as fried chicken), or even with gravy (white gravy made using flour and stock). Granted, I love biscuits slathered with butter and honey, but they are not, strictly speaking, interchangeable with scones. It also may be of use to know that in the United States, butter comes in "sticks"; each stick is 1/2 cup of butter, or approximately 113 grams. 1 cup of butter, or two sticks, would weigh about 225 grams. To put it in terms that you can relate to, the butter you buy in the supermarket weighs 250g, which is slightly over one cup of butter, or two sticks (which would weigh 225 g). Hope this helps!

I was thinking the same thing Gina. I would not want scones and gravy :) Also Americans definitely say 'hard-boiled egg' too. I've had to try to sort all this out too when I moved to England.

people also might like to note that flour in England is different from American all purpose. Therefore, when you are using an American recipe in England, add slightly more flour than the recipe calls for to get the right consistency for your dough.

I have to agree with a comment below from Gina. Granulated Sugar is not as fine as Castor. Golden Syrup and Corn Syrup are not the same thing but it is the closest you will find in Uk. I also disagree with half and half. If I can recall and I havent lived that side of the pond now for 4 years but... half and half is half milk and half cream. Graham crackers are not the same as digestives but they are the closest that you will find. The cheat sheet is good but they are not the same just the closest! :) Happy cooking :)

Light corn syrup, according to the company that makes the market-leading Karo brand, is a mixture of corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup (which provides increased sweetness), flavored with salt and vanilla. It is clear and colorless, with a moderately sweet flavor. In the case of corn syrup, the light is not to be confused with lite or any other misspelling meaning reduced calorie. The light refers to the shade, and, indeed, some people refer to it as white corn syrup. Dark corn syrup is corn syrup with a small amount of refiners' syrup (a type of molasses derived from sugar cane), caramel flavor, sodium benzoate (a preservative), salt, and caramel color. Dark corn syrup has a medium brown color and a much more assertive flavor. Both light and dark corn syrup function similarly in recipes and can usually be used interchangeably. The use of dark corn syrup will add more flavor to a recipe. Golden syrup is a pale treacle. It is a thick, amber-colored form of inverted sugar syrup, made in the process of refining sugar cane juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance similar to honey, and is often used as a substitute for people who do not eat honey. It can also be used as a substitute for corn syrup. I think that Golden Syrup and Dark Corn Syrup are closer than light corn syrup and golden syrup. Natasha111 is right half and half is half milk and half cream hence the name half and half.

Gina is correct in that golden syrup IS NOT corn syrup. I have a recipe that calls for Karo (corn syrup) and the results would be different. Corn syrup (light) is pretty much just a sweetener whereas Golden Syrup is used as a topping (somewhere between pancake syrup & corn syrup). I have found that plain flour is pretty much interchangeable. One thing to note is that polenta (not precooked) can be interchanged for corn meal in things like sweet corn muffins - amounts remain the same. Scones are NOT an american style biscuit - almost more like a traditional shortcake that would be served with strawberries (not quite as dry). They can be plain or with sultanas (raisins!) and are yummy with devon cream & strawberry jam. And jelly over here is like Jello in the US - NOT something you spread on toast (that would be jams or preserves). Chips = french fries; semi-sweet chocolate = plain chocolate; tomato passata = tomato sauce. And some ingredients just can't be found in the UK that are common in the US.

What a really useful helpsheet! Many thanks!

i am having a problem with a recipe calling for northern beans .... what are northern beans and what could be a good substitute??? pls help ... i would like to make this sausage soup...thanks .. sunshine memos

thanks for this picked up an old american cook book an did not know what molasses was. i can now get to use a lot of the recipes

thanks,from South Africa!

right, here's what i've found about the whole corn syrup question. glucose syrup is a suitable replacement and it's stocked in at least one of the big supermarkets here in the uk. like most of you lot, i'm an american living in the uk and trying to make all these recipes that i know and love. now, for northern beans, as far as i can tell, they are a midwest thing. unlikely here, and i couldn't even find one sub, navy beans. but i was able to find the other: cnnellini beans. happy cooking!

As a substitute for wine why not try grape juice (reduce any sugar amounts though because its much sweeter than wine unless you can find an unsweetened version). Water it down a little and reduce your liquid ingredients accordingly.

I was just reading through this and most of the ingredients are from the UK. Here is a list of substitutes for people living in France: for Philadelphia cream cheese, use Kiri or any equivalent brand for corn syrup I have been using Golden Syrup and it's almost the same. However the pancake syrup sold by most major retail shops is actually corn syrup to my knowledge. -chocolate chips: cut cooking chocolate into manageable chunks. I would recommend not using chocolate chips bought in France as neither the texture nor the "melt" will be the same. Peanut Butter and marshmallows can be found in most of the large stores sugar substitutes are now available under a common brand name found in North America but not the baking variety - for light brown sugar use : Vergeoise blonde for dark: Vergeoise Brune baking soda is bicarbonate alimentaire baking powder-use levure chimique but add slightly more for muffins as it is not as strong as double acting baking powder Hope this helps

Thanks to all of you and your comments... I moved to the UK almost two years ago and just like most, am trying to use American recipies here.