Baking Help in Australia

[Dahomechef]

I'm about to embark on a three-week stay in Melbourne visiting friends and family. Usually the relations are happy to cook etc. for visitors, but I would love to do some baking for them while we're there. I'd like to take some of my favorite recipes with me, which leads me to...

Measurements: do I need to take my own cups/spoons/etc or are the measurements the same in Australia and the US?

Terminology: At the market are there items like "all purpose flour," "double acting baking powder," "heavy whipping cream," and the like? Or what are they called instead? How about active dry and instant yeasts?

Temperatures: will I need to convert C to F, since all my recipes are in F?

and anything else I need to know? All help much appreciated. Thanks!

[arbuclo]

That sounds wonderful, Dahomechef! I'm a transported American living in Melbourne so I should be able to answer most questions you have. I noticed that in the Australian mags they often say that a measuring cup for dry ingredients is a different size in AU than imperial. Having said that, I use the measuring cups and teaspoons/tablespoons that I brought from the US and haven't converted any dry measurements. Liquid, of course, us usually in ml here for recipes and measuring cups. I suppose it depends on whether your friends have a measuring cup that has dual listing. Otherwise converting isn't a big deal.

The conversion that drives me the most insane is for butter. US recipes often call for various portions of "sticks of butter". Here butter is bought in blocks with gram marks on the side. If you know how much a stick of butter is in oz then it's easy to convert. (I have forgotten how big a stick of butter is by now!) The rough estimate I use is 30g = 1oz. (It's actually 28g = 1oz, I think, but the math is easier using 30. )

So, in summary, you shouldn't need to bring your measuring implements.

Terminology...well... all purpose flour is referred to as "plain flour". I normally just see "baking powder" with no reference to double acting but it works fine as far as I can tell. Cream's funny. There are various versions of it: whipping cream, thickened cream, double thick cream and various fat levels of each of those types of creams. I don't whip cream that often but if I did and couldn't find the one called whipping cream, I'd buy thickened cream.

If the oven that your friends and family has is old it's likely to have a little conversion on it that shows both F and C. I love that! I think most new ovens have just Celsius. I'd bring a little conversion chart just in case! Many things I bake are 350F which = 180C.

I'll see if I can think of any other tips...oh, I know...most white goods here are SO small compared to US ones. I have some baking pans I brought over from the US that I've never been able to use b/c they're too big! I assume you'll just use the pans that your friends and family have, but if not, keep that in mind. My french loaf pan doesn't fit even when put on the diagonal and I have 2 cookie sheets that'll never fit because they're both too wide and too long!

Hope that long winded response helps.

[Shinboners]

The conversion that drives me the most insane is for butter. US recipes often call for various portions of "sticks of butter". Here butter is bought in blocks with gram marks on the side. If you know how much a stick of butter is in oz then it's easy to convert. (I have forgotten how big a stick of butter is by now!) The rough estimate I use is 30g = 1oz. (It's actually 28g = 1oz, I think, but the math is easier using 30. )

According to the book that I have (The Kitchen Hand by Anthony Telford), 1 stick of butter = 125 grams = 4 oz.

[arbuclo]

According to the book that I have (The Kitchen Hand by Anthony Telford), 1 stick of butter = 125 grams = 4 oz.

[lamington]

I guess an easy way to think of things is that US Imperial measures are a little smaller than ours:

1 AU cup is 250ml, whereas a US one is 237ml (8 fl oz)

1 AU tbsp is 20ml (ie, 4 teaspoons), whereas a US one is 15ml (ie, 3 teaspoons)

1 AU block of butter (250gm) is a little more than 2 US sticks of butter (2 x 113gm (4 oz -- I believe dry oz are used here, but may be wrong))

I hope that helps. Confusion sometimes arises in Australia because imported/junkshop measuring cups and spoons are often not AU metric.

Unfortunately The Kitchen Hand (Anthony Telford) is pretty unreliable on a lot of conversions.

[Dahomechef]

I have forgotten how big a stick of butter is by now!

arbuclo, thanks so much for your detailed reply. In the US a "stick" of butter is 1/4 pound, 4 oz. This also works on a scale, which I've been using more and more these days.

Interesting about the size of the ovens in AU, I wouldn't have thought of that. I'm not anticipating bringing any baking sheets, so I'll use what's available where I'm staying.

Having seen the pics of your baking, I would say you don't have a problem with conversions!

I believe an oz = 28.4 grams. Guess I'll bring a calculator with me.

How about "bread flour" which is mostly distinguished by "hard" wheat and higher gluten? Anything like that in AU?

[Dahomechef]

I guess an easy way to think of things is that US Imperial measures are a little smaller than ours:

1 AU cup is 250ml, whereas a US one is 237ml (8 fl oz)

1 AU tbsp is 20ml (ie, 4 teaspoons), whereas a US one is 15ml (ie, 3 teaspoons)

1 AU block of butter (250gm) is a little more than 2 US sticks of butter (2 x 113gm (4 oz -- I believe dry oz are used here, but may be wrong))

lamington, that is very helpful, and thank you. I've printed this out to take with me.

I hope that helps. Confusion sometimes arises in Australia because imported/junkshop measuring cups and spoons are often not AU metric.

This leads me to believe perhaps I should bring measuring implements. Converting recipes is enough work, but not being sure exactly what measure I'm using (if I'm using cups/spoons in my sister-in-law's kitchen) slightly freaks me out.

[lamington]

The simplest solution is to do it by weight ... but maybe your sister-in-law knows whether she has AU metric cups and tablespoon measures? Sometimes the ml are printed on them too. And if she doesn't, then pack a cup and tablespoon.

One ounce is indeed 28.4gm. One US fluid ounce is 29.6 ml.

Breadflour is available in large bags from some larger supermarkets (though increasingly squeezed off the shelves by breadmixes), and loose from many Middle Eastern food shops in Melbourne. Our better plain flour is ok for basic domestic breadmaking, and you can buy gluten flour in the health food section of supermarkets if you need to boost the gluten in your plain flour.

cheers/Duncan

[arbuclo]

Having seen the pics of your baking, I would say you don't have a problem with conversions!

Oh, how sweet. Thanks!

I concur with lamington re the bread flour. I sometimes have a very hard time finding it. I rarely use any other type of flour for bread so I can't comment on the results of the plain flour. Thankfully lamington can!

Oh, I know another thing to mention. I wouldn't suggest trying to do recipes that use Crisco unless you're happy to sub butter for it. I haven't found a suitable alternative for Crisco and, though you can buy it at specialty shops it'll cost way too much!

Some other thoughts:

* you can't get canned pumpkin here (feel free to tell me otherwise, lamington!)

* I usually get my unsweetened chocolate from the US (friends who visit).

* there are lots of different ethic food shops in Melb if you want non anglo saxon ingredients (and there IS an US Foods shop if you're desperate to get some specialty item you don't mind paying too much for!)

[lamington]

Can't help on the Crisco front (never used it), and I don't think i've ever seen canned pumpkin here... but I think my reaction is that of most Aussies -- "why do you need canned pumpkin when you can buy fresh?"

Unsweetened chocolate... no. You'd have to bring some, or pay very high prices at some specialty shop here, assuming you could find it here somewhere.

About bringing things: all food *must* be declared to customs/quarantine on arrival, but most processed foods (like chocolate or canned pumpkin) are admitted. Dairy, meat and plant products are *very* restricted.

[arbuclo]

lamington, excellent point about declaring the food at customs. I always do and rarely get anything confiscated. Better safe than sorry, huh? Dahomechef, make sure you check any mixes you bring with you for milk or egg in the ingredients. As lamington said, those are restricted and will be confiscated.

lamington, re canned pumpkin...it's very convenient. We use it a lot in the US for baked goods. They carried canned pumpkin briefly in Coles near me in Melb, but you must be right on the Aussie philosophy because it didn't last long!

[Dahomechef]

Thanks for the import tips. I don't anticipate taking any foodstuffs with me, just cooking with what's on hand. I think part of the fun is experimenting with foods or produce that we wouldn't normally see here in the US. More concerned with baking, since the measurements and characteristics of the ingredients would influence my recipes. And thanks again for all the help. We leave early Saturday, so any last minute hints appreciated!