Excellent French-American Baking Reference

[John DePaula]

If you are living in France and want to bake some American recipes, then you will need to print out a copy of David Lebovitz's invaluable guide: American Baking in Paris. I spent many hours trying to create my own list, but this is far more complete.

Oh the time spent combing Paris for vanilla extract* only to discover that the French really don't use the same thing (arome de vanille NEQ vanilla extract). Or looking for a can of chicken soup… you're not gonna find it.

*I was told, quite simply, that French chefs use vanilla beans when they want vanilla flavor! Imagine!

Edited February 23, 2006 by John DePaula (log)

[ludja]

If you are living in France and want to bake some American recipes, then you will need to print out a copy of David Lebovitz's invaluable guide:  American Baking in Paris.  I spent many hours trying to create my own list, but this is far more complete. 

Oh the time spent combing Paris for vanilla extract* only to discover that the French really don't use the same thing (arome de vanille NEQ vanilla extract). Or looking for a can of chicken soup… you're not gonna find it.

*I was told, quite simply, that French chefs use vanilla beans when they want vanilla flavor!    Imagine!

NOTE:  The link above will change when this article moves into David's archives section.

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If you go to the end of entry, there is a live link called a "permalink" which should always bring you back to the given article.

Here is the permalink for the nice resource you pointed out on Lebovitz's site: click

[bleudauvergne]

It is a nice start.

[John DePaula]

If you go to the end of entry, there is a live link called a "permalink" which should always bring you back to the given article.

Here is the permalink for the nice resource you pointed out on Lebovitz's site: click

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Thanks! I didn't see that. I have edited my original post to reflect the permalink.

[John DePaula]

It is a nice start.

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Perhaps we should use this thread to expand on the topic? Maybe there's already one (or several) on eGullet?

[MightyD]

oh, this is so great!! i'm in the midst of translating pierre herme's "larousse des desserts" and have been confounded by some ingredients ...

[bleudauvergne]

The closest to American brown sugar I have found comes from Daddy, both light and dark.

While type 65 flour is a bit closer to whole wheat flour, type 55 gives good results for home baking cookies. For brownies, type 45 is fine. Cakes in which you mix things in the batter need a type of 55 at least. Using 45, whatever you've got floating in the batter will sink. The key to getting cookies from melting into puddles is to chill the dough!

Further to David's note on mineral oil I was sucessful in finding mineral oil at my pharmacy. What you have to do is ask them for 'huile de parrafin' which is what we'd call mineral oil.

Oatmeal can be found at health food stores, but for 'Quick Oats' like the kind you'd use for oatmeal cookies, look for ready to eat cereals.

The best substitution for Philly cream cheese is the farmers' 'fromage frais' (not to be mistaken for the liquidy 'fromage frais' that comes in pots like yougert or the faiselle suspended in liquid.) This is the one that comes in strings at the market and looks like fresh chevre - but is cow's cheese. This is the perfect substitution when you are making cheesecakes, for instance.

[Ptipois]

The closest to American brown sugar I have found comes from Daddy, both light and dark.

That must be "vergeoise", which is unrefined beet sugar, either blonde (light) or brune (dark). It has the right moist texture but not the rich taste of cane sugar.

Recently I have seen "sucre de canne brut" (real moist cane brown sugar) at Monoprix. Until then, it had only been available at health food stores under the various names panela, muscovado, sucre mélasse, sucre de canne brut, etc.

As a rule, regularly visiting health food stores ("magasins bio"), the bigger the better, is a good way of finding substitutes for things you miss from the United states, from peanut butter to raw sugars, nuts, dried fruit, cereals and good bread flours. The distribution is different and you can find stuff that is unthinkable in mainstream food distribution. For instance, Italian lemons, more fragrant than Spanish lemons but disadvantaged by European commercial regulations, may be found in "bio" stores.

While type 65 flour is a bit closer to whole wheat flour, type 55 gives good results for home baking cookies.  For brownies, type 45 is fine.  Cakes in which you mix things in the batter need a type of 55 at least.  Using 45, whatever you've got floating in the batter will sink.  The key to getting cookies from melting into puddles is to chill the dough!

I use 65 to 55, never lower. There's not enough gluten in type 45 flour. And I also get it from bio stores for better taste. That's the closest I have found to US bread flour (home bread baking is not big in France).

The best substitution for Philly cream cheese is the farmers' 'fromage frais' (not to be mistaken for the liquidy 'fromage frais' that comes in pots like yougert or the faiselle suspended in liquid.)  This is the one that comes in strings at the market and looks like fresh chevre - but is cow's cheese.  This is the perfect substitution when you are making cheesecakes, for instance. 

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The closest to Philly I have found in France is double-crème fresh cheese, available under different brands and in various qualities.

While Philadelphia is slowly getting available in some supermarkets, there's still not enough of it to get cheesecake-makers out of trouble. To plan safe, use Kiri, which has perfect taste and texture: just the right saltiness and dryness. It is recommended by many pastry chefs as a substitute for cream cheese. Samos 99 is also a good option, when you can find it (in fact I'm not sure it is still available).

Other chefs recommend Saint-Môret, but I have found it to be too moist and too sour. And a bit too salty too. Fromage frais by "Madame Loïc" (in many supermarkets) is fine too but still a bit too moist.

Brillat-Savarin can be good if you find one that is dry enough. If not, it should be kneaded and drained in a piece of cloth for a while.

[Ptipois]

oh, this is so great!!  i'm in the midst of translating pierre herme's "larousse des desserts" and have been confounded by some ingredients ...

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I have done the editing for his latest book, so feel free to e-mail me for some help.

[ludja]

...

The closest to Philly I have found in France is double-crème fresh cheese, available under different brands and in various qualities.

While Philadelphia is slowly getting available in some supermarkets, there's still not enough of it to get cheesecake-makers out of trouble. To plan safe, use Kiri, which has perfect taste and texture: just the right saltiness and dryness. It is recommended by many pastry chefs as a substitute for cream cheese. Samos 99 is also a good option, when you can find it (in fact I'm not sure it is still available).

Other chefs recommend Saint-Môret, but I have found it to be too moist and too sour. And a bit too salty too. Fromage frais by "Madame Loïc" (in many supermarkets) is fine too but still a bit too moist.

Brillat-Savarin can be good if you find one that is dry enough. If not, it should be kneaded and drained in a piece of cloth for a while.

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My mom and I sometimes substitute mild goat cheese for cream cheese b/c my sister can have goat but not cow dairy. It does have an extra tang, but in many applications it works very well.