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| baking ingredients | |
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| Topic Started: Apr 28 2010, 07:34:06 AM (1,392 Views) | |
| katze | Apr 28 2010, 07:34:06 AM Post #1 |
Chinwagger
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So I love to bake and make anything that is sweet. I tend to get hooked on making a couple things for awhile and then move on to something new... currently it's fudge, cookies, and cheesecakes. Mostly I do things from scratch, though occasionally I'll use a mix. Is there anything that I won't be able to find easily once I get to Australia or anything that tends to be really expensive that I would want to bring with me? I think I remember reading somewhere that there aren't semi-sweet chocolate chips. I also have a tendency to go through vanilla extract like it's water (I double the amount called for in most recipes  ) so would it be worth getting a big bottle of it here and bringing it over?
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| koalamama | Apr 28 2010, 09:00:39 AM Post #2 |
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True Blue Mate
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I bake a lot, but I haven't really paid attention to the cost of the vanilla extract. As far as chips go, most stores only carry dark, milk and white chocolate, so bring those if you want but you will need to keep them in the fridge or other cool place. You can order them from USA Foods as well - check their prices on their website - but it will obviously be cheaper to bring what you can. |
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| TerritorianTori | Apr 28 2010, 10:55:11 AM Post #3 |
Dance to disco
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I think I paid around $3 for a 200ml bottle of imitation vanilla extract. The real stuff is closer to $9. Let's see... - Cool Whip and Dream Whip don't exist here. - Butterscotch chips don't exist here. - - - Ready-made graham cracker crusts don't exist here. In fact, graham crackers don't exist here, period - but digestive biscuits make a really good substitute! - You'll have to go to specialty shops for things like molasses and corn syrup. - White marshmallows are sold along with pink (raspberry-flavoured) marshmallows...just discard the pink ones. We used to be able to get white marshmallow creme, but they've since discontinued it, perhaps you can find it down south. - I've also found it difficult to find unsweetened baking chocolate squares, but hopefully that's just a regional thing. - Bring your US baking pans and measuring cups to make your US recipes. The ones sold here are metric-based and not quite the same. That's all I can think of at the moment. If you'd like some recipes for Aussie sweets (using ingredients you can definitely find in Australia), check out this guy's videos. He makes a mean lemon cheesecake!  http://www.youtube.com/user/OnePotChefShow Edited by TerritorianTori, Apr 28 2010, 01:59:00 PM.
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 South Texas to the Northern Territory - since 2004 I'm a huge fan of... Angry Video Game Nerd | The Big Bang Theory | Doctor Who | Pet Shop Boys | Yanks Down Under ~ Americans living in Australia Avatar by Sketch Shop Boys | |
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| minx | Apr 28 2010, 11:11:45 AM Post #4 |
True Blue Mate
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Tors - There is double acting baking powder here. The brand I use is Anchor, but I'm sure there are others. |
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| TerritorianTori | Apr 28 2010, 11:25:00 AM Post #5 |
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Dance to disco
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Interesting. Maybe it's just Darwin, then.  I'll have to pick some up next time I go down south!
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South Texas to the Northern Territory - since 2004 I'm a huge fan of... Angry Video Game Nerd | The Big Bang Theory | Doctor Who | Pet Shop Boys | Yanks Down Under ~ Americans living in Australia Avatar by Sketch Shop Boys | |
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| shylady | Apr 28 2010, 12:20:43 PM Post #6 |
oldYank
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Yup, the (double-acting) can I've currently got is Ward's, same 125gm cardboard can as it's one of McKenzie's baking products. huh. I've just assumed the Nestle and Cadbury Dark Chocolate Chips were Semi-Sweet, as opposed to their Milk Chocolate Chips. Guess I haven't eaten enough of them plain to find out they're not! 
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| minx | Apr 28 2010, 12:43:15 PM Post #7 |
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True Blue Mate
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The dark chocolate chips are semi-sweet chocolate. So, you are right! Technically, 'dark chocolate' has no milk products in it. 'Semi-sweet' chocolate does, and it has ~ 50% sugar by weight. If you look at the label of the dark chocolate chips, you'll see milk solids, and 10.8g sugar per 20g serving. So, they are what we know as semi-sweet chocolate. |
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| koalamama | Apr 28 2010, 01:01:27 PM Post #8 |
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True Blue Mate
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Hmmm, maybe technically but they taste different. (And I do eat the dark ones by the bag ) I usually mix half milk/ half dark when baking. By the way, just a warning with regarding to bringing pans... I had some lovely new cookie sheets that I brought over with me, but I could never use them because they didn't fit in any of the ovens we have had. So just make sure they are not really big ones. Edited by koalamama, Apr 28 2010, 01:02:13 PM.
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| shylady | Apr 28 2010, 01:02:46 PM Post #9 |
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oldYank
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whew, thanks, minx! I'm not totally senile, then!
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| katze | Apr 28 2010, 01:44:56 PM Post #10 |
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Chinwagger
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Thanks for all the info... I'll probably just bring a few bags of chips then and maybe a box of graham crackers. I was planning on bringing all my measuring spoons/cups and pans anyways and I use silicon pans so they're all smaller. What about vanilla wafers for making banana pudding?? |
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| TerritorianTori | Apr 28 2010, 02:08:21 PM Post #11 |
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Dance to disco
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Same here. I just assumed they were different because they taste different coming out of the bag. Fantastic thread! Learn something new every day. 
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South Texas to the Northern Territory - since 2004 I'm a huge fan of... Angry Video Game Nerd | The Big Bang Theory | Doctor Who | Pet Shop Boys | Yanks Down Under ~ Americans living in Australia Avatar by Sketch Shop Boys | |
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| suzn | Apr 28 2010, 02:23:10 PM Post #12 |
True Blue Mate
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Sadly.... 'Nilla wafers do not exist here, at least I've never seen them anywhere in Oz |
 Living in Oz since 2002 ~ Temp Residency granted Dec 2004 ~ Perm Residency granted Oct 2006 ~ Dual citizenship official May 2009 | |
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| CynicalCountess | Apr 28 2010, 04:36:57 PM Post #13 |
True Blue Mate
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My expat friends in the UK say that baking soda and baking powder there are very different. What about here? Are there any dairy companies that put tablespoon measurements on their butter? This guessing is getting old. |
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| Judy | Apr 28 2010, 04:51:21 PM Post #14 |
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True Blue Mate
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Baking soda and baking powder are two different things here in Australia and also in the US too as far as I know. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, also known as carb. soda here, but I don't know any other name for baking powder. There are usually markings on the paper wrappers on butter showing 50g increments, at least that's the case on the Coles butter in my fridge. I think 50 g is two tablespoons. Edited by Judy, Apr 28 2010, 04:52:12 PM.
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| minx | Apr 28 2010, 05:10:58 PM Post #15 |
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True Blue Mate
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As Judy said, baking soda is sodium bicarbonate - anywhere in the world you go, sodium bicarb is sodium bicarb. Baking powder is made of 3 parts - base, acid, and filler of some sort. So, base (baking soda) plus acid (cream of tartar) and filler (usually cornstarch). Can't see how very different it could be. |
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| sheowahya | Apr 28 2010, 08:26:04 PM Post #16 |
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True Blue Mate
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Nilla Wafers Dream Whip Graham Cracker Crusts all are available at USA foods Cheers, Marilyn |
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| mt eerie | May 22 2010, 01:58:08 AM Post #17 |
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Piker
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I second what Tori said earlier, Digestives are a good graham cracker substitute. I wish I had found out about them earlier! I think 1 tablespoon of butter is around 14 grams? Scales come in handy for things like measuring out butter! |
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| canaussie | May 22 2010, 09:02:34 AM Post #18 |
True Blue Mate
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TRUE?? I'm off to check out the website because I get a weekly Kraft receipe through email and some of the recipes lately have called for Dream/Cool Whip and graham crackers. I was about to add boxes of Dream/Cool whip to my list of must bring back next time I go home. |
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Paula (dual Canadian/Australian) married to an Aussie since 1999 and mummy to an Aussie since 2000 | |
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| AmbroseChick | May 22 2010, 09:55:50 AM Post #19 |
True Blue Mate
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Baking has become so much easier after I purchased a kitchen scale. I'm shocked that I have never used one before because its so much easier to weigh out ingredients then it is to use measuring cups. Especially messy things like butter and honey. I have converted all of my baking recipes to grams, etc. now. |
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| Bindie | May 24 2010, 12:10:46 AM Post #20 |
True Blue Mate
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I agree completely Ambrose! It's so much easier. |
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