What are American Cooking Terms vs. British Cooking Terms?
When you are cooking, baking, or preparing food, you may occasionally come across an ingredient that is needed, but you aren’t quite sure what it is.
For example, you may want to make a recipe from an American cookbook or British cookbook when you come across an ingredient that you don’t recognize, such as a spice, flour and more.
American Ingredient Terms vs. UK Ingredient Terms
This guide of British to American food terms below will help you swap out ingredients or vice versa. Enjoy!
| American Ingredient Name | British Ingredient Name |
| All-purpose flour | Plain flour |
| Canadian Bacon / Ham | Bacon |
| Baking soda | Bicarbonate of soda |
| Beef (ground) | Minced Beef |
| Brown sugar | Light brown sugar |
| Cake flour | Plain flour |
| Candyquik | Wilton’s Candy Melts |
| Cane syrup | Golden syrup |
| Cool Whip | Bird’s Dream Topping |
| Cornstarch | Cornflour |
| Corn syrup | Golden syrup |
| Crisco | Trex |
| Dark corn syrup | Treacle |
| Graham’s Crackers | Rich Tea biscuits |
| Half and half | Single cream |
| Heavy whipping cream | Double cream |
| Light corn syrup | Glucose syrup |
| Light cream | Single cream |
| Navy beans | Haricot beans |
| Non-fat milk | Skimmed milk |
| Molasses | Treacle |
| Powdered sugar | Icing sugar |
| Reduced-fat milk | Semi-skimmed milk |
| Self-rising flour | Self-raising flour |
| Semi-sweet chocolate | Dark cooking chocolate |
| Shortening | Vegetable fat |
| Superfine sugar | Caster sugar |
| Tomato paste | Tomato Puree |
| Whole wheat flour | Wholemeal flour |
