Cookery - UK versus N. America

Thanks Bruce, this will be useful. But a further translation: North American-pertaining to the continent of North America, which includes the United States of American and Canada American-pertaining to the United States of America.

Canadian cooks are bilingual--recipes usually appear in metric and imperial measures. (I prefer to cook in metric, but keep "old" measures around for old cookbooks plus American recipes)

I found it interesting to see how Canada bridges the linguistic gap, using some American terms and some British terms (this might differ somewhat by region). And sometimes we go off on our own--neither scallions nor spring onions, but green onions.

Dawne

I see they touch on the difference in flour, but there is really no subbing. English cake recipes, things like the Victoria Sandwich are evil made with NA flour. Measurements for Yorkies is different and method is different. I never use English recipes that involve flour.

Thanks Bruce, that answers a LOT of questions!! Carolyn, UK

"lucretia borgia" wrote

Whilst struggling to interpret an American recipe I came across this

Some people suggest removing 2 tbsp/cup of flour when using NA all purpose flour. Have you tried that? (not recommeding it, just saying I have been told of it) Dawne

I don't have any problem making up my English cake recipes with American flour. They taste just as good as they always did. So, incidentally, does my bread. We LOATHE most store-bought bread in this house, so I make almost all my own.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

I have been here so long now, forty one years and counting, that I am quite at home with NA flour but revert instantly when cooking at my aunt's in the UK. It's almost like driving on the right/left or using different languages, comes automatically. I believe I had a cookery book that suggested that too.

As it says there, NA is harder and things like Victoria Sandwich and Sponges just were not light and fluffy as I always made them. Yorkshires were a total disaster, well compared to what I made in the UK. A Canadian friend gave me her measurements and techniques for making them which was utterly different from the UK method.

Note, when I was at my aunts last month in the UK I did roast beef and yorkies and reverted to making them and allowing to stand for a couple of hours, with great results. But not here ! Fruit cakes etc. don't matter, it's cakes that have to rise.

OK Sheena,

I can't take it anymore what IS NA flour??????

I cooked a lot in England eons back, but don't recognize it. I cooked when we were stationed in Scotland in the early 1970s, and still don't remember it.

DD does remember sword-dancing at the Cowal Games, though LOL.

North American flour, which is very different to the UK stuff, you can even feel the difference if you sift it through your fingers.

Well no, you weren't using it there lololol

I used to do a mean sword dance myself light years ago, makes me knees pain me now just even thinking about it.

But, but Sheena... there are so many different forms of flour here in the US. All-purpose flour, self-rising flour, bread flour, cake flour..all jump to mind as white flours!

Gill

I don't know about UK versus US, but I do know that Canadian flour is usually milled from harder wheat (more gluten) than is US flour and some recipes need to be adjusted.

Black and Decker bread makers suggest not using US all-purpose flour in their machines, but specifically US bread flour. They also say that any national brand of Canadian all-purpose flour can be used.

I do know that cake and pastry flour is usually 'softer', and I have a recipe for pie crust pastry which requires 5 cups of all-purpose OR 5

MargW

That is true, but none are equivalent to the UK flour - did you look at the site Bruce offered ? The UK has basically Plain and SelfRaising - remember that stuff ?

self rising flour is available here and I have used it with great success in recipies form anold english cook book that calls for self rising flour in some of its recipies. But cakes are another question. I read somewhere that the difference also with our NA flours is addatives ruby

Perhaps should should be more clear in your terms, and not lump all flours together. When I moved to Montreal as a brand new bride, others who had made the trip before me warned me to use at least 50% cake flour in my baking. Reason? Canadian wheat is a harder wheat, excellent for things like semolina, but not for light, tender baking.

In Ohio, I was able to use less cake flour,(that stuff is expensive!!) because Great Lakes area wheat seemed to be softer than Canadian. After I moved to the Deep South - Florida and then here to New Orleans, I found that southern wheat is much softer, thus so is the flour, and it was necessary to buy special bread flour to make bread, as the southern flour just does not have enough gluten in it. I don't know why your Yorkshire puddings were such a disaster, the only times I have had problems were purely my fault rather than that of the ingredients.

It is simply a question of adjusting to your circumstances, rather than moaning about what you had before.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans

I'm sure you are aware that there is a lot of variety in types of flours as they are not all made from the same wheat crops. My FIL worked in the baking - specifically flour - industry for 40+ years and he can take a bite of something and tell you what kind of flour they used. It could be that some recipes would work better with something like cake flour rather than the general use "all purpose" flour.

MelissaD

Unless a recipe calls for a specific type of flour (and many U.S. recipes call for all-purpose flour) I use cake flour for baking cakes and bread flour (or whole wheat, rye, whatever) for making bread. To make bread with all-purpose flour is to have not-so-good bread and that is the reason many people don't bother to bake bread.

Also, not all "all-purpose" flours are made equally. Check ingredients to see where the flour comes from and what - if any - additives are in it. For all-purpose flour, I always purchase the unbleached variety.

I would think it's more brand name than area of the country?

Dianne

Maureen makes her own bread, it's a quick recipe with no heavy kneading (thanks to the Kenwood Chef & a dough hook) and no lengthy "proving"; in one baking session she will produce about ten loaves and a dozen small rolls all of which are then frozen down and microwaved just before they are served - almost like having fresh-baked bread on demand. The only flour Maureen uses for bread-making is Allinson Strong White Bread flour or Allinson Country Grain Bread Flour and Allinsons Easy Bake Yeast, I believe that these are available almost anywhere in the world via

Excuse me - exactly where was I moaning about what I had before ?????? I have moved around the world and managed wherever I went linguistically and house wise.

The Yorkshire Puddings were a disaster because I needed totally different measurements and to make them and cook them immediately, not 'rest' the mixture for a couple of hours.

Then again, maybe I was more particular about them than yourself. I hate flat, doughy Yorkshires and always took pride that my cakes were light and tender.

Your earlier posts sounded very like a moan to me - complaining about North American flour as though it were all the same. I met a lot of people like you when we lived in Canada - always complaining that the beef and the beer tasted different. My view has always been - if it is so much better over there, go home!! And yes, I am very particular about my baking, which is why I took the trouble to understand the properties of the different kinds of flour available.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans