American food: UK substitutions and ingredient swaps
Do you know the difference between double cream and heavy cream? You do now...
Use our handy guide to swap American ingredients to UK substitutions and vice versa. From British baking ingredients to classic American chocolate, we've got all the UK vs. US food swaps you'll need.
It's much easier than you may think to swap American food for a UK substitute and vice versa. Often the ingredients aren't even different - it's just that the names might be. Take heavy cream, for instance, it's not a different type of dairy that you can't get in the UK, it's simply double cream. As for butter, well in America their sold in 'sticks' and come in at 113g, whereas in Britain this baking essential comes in at 250g standard. All-purpose flour in America is actually just plain flour in the UK.
And it's not just baking ingredients that sometimes have us confused when it comes to UK alternatives for US ingredients, it's also veggies, cooking terms, and store cupboard staples.
To make life easier we have all the common equivalents to US ingredients. So next time you're making a recipe from America you can easily convert what you have in the cupboards to suit your recipe. And if you're looking for American to UK weight conversions too, our handy cups to grams tool will help you out.
Of course, all of these swaps work the other way around too so if you're based in America and you want to find out the UK version, you can use the charts below to help you figure that out too.
*American baking ingredients and UK swaps *American chocolate and UK swaps *American vegetables and UK equivalents *American savoury ingredients and UK swaps *American food and cooking terms and UK equivalents *Where can you buy American ingredients in the UK? *American food you can’t get in the UK
American baking ingredients and UK swaps
| American name | British name |
| All-purpose flour | Plain flour |
| Baking soda | Bicarbonate of soda |
| 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 cream | Double cream |
| Light corn syrup | Glucose syrup |
| Non-fat milk | Skimmed milk |
| Molasses | Treacle |
| Powdered sugar | Icing sugar |
| Reduced-fat milk | Semi-skimmed milk |
| Self-rising flour | Self-raising flour |
| Shortening | Vegetable fat |
| Superfine sugar | Caster sugar |
| Whole wheat flour | Wholemeal flour |
American chocolate and UK swaps
| American name | British name |
| Cotton candy | Candy floss |
| Jelly beans | Jelly babies |
| Milky Way | Mars Bar |
| Mounds | Bounty |
| Nestle Crunch | Toffee Crisp |
| Popsicle | Ice lolly |
| Smarties | Refreshers |
| Take 5 | Starbar |
| Whoppers | Maltesers |
| Muskateers | Milky Way |
| Kraft Caramels | Werther's Original Soft Caramels |
American vegetables and UK equivalents
| American name | British name |
| Arugula | Rocket |
| Bell pepper | Red pepper |
| Beets | Beetroot |
| Cilantro | Coriander |
| Eggplant | Aubergine |
| Green beans | Runner beans |
| Rutabaga | Swede |
| Scallions | Spring onions |
| Snow peas | Mange tout |
| Zucchini | Courgette |
American savoury ingredients and UK swaps
| American name | British name |
| Biscuit mix | Scone mix |
| Canola oil | Rapeseed oil |
| Garbanzo beans | Chickpeas |
| Kosher salt | Sea salt |
| Lima beans | Butter beans |
| Pine kernals | Pine nuts |
American food and cooking terms and UK equivalents
| American name | British name |
| Appetizer | Starter |
| Baking sheet | Baking tray |
| Broiling | Grilling |
| Canned foods | Tinned foods |
| Entreé | Main |
| Plastic wrap | Cling film |
| Skillet | Frying pan |
| Stove | Hob |
| Strainer | Sieve |
| Wax paper | Baking paper |
Now you know the UK substitutes for some classic American foods and ingredients it should make whipping up your favorite American recipe that little bit easier.
Where can you buy American ingredients in the UK?
If you want to stick with making an American classic, there are so many ways you can get ahold of all the traditional American ingredients if you'd rather not use the UK substitute. Try shopping online; American wholesalers like American Fizz, American Food Mart, as well as Amazon, all sell US food. Be aware that you may have to spend a bit more money, especially on the delivery, as these products will be shipped from the US.
You can also visit supermarkets such as the American Food Store (based in London) or often larger superstores like Tesco, Asda, and Sainsbury’s have World Foods sections where you can often find American favorites.
American food you can’t get in the UK
Unfortunately, there are some foods that you just can’t get in the UK. You might be able to buy them online for an added cost but here is a list of some popular products:
- Taco Bell sauce
- Hershey Kisses
- Cheetos Crunchy
- Saltines
- Fritos
- Cornbread - make your own cornbread instead!
- Snyder’s Pretzel Pieces
We hope you enjoy baking and creating some American classics at home whether using traditional American ingredients or swapping them for the UK substitution instead.
