I’m Libby, a home cook and recipe blogger from the Hunter Valley in Australia.
If you’ve landed here from the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa or someplace else… G’day! Glad you’re here!
Here, I want to help you to easily use and love my recipes. Because you may come across some slight differences in our ingredient names, measurements and temperatures.

I have tried to incorporate the information into each recipe, but some older recipes may not contain this information. And it’s just good to have this as a reference in any case.
So, here are the things to keep in mind when reading and using my recipes:
1. Ingredient and food names
If I mention… | You might instead know it as… |
plain flour | all purpose flour |
SR flour (self-raising flour) | SR flour = Self-raising flour |
icing sugar | confectioners or powdered sugar |
caster sugar | superfine or bakers sugar |
bicarb soda | baking soda |
glucose syrup | light corn syrup |
treacle | molasses (though I’m told treacle is slightly sweeter) |
stock cube | bouillon cube, granules or base |
thickened cream | heavy cream |
beef mince | ground beef |
glace fruit | candied fruit |
eggplant | aubergine |
choko | chayote, vegetable pear, christophine or mango squash |
chips | crisps or french fries |
digestive biscuits | graham crackers |
tomato sauce | ketchup |
hard-boiled egg | hard-cooked egg |
zucchini | courgette |
capsicum | sweet or bell pepper |
beetroot | beet |
rockmelon | cantaloupe |
celery stick | celery rib |
prawns | shrimp |
rocket | arugula |
pancakes | flapjacks |
coriander | cilantro |
scones | biscuits |
biscuits | cookies |
(And Aussies who are using the above table in reverse, might wonder what “cool whip” is in recipes from the US. Find out how to make a substitute for cool whip here.)
2. Measurements
- 1 cup = 250ml (1 US cup = 237 ml)
- 1 teaspoon = 5ml
- 1 tablespoon = 20ml
- 1 tablespoon butter = 20 grams
- 1 stick of butter = 8 tablespoons of butter = 115 grams
Find a pounds to grams calculator here.
3. Oven temperatures: celsius to fahrenheit
degrees celsius | degrees fahrenheit | |
very slow | 120 | 250 |
slow | 150 | 300 |
moderate | 180 | 350 |
moderately hot | 200 | 400 |
hot | 220 | 425 |
4. Kitchen equipment
baking tray = baking sheet
frying pan = skillet
greaseproof paper = parchment paper
kettle = well, apparently in the US you don’t bother with electric kettles! So if I mention boiling water in a kettle, I guess you just do that in a pot on a stovetop?
Ready to get started with Aussie recipes?
If you’re keen to dig into some great Aussie recipes, things you may not have come across in your country, then I suggest heading over to check out my Aussie recipe collection.
And before you read my posts, you may also want to read through this guide to understanding Aussie slang.
Belinda
Monday 20th of February 2023
What about cool whip? What is the Aussie conversion in recipes?
Libby Hakim
Thursday 23rd of February 2023
Hi Belinda. Thanks for the question! I've updated the post and added a post all about what to use instead of cool whip here: https://www.cookingwithnanaling.com/cool-whip/ Cheers, Libby
Leonie OโDonnell
Monday 20th of February 2023
What about a โstick of butter?โ
Caroline S
Monday 20th of February 2023
@Libby Hakim, can you please convert the stick of butter to grams for us?Iโd never measure 8 tablespoons of butter, heaps quicker to weigh it.
Libby Hakim
Monday 20th of February 2023
Thank you Leonie, have just added this :)