Why The Language Of Baking Is Not Universal

A guide to demystifying the language of baking.

A novice baker can get overwhelmed by baking terminology. From grams to ounces, from icing sugar to powdered sugar - ingredients or terms become synonymous. Often these terms get lost in translation.

Bakers are passionate about making and innovating food. Naturally, bakers have created phenomenal recipes in different regions. The differences in language and measurements are daunting at first. In this post, I aim to define common baking ingredients and terms and address their other monikers.

Photo by Fernando Andrade on Unsplash

There Are How Many Names For Confectioner’s Sugar?

When I first started baking I had no idea there were 3 names for the same ingredient. Confectioner's sugar is what I used when I started baking layer cakes. However, most brands in the U.S. call confectioners sugar, powdered sugar. In the UK it’s commonly referred to as icing sugar (this name makes the most sense).

In short, confectioner sugar is granulated sugar that’s ground to a fine powder. It’s most commonly used to make frosting, glaze, and cheesecake.

Caster sugar, or superfine sugar is a form of granulated sugar that melts much faster. It’s sometimes called baker’s sugar. It’s difficult to find at the grocery store. Fortunately, you can make it at home with a food processor.

Heavy cream is an ingredient that you will see in recipes but you may have never seen it in the dairy aisle. Until a few years ago, I had never used heavy cream before. So, imagine how frustrated I was looking for heavy cream in the refrigerated section. At some point, you may see a carton at the grocery store labeled heavy whipping cream. Heavy cream and heavy whipping cream are the same.

The cream is categorized by the percentage of fat. According to Food Network, heavy cream must have a minimum of 36% fat, the same requirement for heavy whipping cream. Certain recipes will not be successful without the high-fat content found in this cream. It’s the key to making whipped cream and no-churn ice cream.

Alternative Names For Baking Tools

A piping bag is paired with a piping tip to decorate cakes, cupcakes, and other desserts. You can create numerous designs and patterns with this baking tool. Another term for this baking tool is a pastry bag. This bag can be filled with frosting or pastry cream.

Units of Measurement

By far, this is the most confusing part of baking. Converting units of measurement is one of the least entertaining parts of baking (besides washing dishes).

The gram is a unit of mass used in the metric system. In the U.S. grams are often in parenthesis next to the number of ounces.

Milliliters (ML) is a measure of capacity that's equal to 1/1000 liter. This is another unit of measurement that’s a part of the metric system. Milliliters are used to measure liquid.

Ounces are a unit of weight which is 1/16 of a pound. An ounce is a unit in the Imperial measurement system.

A pound is equal to 16 ounces. Pounds are used to weigh things like produce or bags of flour.

A kitchen scale includes both units of measurement. I highly recommend investing in a scale. I grew tired of referring to conversion charts or apps that were often inaccurate. Eventually, I got one for my kitchen. Of course, I was reluctant at first, but now I use it more than I expected. It’s an underrated kitchen tool that can speed up the baking process and is more precise.

Everyone starts at the beginning. We all know what it’s like to reach for a new recipe and get perplexed by the wording or terms. Maybe one day we can get on the same page and simplify the baking process. Perhaps there is a future where an ingredient has one name and bakers share one measurement system.