Food Substitution Chart

Today food eaten by Aussies shows a world-wide influence and includes organic and biodynamic, Kosher and Halal foods. British traditions are still dominant in takeaway foods as well as home cooking, with pies and fish and chips always an Aussie favourite.

Digestive Biscuits (Aussie)
Graham Crackers (USA)
These two items are fairly different, but are used in a similar way such as making crumb crusts for cheesecake.

In recipes calling for digestive biscuits, Americans and Canadians often use Graham Crackers as a substitute.

The sweeter graham crackers come in a variety of flavours like cinnamon and chocolate.

Digestive biscuits are richer, and while slightly sweet, are often eaten with cheese. They are also available coated on one side with milk or dark chocolate.

Sweet Potato
Do not substitute the New Zealand kumera for a sweet potato. It has quite a different taste. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, it was a staple of the Maori in New Zealand and is still popular throughout the Pacific region.

In the USA they grow two basic types of sweet potato.  One is commonly called a yam although it is not a true yam. It has a darker, thicker skin with vivid sweeter orange-coloured flesh inside. When cooked, it's generally moister than the normal sweet potato.

Zucchini
Both the Aussies and Yanks use the word zucchini for the green summer squash. If you see the word 'courgette' in a recipe, that's simply a French term for zucchini.