Substitutions
The pantry translator.
Every South African recipe assumes a pantry you no longer live near. This hub maps it, staple by staple, to Coles and Woolworths shelves: what has a true equivalent, what needs a workaround, and what you order from the SA shops and hide from your housemates.
Start here
South African ingredient substitutes in Australia: the complete guide
The flagship. Every staple, every swap, every workaround, in one long and lovingly maintained page. If you only bookmark one thing on this site, bookmark this.
The big swaps.
You miss
Tennis biscuits
You buy
Arnott’s Nice biscuits
The full Tennis biscuit investigation, tart base tested.
You miss
Caramel Treat
You buy
Nestlé Top ‘n Fill
Head to head, spoon by spoon.
You miss
Maizena
You buy
Cornflour
Why they are the same thing, and the one trap.
You miss
Cake flour
You blend
Plain flour + cornflour
You miss
Boerewors spice
You make
Your own, from the spice aisle
The mix, gram for gram, coriander seeds and all.
You miss
Nik Naks
You grieve, then buy
Twisties
The search for a worthy successor. It gets emotional.