Where to find baking supplies?

[MacDaddy]

I'm an expat American who enjoys baking but haven't been able to for quite some time, as I've been traveling.. now I'm very excited to finally have a kitchen, but can't seem to find many of the supplies I'm used to.

Thanks to this board, I found out what shortening is called here, and where to buy it - but I'd appreciate any advice on the following:

- Measuring cups and spoons
- Oven thermometer
These two I'm flabbergasted by. I've looked in the largest Carrefours and Jumbos, to no avail. Do people here not bake? Or not measure their ingredients? It's weird - the stores have 12 kinds of pastry brushes, but not a simple set of measuring spoons.
As for the oven thermometer - none of the ovens in the apartments I've seen even pretend to show temperature.. so how do people bake? My first batch of brownies were burned on the outside and uncooked in the middle, lol.

- real maple syrup (i read that pancake thread, but it didn't mention this). Not corn syrup, but the real stuff.

Thanks in advance!

 

[pauper]

Try Jujuy for two blocks either side of the autopista there are numerous catering/restaurant supply shops, there is also a very good reposteria supply shop just off Jujuy on a side street to the east.

 

[silwie]

Doña Clara, Av.Corrientes 2561...everything is there

 

[nledec]

Metric system--recipes are in grams, mls, etc. They don't use cups & Tbs.
You can find several good pages on the web though that offer conversions.

 

[arty]

Metric system--recipes are in grams, mls, etc. They don't use cups & Tbs.
You can find several good pages on the web though that offer conversions.

this is a great conversation site

http://digitaldutch.com/unitconverter/

 

[fred mertz]

How many super(?)markets here have scales in the produce department for customers to use? I don't think that too many people cook. They can broil meat or have their maids cook. Baakkin? What is that? Norte (I've been here a long time) sold wonderful chocolate chip cookies. They apparently sold the recipe to Carreour, when Carrefour bought Norte. Well, like so many food products here, the cookies were discontinued. I decided to bake my own. I'm all set to go, but haven't been able to find a decent affordable cookie sheet. I bought the chocolate chips in EEUU, last month.
Has anyone seen a bread slicing machine in a bakery in BA? I don't mean packaged white bread.
There is a store in the BA Design Center that has a great selection of kit-chen equipment. The store is to the right of the main entrance. Their prices (actually, every store's prices) might knock your tango shoes off.

 

[mini]

I'm an expat American who enjoys baking but haven't been able to for quite some time, as I've been traveling.. now I'm very excited to finally have a kitchen, but can't seem to find many of the supplies I'm used to.

Thanks to this board, I found out what shortening is called here, and where to buy it - but I'd appreciate any advice on the following:

- Measuring cups and spoons
- Oven thermometer
These two I'm flabbergasted by. I've looked in the largest Carrefours and Jumbos, to no avail. Do people here not bake? Or not measure their ingredients? It's weird - the stores have 12 kinds of pastry brushes, but not a simple set of measuring spoons.
As for the oven thermometer - none of the ovens in the apartments I've seen even pretend to show temperature.. so how do people bake? My first batch of brownies were burned on the outside and uncooked in the middle, lol.

- real maple syrup (i read that pancake thread, but it didn't mention this). Not corn syrup, but the real stuff.

Thanks in advance!

I'm not sure if you will find US measure cups. But you can buy a kitchen scale and then do the conversions. That's what I used to do until I had someone bring me measure things. Here they weigh ingredients not measure them by volume.

If you find an oven thermometer, let me know. What I do for brownies is turn the oven down & bake longer. But you really have to watch the oven when you bake.

Real maple syrup is really difficult. In two years I've seen it once and it was like 150 pesos or something crazy.

Shortening you can find in the supermarket, near the ready made crusts and/or near the butter, margarine.

 

[Georginar]

there's this big baking supplies 1 in belgrano, they have a lot of stuff. I can't tell you the exact address, but its in a "galeria" in Av. cabildo, but not the Cabildo side, you have to go all the way down to Ciudad de la Paz, between Mendoza and Olazabal. If you go down Ciudad de la Paz is easier, you will only have to go down a little stair and you'll see it right away.
If not, I'm sure many people know the place I'm telling you. Just look for a Galeria. If I'm not mistaken, you have the restaurant called Fame right in front of it.
Hope you find it! i bought some stuff there only few months ago. =D

 

[MacDaddy]

Metric system--recipes are in grams, mls, etc. They don't use cups & Tbs..

Yes, I realize the measurement system here is metric (and that's a good thing! far easier to divide and multiply..), but that doesn't obviate the need to measure things, does it? I still can't understand it.. but then, as others said, I guess people here don't really bake, other than the occasional roast.

Thanks for all the replies! Very informative.

 

[cassiem13]

Doña Clara, for sure. I'm a pastry chef in the States, and that's the best all around supply store I've found here. At many of the grocery stores, you can find measuring cups with "cups" and also grams of different ingredients marked on them, the only thing is the markings wear off pretty quickly. But at Doña Clara you can find measuring cups, tablespoons, etc. Pretty much everything! Good luck with the ovens, though... it's a mess!