(Altitude Adjustment Chart, Common Ingredient Measurement Conversions, and Substitution Sections Coming Soon.)
Volume Measurements Cheat Sheet
Dash = 1/16 teaspoon
Pinch = 1/8 teaspoon
3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon = ½ ounce
4 tablespoons = ¼ cup = 2 ounces
5 1/3 tablespoons = 1/3 cup = 2 2/3 ounces
16 tablespoons = 1 cup = 8 ounces
2 cups = 16 ounces = 1 pint
4 cups = 32 ounces = 2 pints = 1 quart
8 cups = 64 ounces = 4 pints = 2 quarts
16 cups = 128 ounces = 8 pints = 4 quarts = 1 gallon
Note: These measurements above are for wet volume ingredients (fluids). With dry volume ingredients, measuring by weight is always the most accurate. Think of brown sugar, for example. You can vary greatly on the amount that you fit into a measuring cup depending on whether you simply scoop, lightly pack, or heavily pack. Weigh the difference – you’ll be amazed! Investing in a small kitchen scale can be a lifesaver at times! My scale also weighs ounces or grams, so it solves that problem as well.
Think about packaged fruit that you buy as well. It has a different scale of measurement because it is called a “dry” pint. You will most typically see 6 ounce (1/2 pint) and 12 ounce (1 pint) containers. 1 pint of fruit is approximately 1 and 1/2 cups.
Here are some good rules of thumb, unless otherwise specified, for a couple common ingredients when measuring into a cup or spoon:
Flour – use the scoop and sweep method (do not pack or scoop the flour in such a way that it is packed into the cup). Some recommend to actually spoon the flour into your measuring cup (I personally do not have time for this, and so just try a very light scoop and sweep).
Brown Sugar – Unless stated otherwise, most recipes measure brown sugar packed.
What about sifted ingredients? Pay close attention to whether the recipe is giving you a straight measurement that you then sift, or if the ingredient list calls for “sifted”. It will make a difference, and if it says sifted in the ingredient list, you should sift the ingredient, and then measure it.
Example: 1 cup flour (ingredient), later in the recipe directions it says sift together flour with sugar, leavening, etc; Measure the flour scoop-and-sweep, and then just sift as specified
1 cup sifted flour (ingredient); sift the flour, then measure 1 cup for your recipe
How do I convert from standard system to metric system for cooking, or vice versa?
If you have a kitchen scale, you can often measure either system if going by weight, so no big deal.
If you need some other guidance, Google is always a great quick answer. It will pull up any conversion for you that you type in.
Also, I found a handy little website where you can quickly plug in the ingredient (since each ingredient varies in mass) and it will do any conversion for you into basically every measurement form that you could ever want.
http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/cooking/
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We want to add a common ingredient list to aid in measuring as well. I mean, how much is the juice of one medium lemon anyway? Or one clove of garlic? Of course there’s always variation, but we can provide an average and that helps. Let us know what ingredients you want to know and we’ll add them.
