Cooking weights and measures
Encyclopedia
In recipe
Recipe
A recipe is a set of instructions that describe how to prepare or make something, especially a culinary dish.-Components:Modern culinary recipes normally consist of several components*The name of the dish...

s, quantities of ingredients may be specified by mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...

, by volume
Volume
Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional space enclosed by some closed boundary, for example, the space that a substance or shape occupies or contains....

, or by count
Counting
Counting is the action of finding the number of elements of a finite set of objects. The traditional way of counting consists of continually increasing a counter by a unit for every element of the set, in some order, while marking those elements to avoid visiting the same element more than once,...

.

For most of history, most cookbooks did not specify quantities precisely, instead talking of "a nice leg of spring lamb", a "cupful" of lentils, a piece of butter "the size of a walnut", and "sufficient" salt. Informal measurements such as a "pinch", a "drop", or a "hint" (soupçon) continue to be used from time to time. In the U.S.A., Fannie Farmer
Fannie Farmer
Fannie Merritt Farmer was an American culinary expert whose Boston Cooking-School Cook Book became a widely used culinary text.-Biography:...

 introduced the more exact specification of quantities by volume in her 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book
Boston Cooking-School Cook Book
The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer is a 19th century general reference cookbook which is still available both in reprint and in updated form...

.

Today, most of the world prefers metric measurement by weight, though the preference for volume measurements continues in the United States ("almost exclusively"), North America, Australia, and Sweden . Different ingredients are measured in different ways:

Liquid ingredients are generally measured by volume worldwide.

Dry bulk ingredients, such as sugar and flour, are measured by weight in most of the world ("250 g flour"), and by volume
Dry measure
Dry measures are units of volume used to measure bulk commodities which are not gas or liquid. They are typically used in agriculture, agronomy, and commodity markets to measure grain, dried beans, and dried and fresh fruit ; formerly also salt pork and fish...

 in North America and Australia ("1/2 cup flour"). Small quantities of salt and spices are generally measured by volume worldwide, as few households have sufficiently precise balances to measure by weight.

Meats are generally measured by weight or count worldwide: "a 2 kg chicken"; "four lamb chops".

Vegetables may be measured by weight or by count, despite the inherent imprecision of counts given the variability in the size of vegetables.

Metric measures

In most of the world, recipes use the metric system
Metric system
The metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...

 of litre
Litre
pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...

s (l, sometimes L) and millilitres (ml, sometimes mL), gram
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....

s (g) and kilogram
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...

s (kg), and degrees Celsius
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...

 (°C). The word litre is almost always spelled liter in the USA.

The English-speaking world frequently measures weight in pounds (avoirdupois
Avoirdupois
The avoirdupois system is a system of weights based on a pound of 16 ounces. It is the everyday system of weight used in the United States and is still widely used to varying degrees by many people in Canada, the United Kingdom, and some other former British colonies despite the official adoption...

), with volume measures based on cooking utensils and pre-metric measures. The actual values frequently deviate from the utensils on which they were based, and there is little consistency from one country to another.

Some common volume measures in English-speaking countries are/were:

Measure Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 
Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 
UK  USA  FDA
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...

Teaspoon
Teaspoon
A teaspoon, an item of cutlery, is a small spoon, commonly part of a silverware place setting, suitable for stirring and sipping the contents of a cup of tea or coffee...

 
5 mL 4.93 mL 5 mL
Dessertspoon  10 mL
Tablespoon
Tablespoon
A tablespoon is a type of large spoon usually used for serving. A tablespoonful, the capacity of one tablespoon, is commonly used as a measure of volume in cooking...

 
20 mL 15 mL 14.79 mL 15 mL
Fluid ounce
Fluid ounce
A fluid ounce is a unit of volume equal to about 28.4 mL in the imperial system or about 29.6 mL in the US system. The fluid ounce is distinct from the ounce, which measures mass...

 
28.41 mL 29.57 mL 30 mL
Cup  250 mL 284.1 mL 236.59 mL 240 mL
Pint
Pint
The pint is a unit of volume or capacity that was once used across much of Europe with values varying from state to state from less than half a litre to over one litre. Within continental Europe, the pint was replaced with the metric system during the nineteenth century...

568.26 mL 473.18 mL
Quart
Quart
The quart is a unit of volume equal to a quarter of a gallon, two pints, or four cups. Since gallons of various sizes have historically been in use, quarts of various sizes have also existed; see gallon for further discussion. Three of these kinds of quarts remain in current use, all approximately...

 
1136.52 mL 946.35 mL
Gallon
Gallon
The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...

 
4546.09 mL 3785.41 mL
In South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

, a "pint" of beer is traditionally 425 mL, while most other states have metricated this value to 570mL. See Beer glasses in Australia.

The volumetric measures here are for comparison only. See below for the definition of Gallon
Gallon
The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...

 for more details.

In addition the “cooks cup” above is not the same as a “coffee cup” which can vary anywhere from 100 ml (9.00009000090001E-09 imp fl oz; 9.00009000090001E-09 US fl oz) - 200 millilitre (or even smaller for espresso)

In Australia – since 1970 – metric utensil units have been standardized by law and Imperial measures no longer have legal status. However – it is wise to measure the actual volume of the utensil measures – particularly the 'Australian tablespoon' – see above – since many are imported from other countries with different values. Dessertspoons are standardized as part of the metric system at 10 ml, though they are not normally used in contemporary recipes. Australia is the only metricated country with a metric tablespoon of 20 ml, unlike the rest of the world, which has a 15 ml metric tablespoon.

In Germany, and to a lesser extent in France, recipes frequently refer to pounds (Pfund in German, livre in French). In each case, the unit refers to 500 g, about 10% more than an avoirdupois pound (453.59237 g).

Weight of liquids

With the advent of accurate electronic scales it has become more common to weigh liquids for use in recipes, avoiding the need for accurate volumetric utensils. The most common liquids used in cooking are water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

 and milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

, milk weighing approximately the same as water in the low volumes used in cooking.

1 ml of water weighs 1 gram so a recipe calling for 300 ml (≈ ½ Imperial Pint) of water can simply be substituted with 300 g (≈ 10 oz.) of water.

1 fl.oz. of water weighs approximately 1 ounce so a recipe calling for a UK pint (20 fl.oz.) of water can be substituted with 20 oz. of water.

More accurate weight equivalents become important in the large volumes used in commercial food production. To an accuracy of five significant digits, they are:
Measure Weight (water)
at 4 °C (39.2 °F)
grams ounces
1 ml 1.0000 0.0353
1 fl.oz. UK 28.413 1.0022
1 fl.oz. US 29.574 1.0432
1 pint US 473.18 16.691
1 pint UK 568.26 20.045
1 litre 1000.0 35.275


Even a home cook can use greater precision at times. Water at 4 °C (39.2 °F) may be volumetrically measured then weighed to determine an unknown measuring-utensil volume without the need for a density adjustment.

United States measures

The U.S. uses pounds and ounces (avoirdupois
Avoirdupois
The avoirdupois system is a system of weights based on a pound of 16 ounces. It is the everyday system of weight used in the United States and is still widely used to varying degrees by many people in Canada, the United Kingdom, and some other former British colonies despite the official adoption...

) for weight, and U.S. customary units for volume. For measures used in cookbooks published in other nations navigate to the apropos regional section in Traditional measurement systems.

Measures are classified as either dry measure
Dry measure
Dry measures are units of volume used to measure bulk commodities which are not gas or liquid. They are typically used in agriculture, agronomy, and commodity markets to measure grain, dried beans, and dried and fresh fruit ; formerly also salt pork and fish...

s or fluid measures. Some of the fluid and dry measures have similar names, but the actual measured volume is quite different. A recipe will generally specify which measurement is required. U.S. recipes are commonly in terms of fluid measures.
Fluid Measures
Unit Abbrev. Defined fl oz ml
drop
Drop (unit)
The drop is a unit of measure of volume, the amount dispensed as one drop from a dropper. It is often used in giving quantities of liquid drugs to patients, and occasionally in cooking....

tsp. 0.05
teaspoon
Teaspoon
A teaspoon, an item of cutlery, is a small spoon, commonly part of a silverware place setting, suitable for stirring and sipping the contents of a cup of tea or coffee...

tsp. or t. tbsp. 4.93
tablespoon
Tablespoon
A tablespoon is a type of large spoon usually used for serving. A tablespoonful, the capacity of one tablespoon, is commonly used as a measure of volume in cooking...

tbsp. or T. fl.oz. 14.79
fluid ounce fl.oz. or oz. gal. 1    29.57
jigger 1 fl.oz. 1.5  44.36
gill gi. cup 4    118.29
cup
Measuring cup
A measuring cup is a kitchen utensil used primarily to measure the volume of liquid or bulk solid cooking ingredients such as flour and sugar, especially for volumes from about 50 mL upwards. The cup will usually have a scale marked in cups and fractions of a cup, and often with fluid measure...

C pint 8    236.59
pint pt. quart 16    473.18
fifth The “fifth”, originally exactly one-fifth US gallon (=25.6 US fl.oz., ≈757 ml) was adjusted slightly to make it exactly 750 ml (≈25.36 US fl.oz.). It is normally only used as a retail measure of wine and liquor.
Volume measures in the United States are based on the U.S. gallon for fluids (legally defined as 231 cubic inches (≈ 3.785 liters)), and the U.S. bushel for dry goods (legally defined as an 8 inch tall cylinder 18.5 inches in diameter (≈ 35.24 liters)).
gal. 25.36 750   
quart qt. gal. 32    946.35
gallon gal. 231 in3 128    3,785.41
Dry Measures
Unit Abbrev. Defined cu.in. ml
pint, dry pt. dry qt. 33.60 550.61
quart, dry qt. peck 67.20 1,101.22
peck pk. bushel 537.61 8,809.77
bushel bu. 684.5π
Pi
' is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter. is approximately equal to 3.14. Many formulae in mathematics, science, and engineering involve , which makes it one of the most important mathematical constants...

 in3
2,150.42 35,239.07


Dashes, pinch
Pinch (cooking)
A pinch in cooking is a very small amount of an ingredient, typically salt, sugar or spice. Traditionally it was defined as "an amount that can be taken between the thumb and forefinger". Historically the pinch was more precisely defined by some U.S...

es, and smidgens are all traditionally very small amounts well under a teaspoon, but not more uniformly defined. In the early 2000s some companies began selling measuring spoons that defined a dash as teaspoon, a pinch as teaspoon, and a smidgen as teaspoon. Based on these spoons, there are two smidgens in a pinch and two pinches in a dash.

In domestic cooking, bulk solids, notably flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...

 and sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

, are measured by volume, often cups, though they are sold by weight at retail. Weight measures are used for meat. Butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...

 may be measured by either weight ( lb) or volume (3 tbsp) or a combination of weight and volume ( lb plus 3 tbsp); it is sold by weight but in packages marked to facilitate common divisions by eye. (As a sub-packaged unit, a stick of butter, at lb [113 g], is a de facto measure in the U.S.)

Cookbooks in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 use the same system, although pints and gallons would be taken as their Imperial quantities unless specified otherwise. Following the adoption of the metric system, recipes in Canada are frequently published with metric conversions.

British (Imperial) measures

Note that measurements in this section are in Imperial units

Traditional British measures distinguish between weight and volume.
  • Weight
    Weight
    In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force on the object due to gravity. Its magnitude , often denoted by an italic letter W, is the product of the mass m of the object and the magnitude of the local gravitational acceleration g; thus:...

     is measured in ounces and pounds (avoirdupois) as in the U.S.
  • Volume
    Volume
    Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional space enclosed by some closed boundary, for example, the space that a substance or shape occupies or contains....

     is measured in Imperial gallons, quarts, pints, and fluid ounces. The Imperial gallon was originally defined as 10 pounds (4.5359 kg) of water in 1824, and refined as exactly 4.54609 litres in 1985. Older recipes may well give measurements in cups; insofar as a standard cup was used, it was usually pint [~285 mL] (or sometimes pint [~190 mL]), but if the recipe is one that has been handed down in a family, it is just as likely to refer to someone's favourite kitchen cup as to that standard.

Table of volume units
Unit Ounces Pints Millilitres Cubic inches US ounces US pints
fluid ounce
Fluid ounce
A fluid ounce is a unit of volume equal to about 28.4 mL in the imperial system or about 29.6 mL in the US system. The fluid ounce is distinct from the ounce, which measures mass...

 (fl oz)
1 28.4130625
gill 5 142.0653125
pint
Pint
The pint is a unit of volume or capacity that was once used across much of Europe with values varying from state to state from less than half a litre to over one litre. Within continental Europe, the pint was replaced with the metric system during the nineteenth century...

 (pt)
20 1 568.26125
quart
Quart
The quart is a unit of volume equal to a quarter of a gallon, two pints, or four cups. Since gallons of various sizes have historically been in use, quarts of various sizes have also existed; see gallon for further discussion. Three of these kinds of quarts remain in current use, all approximately...

 (qt)
40 2 1136.5225
gallon
Gallon
The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...

 (gal)
160 8 4546.09
Note: The millilitre figures are exact whereas the cubic-inch and US measure figures are to five significant digits.
Note 2: The Imperial Gallon is equal to 10 lbs of water.


American cooks using British recipes, and vice versa, need to be careful with pints and fluid ounces.
A US pint is 473 ml, while a UK pint is 568 ml, about 20% larger.
A US fluid ounce is of a US pint (29.6 ml); a UK fluid ounce is UK pint (28.4 ml).
This makes an Imperial pint equivalent to 19.2 US fluid ounces.

On a larger scale, perhaps for institutional cookery, it must be noted that an Imperial gallon is eight Imperial pints (160 Imperial fl.oz., 4.546 litres) whereas the US gallon is eight US pints (128 US fl.oz., 3.785 litres).

The metric system was officially adopted
Metrication
Metrication refers to the introduction and use of the SI metric system, the international standard for physical measurements. This has involved a long process of independent and systematic conversions of countries from various local systems of weights and measures. Metrication began in France in...

 in the UK, for most purposes, in the 20th century and both are taught in schools and used in books. It is now mandatory for the sale of food. However, it is not uncommon to purchase goods which are measured and labeled in Metric, but the actual measure is rounded to the equivalent Imperial measure (i.e., milk labeled as 568 ml / 1 pint). In September 2007, the EU announced it would allow the UK to continue for the foreseeable future to supply certain goods in the equivalent imperial quantities allowing the traditional delivery of pints of milk and the sale of pints of beer in UK pubs. The UK could continue to print non-metric measurements alongside metric ones on product labels. The previous deadline for the end of dual-labeling was 2010.

Special instructions

Volume measures of compressible ingredients have a substantial measurement uncertainty, in the case of flour of about 20%. Some volume-based recipes, therefore, attempt to improve the reproducibility by including additional instructions for measuring the correct amount of an ingredient. For example, a recipe might call for “1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed”, or “2 heaping cups flour”. A few of the more common special measuring methods:
Firmly packed
With a spatula, a spoon, or by hand, the ingredient is pressed as tightly as possible into the measuring device.

Lightly packed
The ingredient is pressed lightly into the measuring device, only tightly enough to ensure no air pockets.

Even / level
A precise measure of an ingredient, discarding all of the ingredient that rises above the rim of the measuring device. Sweeping across the top of the measure with the back of a straight knife or the blade of a spatula is a common leveling method.

Rounded
Allowing a measure of an ingredient to pile up above the rim of the measuring device naturally, into a soft, rounded shape.

Heaping / heaped
The maximum amount of an ingredient which will stay on the measuring device.

Sifted
This instruction may be seen in two different ways, with two different meanings: before the ingredient, as “1 cup sifted flour”, indicates the ingredient should be sifted into the measuring device (and normally leveled), while after the ingredient, as “1 cup flour, sifted”, denotes the sifting should occur after measurement.


Such special instructions are unnecessary in weight-based recipes.

See also

  • Cooking
    Cooking
    Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...

  • Gastronorm sizes
    Gastronorm sizes
    Gastronorm sizes are standard sizes of containers used in the catering industry specified in the EN 631 standards:* GN1/9 : 108 × 176 mm* GN1/6 : 176 × 162 mm* GN1/4 : 265 × 163 mm* GN1/3 : 325 × 176 mm* GN1/2 : 325 × 265 mm* GN2/3 : 354 × 325 mm...

     (standard sizes of container)
  • Gas mark
    Gas Mark
    The Gas Mark is a temperature scale used on gas ovens and cookers in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth of Nations countries. It is the most common temperature scale on new gas ovens sold in the UK; very few models are labelled in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit.- History :The draft...

    , a system of oven temperatures
    used in the UK

  • Gourmet Library and museum
  • Imperial units
  • United States customary units
    United States customary units
    United States customary units are a system of measurements commonly used in the United States. Many U.S. units are virtually identical to their imperial counterparts, but the U.S. customary system developed from English units used in the British Empire before the system of imperial units was...



External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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