From ounces to mls' to cups to grams. A guide to converting recipes and measuring correctly.
Contents
How Recipes Can Change Based on Your Location
Australia has one unique difference when it comes to standard recipe measurements by having a 20ml Tablespoon as opposed to the 15ml found everywhere else - which actually makes more sense to me anyway.
There are a couple of minor differences between the Australian (along with most other countries) standard measurements compared with the US too. If you come across an American recipe the main difference to note is the cup sizes and then maybe the difference in pint volume.
For most recipes the difference is so small that it won't affect the overall result, however if you’re concerned about accuracy, particularly with any baking recipes, you could remove two teaspoons from each cup to get from Australia to US measures.
After looking through the charts you may find yourself doing some quick maths in your head and wondering why some multiple values and conversions don’t quite add up. It’s worth noting that when it comes to the kitchen, some values are rounded off to simplify the cooking process. For example the US fl oz is technically 29.57 but it’s rounded to 30 for recipe calculations.
Generally, Tablespoon is written in Uppercase and teaspoon in lowercase. When abbreviated, Tablespoon will have a 'b' - Tbsp vs tsp.
Measuring - Correct Methods and Correct Equipment
An ingredient can vary significantly in weight simply based on the type of cup being used and the way it gets packed when measuring. For example a cup of flour can weigh anywhere between 120g to 180g depending on how lightly it is packed into the cup.
There’ll be different ways of going about this depending on who you talk to but there’s a popular acceptable technique that is said to measure a consistent ‘true’ cup.
Choosing the Correct Cup Measure
Choosing the most suitable measuring cup is the first step. The ones that often come in packs of four or five in various sizes are best for dry ingredients and are sometimes referred to as ‘dry measuring cups’. They measure to the brim making it easier to level off dry ingredients but are less suitable for liquids as it can spill easily and liquid will also form a dome past the rim of the cup.
Liquids are best measured using a clear jug which displays the volume in increments on the side. The size of the jug should exceed the volume being measured to prevent any spills and it will also provide a flatter surface level. They are sometimes referred to as ‘wet measuring cups’.
Measuring Dry Ingredients
When filling the cup you want to avoid any excessive compacting. It may be usual practice to dunk it straight into the product, pull upwards, and follow with a couple of taps on the side; however this may actually be causing you to use more flour than required for the recipe.
First make sure the product isn’t compacted in its container or bag otherwise break it up with a fork or spoon to aerate it. Next, use a spoon to scoop the product into a ‘dry measuring cup’ then level off the top using a flat edge, such as a spatula or palette knife, to scrape off any excess. This also applies to measuring spoons.
One exception to this rule is brown sugar which is usually measured as packed unless otherwise stated.
Measuring Wet Ingredients
For improved accuracy make sure that the jug is sitting level on a flat surface and not held in your hand. Physically crouch down so that your eyes are level with the top of the liquid because you’ll see a different reading when looking from above or below.
Don’t Have the Proper Size Cup? Don't Give Up Just Yet!
If you don’t have the right size measuring equipment available, depending on the recipe it may not matter. Have a look through the ingredients to see how everything is measured. If you notice that all ingredients are variations of the same method then the volume becomes less important.
For example, you may have five ingredients and they’re all measured using a cup. One might be ½ cup, another ¾, and so on. It won’t matter if you use a 250ml measuring cup or a 350ml drinking glass, because it will be the same ratio of ingredients combined.
It can still get a little tricky however, so read the whole recipe first and consider the following beforehand as well.
▹ the item you use to measure with should be shaped in a way that you can easily tell where half way and a quarter way is. If it's shaped like a martini glass then you probably should keep looking.
▹ If it gets poured into a tray and baked, eg. a frittata or cake, if the mixture is reduced then it will cook quicker.
▹ If the mixture is a larger amount then it’ll take longer to cook. If it’s thicker (or deeper) than what the recipe is expecting then the temperature may even need to be adjusted so it doesn’t overcook the outside before the inside is ready.
▹ check if there’s any further preparation after cooking as this may be reliant on a specific size or amount.
▹ the recipe may be designed to serve a particular number of people so this may change either the serving size or the number of serves.
▹ the recipe may be designed to fit a specific size tray/pot/etc and adjusting the recipe size may cause complications.
▹ if the method contains steps such as chilling, heating, resting, etc then the recommended time may need to be adjusted.
Converting Celsius to Fahrenheit to Celsius
The following methods can be used to calculate any temperature. Keep in mind that allowance needs to be made for some minor rounding off.
Converting Fahrenheit to Celsius
Subtract 32 from the Fahrenheit temperature, multiply the result by 5, then divide by 9.
400ºF minus 32 = 368
368 x 5 = 1840
1840 / 9 = 204 ºC, which is rounded to 200ºC
Converting Celsius to Fahrenheit
Multiply the Celsius temperature by 9, divide the result by 5, and then add 32.
200ºC x 9 = 1800
1800 / 5 = 360
360 +32 = 392 ºF, which is rounded to 400ºF
Converting Cups to Grams
Below is an approximate guideline for commonly used kitchen ingredients.
"A Litre is a Kilogram" "A Pint is a Pound"
A litre of water has a mass of about 1 kilogram therefore you can measure the weight of water, and other liquids of similar density, using a measuring jug. The same goes for fluid ounces and pounds, 16 fl oz of water (1 pint) has a mass of about 16 oz (1 pound).
Tbsp = Tablespoon
Tips and Tricks
☆ Ingredients such as peanut butter, honey, syrups, butter, and other sticky ingredients can be hard to measure because once they go in the cup only half of it comes back out again. There’s a couple of ways to make this a lot easier and more accurate.
① If your cups and spoons are made from plastic, lightly spray with cooking oil spray, or grease it lightly like you would a cake tin. The ingredients should slip right out, or at least make it a whole lot easier to remove.
If your cups and spoons are made from metal, heat them up in hot water and dry right before use.
② For anything more solid that won’t easily absorb water this is a really cool trick. Say you need one cup of solid butter for example. Grab a one litre measuring jug and fill it to the 500ml line with cold water. Now start scooping in the butter (or cut it into blocks and add one at a time) until the water reaches the 750ml line. A cup is 250ml, so once the water rises up 250ml you know that you must have added one cup of butter to the jug. Drain off the water straight away to reduce any chance of the ingredient absorbing it.
☆ Do you use scales often? How many times have you put the ingredients in the bowl only to realise that you forgot to tare the scales or weigh the bowl? If you have a dedicated bowl that you always use then consider writing the weight on the bottom with a marker or an etching tool.
Cooking Term Equivalents
Considering we've been covering different measurement values found across the world I thought I'd finish off with a couple of common food and cookery terms that you may also come across in recipes from other parts of the planet.
