Cooking weights and measures
Cooking weights and measures.
In most of the earth, formula use the metric scheme of litres (l) and millilitres (ml), grams (g) and kilograms (kg), and degrees Celsius (°C). The word litre is often spelt liter in the USA.
The English-speaking world normally course weight in pounds (avoirdupois), 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.
The volumetrical measures here are for evaluation only. See below for the characterization of Gallon for more details.
In count the “cooks cup” above is not the same as a “coffee cup” which can vary anywhere from 4–7 fl.oz. (or even smaller for espresso)
In Australia the tool units have been consistent by law (the so-called “metric cup”), while the Imperial volume measure no longer has legal status, and now and again “pints” of beer are as small as 300 ml. It is dangerous to rely on any of the utensil measures, since they could have been canned without amendment from another country. There are also reports that dessert spoons are used as a measure in Australia, though they are not officially part of the “metric cup” system.
In Germany, and to a lesser extent in France, recipes often refer to pounds (Pfund in German, livre in French). In each case, the unit refers to 500 g, about 10% more than an avoirdupois weight pound (453.59237 g).
United States measures
The U.S. still uses pounds and ounces (avoirdupois) for weight, and U.S. usual units for volume. For measures used in cookbooks in print in other nations steer to the apropos regional section in Traditional amount systems.
Measures are top secret as either dry measures 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 mandatory. U.S. recipes are commonly in terms of fluid measures.
In conjugal cooking, bulk solids, outstandingly flour and sugar, are measured by degree, often cups, though they are sold by weight at retail. Weight measures are used for meat and butter; butter is sold by weight but in packages marked to assist common divisions by eye. (As a sub-packaged unit, a stick of butter, at ¼ lb, is a de facto measure in the U.S.)
Cookbooks in Canada use the same system, although pints and gallons would be taken as their Imperial quantities unless one otherwise. Following the popularisation of the metric system, recipes in Canada are habitually published with metric conversions.
British (Imperial) measures
Note that measurements in this section are in Imperial units
Traditional British measures differentiate between weight and volume.
Weight is measured in ounces and pounds (avoirdupois) as in the U.S.
Volume is measured in Imperial gallons, quarts, pints, and fluid ounces (with 20 fl.oz. per pint). The Imperial gallon was first defined as 10 pounds of water in 1824, and refined as exactly 4.54609 litres in 1985. Older recipes may well give size in cups; in so far as a standard cup was used, it was usually half a pint (sometimes a third of a pint), 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.
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 1/16 of a US pint (29.6 ml); a UK fluid ounce is 1/20th of a 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 in the UK for most purposes, some decades ago, and both taught in schools and used in books. It is now mandatory for the sale of food and almost all new cookery books are in metric only, as well as cookery programmes using metric exclusively. However, it is not uncommon to purchase goods which are measured and labelled in Mertic, but the actual measure is rounded to the equivalent Imperial measure (i.e you buy milk which is labelled correctly as 568ml which also happens to be the equivalent of 1 pint).
Special commands
Some recipes include other 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.