Weighing liquids to count calories

CattOfTheGarage

I always weigh liquids for recipes because I was taught to by a chef. He advised against measuring cups as they are not very accurate.

I have no problem with this because my line of work involves doing calculations that involve density and flotation, so it is second nature to me that 1ml of fresh water weighs 1 gram. That isn't even a conversion for me, I don't have to think about it.

I also know that the density variation in water-based liquids like milk, juice, vinegar, fizzy drinks etc. is minimal. Even sea water is only two and a half percent heavier than fresh - enough to matter if you're sailing a ship in it, but not for recipes or calorie tracking.

I would only use a different density for something where there is a SIGNIFICANT proportion of another substance in there, not just a dissolved trace - so oils, cream, honey, syrup, hard spirits. You'll need to account for different densities there. But for anything which is overwhelmingly made up of water, 1g=1ml is close enough.