Weighing Food measuring cups vs scale

dqbound
dqbound Posts: 28
in Recipes
I'm a little confused about how to weigh food. Today I was making Oatmeal. The recipe for two called for a cup of oats. I measured a cup in a regular measuring cup and then emptied it onto the scale to double check. 1 cup of measured oats equaled 2.5oz I thought a cup was 8oz.?

Can anyone recommend a good page to read so I can learn why things are so different and how to accurately measure to make sure I'm getting what I think I'm getting? Thanks!!

Replies

  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    You are trying to measure out two different things
    Cups are not technically weights of measure....they are just to give an idea....

    Using a scale is going based on weight......
    So for me, I try to get all my numbers in my diary setup based on grams......and try to get away from cups and TBS/TBPS where possible.

    So if the nutrition label says what the stuff is for 1 cup.....then measure that out, and see what it is in grams on the scale...and then you can set your numbers up in grams.....which I think 2.5 oz is around 50 - 70 gr??
    If so, take the numbers on the label and start doing some backwards math, so you can get it down to what 1gr of the stuff equates to nutrition wise.
  • _Josee_
    _Josee_ Posts: 625 Member
    Flow oz and oz are different things...
  • F00LofaT00K
    F00LofaT00K Posts: 688 Member
    Measuring cups weigh fluid ounces, not weight ounces. One cup of milk is 8 fluid ounces, as is one cup of water, corn syrup, oatmeal etc. But each of those things will weigh a different amount based on how heavy each fluid is. For example: mold a bunch of cottonballs into the shape/size of a bowling ball. It's going to be a lot lighter than the bowling ball even though it takes up the same amount of physical space. I use a scale to measure solid foods in grams. It is a lot more accurate than measuring cups for solid food. 39g of oatmeal is a serving for my brand and it is listed as half a cup... I just found out 39g is a very packed, full half cup. I've been losing some pretty delicious calories by not using the gram scale! I save the measuring cups for liquids.


    Here you go:

    http://bravetart.com/blog/OuncesVersusFluidOunces

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY&feature=youtu.be
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    If a recipe calls for a cup of oats, it means to measure out 1 cup of dry oats. Now, if you know what 1 cup of dry oats weighs (should be on the label of whatever oats you're using), then sure, you could just put your mixing bowl on the scale, pour in oats until you hit the desired weight, and not worry with measuring cups at all. Otherwise, if the recipe lists ingredients by measure rather than weight, then go with the measure and don't worry about what it weighs.

    If you're baking cookies or a cake or something where the proportions need to be precise for rise/texture purposes, then weight can make a big difference. For instance, my flour weighs 30 g per 1/4 cup serving, but 30 g is notably less than what will actually fit in my 1/4 c measuring scoop, so I always weigh flour when I'm baking. For oatmeal, it's not that big of a deal.
  • AleciaG724
    AleciaG724 Posts: 705 Member
    I don't trust cups & spoon for measuring. The nutritional data on the box of Kashi Go Lean Crunch says 1c = 53g and is 200 cals. When I weighed it, 1c level to the top weighed 78g which was 281 cals. That's like 30% more calories?! On commercial products you'd think the label would be close at least!
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    many people poopoo measuring cups, but I'll tell you just portioning the food even if it's off a few grams is better than nothing. It's also more convenient to carry a 1/4cup measuring cup in your purse than a whole food scale. Just the act of consciously measuring consistently is better then not doing anything and how many of us become so heavy. We werent watching the amount of food we ate. I say if all you have are measuring cups then go for it. Measure it out realize there is an error and log it.

    I'll always argue there is a place for both cup and scales in our tool bag to become healthier.

    oh and i went off on a tangent on a question you werent asking, but i had to put my 2 cents in.
  • TheSlorax
    TheSlorax Posts: 2,401 Member
    there is a listing for grams on every food label next to the serving size. for something like that, I would measure out 1 cup and then weigh it in grams (less the measuring cup). I would then log the # of grams I have weighed out.

    also, fluid ounces are not the same things as ounces. a cup has 8 FLUID ounces, so a cup of juice is 8 fl oz.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    You are confusing fluid ounces and ounces (weight). Your scale measures weight.

    The serving size should list the weight as well in grams. Use that and measure the weight in grams.
  • LishieFruit89
    LishieFruit89 Posts: 1,956 Member
    It also depends how you pack a measuring cup.

    So recipes call for a cup of flour but that varies in weight depending how you scoop it in - between 4 -5oz.
    That can make a big difference in a recipe - being too dry/dense/etc.
    A cup of flour is 125g (just under 4.5 oz since 1oz = 28g)

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