Measurements/Weights 101

Many people have trouble with the serving sizes, measuring their food, etc., because so many different types of measurements are used. Here's some basic info people might find helpful... I'm not going to list ALL possible conversions, but some of the main ones, for both metric and US systems. For anything I don't cover, Google is your friend!! :bigsmile:

VOLUME (how much space something takes up) - used for liquids or solids that are fairly consistent in size/shape, and with individual pieces that are fairly small - like rice, beans, flour - not mixed veggies, large chunky cereal, etc.:

1 cup is 16 Tablepoons (So 1/2 cup is 8 Tbsp, and 1/4 cup is 4 Tbsp)
1 cup is 240 ml
1 cup is 8 fluid ounces
1 Tablespoon is 15 ml
1 Tablespoon is 3 teaspoons
1 Liter = 1000 ml
1 Liter = 32 fl. ounces
1 Liter = 4.2 cups
1 Liter = .26 gallons
1 pint = 2 cups
1 quart = 2 pints (or 4 cups)
1 gallon = 4 quarts (or 16 cups)

WEIGHT (best for solids that aren't consistent in size/shape, hard to put in a measuring cup, etc. - like fruit, mixed veggies, meat, etc.)

1 kg = 1000 grams
1 pound = 453.59 grams
1 pound = 16 ounces
1 ounce = 28.35 grams
1 pound = 0.45 kg
1 kg = 2.2 pounds
1 stone = 14 pounds
1 stone = 6.35 kg

Note about OUNCES: It is a little confusing because there are fluid ounces and weight ounces. IF you are looking at a fluid, and it has something about ounces (often "fluid ounces" or "fl oz") - there are 8 fluid ounces in a cup. It is important NOT to mistake this for the WEIGHT ounces. Fluid ounces (volume - the space it takes up) and weight ounces are not the same. Any non-liquid that refers to ounces is referring to weight, not volume.

Note about Weight vs Volume - you cannot convert between weight and volume unless you know the denisity of the item you are looking at. 1 cup of lead pellets will not weigh the same as a cup of marshmallows! (An extreme example, but it makes the point.) Many food labels in the US provide volume and weight, which is nice - (Ex. 1 serving size of my oatmeal is 1/2 cup (volume) or 40g (weight). ) But if they're not both available, you'll have to go with whatever is provided.

Note about trying to use Volume for "chunky" things: It's much more accurate to weight things that don't fit neatly in measuring cups. You could measure out significantly different amounts of mixed fruit, for example, depending on how you cut it up. Same with mixed veggies, meat, etc. Kitchen food scales are not very expensive - I personally recommend this one - I've been using it over 2 years, and only changed the batteries once, plus it has a high weight limit (11 lbs) and is very easy to use, and has the tare function (good for weighing multiple things in one bowl) and can switch between pounds, grams, ounces and something else I can't remember (kg maybe?). (Note - it's got just about 5 stars with almost 2000 reviews on amazon... I'm not the only one who likes it!)
http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precision-Pro-Multifunction-Capacity/dp/B001N0BBAY/ref=tag_tdp_ptcn_edpp_url/192-2746844-3599963