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Grams vs. ml for certain foods
SueSueDio
Posts: 4,796 Member
Hi folks, I have a weighing question.
In your experience, do grams and ml match for foods like mayonnaise? e.g. Does 30ml of mayo weigh 30g?
I ask because for certain foods like mayo, Cool Whip etc., I have trouble measuring a tablespoon-full because of the consistency of the product and the fact that there's always some clinging to the underside of the spoon regardless of how well I try to scrape it off! (There's always some left inside the spoon, too.) I'd prefer to just weigh these foods, but the nutritional info is based on ml so I'm not sure if it's a direct conversion.
I tried to look online for this info and it seems like the corresponding weight depends on the item being measured, but I wondered if anyone here had experience of how close the caloric value might be.
I'm happy to measure liquids and stuff like mustard, honey or dressing with spoons, but some of the more 'gloopy' or 'fluffy' foods are much harder to measure this way and I'd rather just put my plate on the scale and dump the stuff on top!
Edit: I found this conversion calculator, which I could use but you have to search for the right ingredient and it may not have everything I need (haven't looked far into it yet).
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/conversions/grams/gram
It would be nice if there's a quick and easy way, but if the general advice is "don't be lazy" then so be it...!
In your experience, do grams and ml match for foods like mayonnaise? e.g. Does 30ml of mayo weigh 30g?
I ask because for certain foods like mayo, Cool Whip etc., I have trouble measuring a tablespoon-full because of the consistency of the product and the fact that there's always some clinging to the underside of the spoon regardless of how well I try to scrape it off! (There's always some left inside the spoon, too.) I'd prefer to just weigh these foods, but the nutritional info is based on ml so I'm not sure if it's a direct conversion.
I tried to look online for this info and it seems like the corresponding weight depends on the item being measured, but I wondered if anyone here had experience of how close the caloric value might be.
I'm happy to measure liquids and stuff like mustard, honey or dressing with spoons, but some of the more 'gloopy' or 'fluffy' foods are much harder to measure this way and I'd rather just put my plate on the scale and dump the stuff on top!
Edit: I found this conversion calculator, which I could use but you have to search for the right ingredient and it may not have everything I need (haven't looked far into it yet).
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/conversions/grams/gram
It would be nice if there's a quick and easy way, but if the general advice is "don't be lazy" then so be it...!
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Replies
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I find they are close enough.0
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No. Density and mass are different. Water has a density of 1.0. Other liquids/solids do not. Unfortunately, countries like Canada almost exclusively use measurements which makes "1/2 a cup" of something large and spacious quite annoying to fill out. Just weight things and then enter "13g of fat free mayo" etc. when you can, and use the measuring cup if you can't.0
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bclarke1990 wrote: »Unfortunately, countries like Canada almost exclusively use measurements which makes "1/2 a cup" of something large and spacious quite annoying to fill out.
Tell me about it - how am I supposed to measure a cup of popcorn or marshmallows? How much I can fit in there depends on how big the pieces are! Butter is a hassle, too, if I don't soften it first.
I do wish my Canadian/US recipe books used weight instead of cups/spoons, I could feel much more confident in my logging when cooking recipes! I try to weigh anyway (putting 2 cups of flour in the bowl and seeing what it weighs), but it's a pain in the backside because I'm lazy and would prefer to skip one of those steps! Should I pack in the flour, or should I fill it 'lightly' and just smooth off the top? How much does that affect the end result? It wasn't a big deal before I started caring about calories! I dislike it especially for baking as the proportions are more important. Maybe I should just stick more to my UK books with their nice weights.
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bclarke1990 wrote: »Unfortunately, countries like Canada almost exclusively use measurements which makes "1/2 a cup" of something large and spacious quite annoying to fill out.
Tell me about it - how am I supposed to measure a cup of popcorn or marshmallows? How much I can fit in there depends on how big the pieces are! Butter is a hassle, too, if I don't soften it first.
I do wish my Canadian/US recipe books used weight instead of cups/spoons, I could feel much more confident in my logging when cooking recipes! I try to weigh anyway (putting 2 cups of flour in the bowl and seeing what it weighs), but it's a pain in the backside because I'm lazy and would prefer to skip one of those steps! Should I pack in the flour, or should I fill it 'lightly' and just smooth off the top? How much does that affect the end result? It wasn't a big deal before I started caring about calories! I dislike it especially for baking as the proportions are more important. Maybe I should just stick more to my UK books with their nice weights.
I believe a cup of flour is 128 g. I use this website:
http://dish.allrecipes.com/cup-to-gram-conversions/0 -
I weigh all semi-solid condiments: ketchup, mustard, mayo, dressings. It is more accurate.0
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I moved from the UK to Canada decades ago. I found a conversion chart and pinned it to my kitchen cupboard. Never did get the hang of cups.
A strange Canadian thing- ice cream comes in ml not gr. I had to find the conversion for that.
There are digital scales that do ml, floz as well as gr, oz, lbs etc, Just bought the DIL one, kicking myself for not getting one for me.
@SueSueDio, sorry, except for buying a new scale, I don't have a quick and easy method.
Cheers, h.
Edit. All Canadian packaging carries both cup & spoon measurements and gr & ml.0 -
Almost all of my food labels (in the U.S.) include a weight equivalent in parentheses (usually grams) if the serving size is given by volume (e.g., tablespoon, cup). Maybe you need to start crossing the border to do your grocery shopping? (Just joking.)
Yes, the specific gravity of most foods is not going to be exactly 1, so strictly speaking you can't convert directly from milliliters to grams. But, for most semi-solid foods, the specific gravity is only going to be off by a relatively small amount, so for condiments and other things that you don't eat a lot of at one time, you're probably not going to be making a large miscalculation if you do a 1:1 conversion from what you weigh back to the milliters that the serving size is expressed in. You might look at that gourmetsleuth conversion site you mention to see how much difference it really makes for the kinds of foods that are similar to what you're looking for (e.g., mayonnaise is mostly oil, egg, and water, so if the specific gravities of oil and egg are close to 1, it might not be worth worrying about).
FYI, the jar of "real" (not low-fat) mayonnaise in my refrigerator says it is 90 calories for "1 Tbsp (13 g)" (and 1 Tbsp is approx. 15 ml), so, yes, if you did a 1:1 grams to milliliter conversion and weighed out 15 grams and counted it as one serving, you'd be underestimating by 14 calories. Not perfect, but not horrific either.
You can also search for USDA, non-brand specific entries in the MFP database, if you feel like your mayonnaise is pretty typical as mayonnaise goes. Bonus: those entries, if they're the ones added by MFP staff and not users, will generally offer you a lot of choices of both weight-based and volume-based serving sizes in the drop down menu.0 -
middlehaitch wrote: »Edit. All Canadian packaging carries both cup & spoon measurements and gr & ml.
Some does, some doesn't - I went to double-check a couple of things, just to be sure I'm not suffering from a case of teh dumbz! The margarine says 2tsp (10g), but the mayo and Cool Whip only give tbsp/(ml), not weight.
My scale does have settings for water and milk, but I'm not sure how accurate those would be for foods that are NOT water or milk. Anyone know if they'd be good enough?
Thanks for the responses so far, by the way!
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knelson095 wrote: »I believe a cup of flour is 128 g. I use this website:
http://dish.allrecipes.com/cup-to-gram-conversions/
Ooh, thank you - bookmarked!
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middlehaitch wrote: »Edit. All Canadian packaging carries both cup & spoon measurements and gr & ml.
Some does, some doesn't - I went to double-check a couple of things, just to be sure I'm not suffering from a case of teh dumbz! The margarine says 2tsp (10g), but the mayo and Cool Whip only give tbsp/(ml), not weight.
My scale does have settings for water and milk, but I'm not sure how accurate those would be for foods that are NOT water or milk. Anyone know if they'd be good enough?
Thanks for the responses so far, by the way!
No... not accurate at all...0 -
arditarose wrote: »I weigh all semi-solid condiments: ketchup, mustard, mayo, dressings. It is more accurate.
I understand it's more accurate, which is why I want to do it - I just didn't know if there was a standard sort of "1 tbsp mayo = 30g" kind of conversion I could use.
How do you log yours? Do you find database entries that are in grams rather than ml/spoons and use those?0 -
bclarke1990 wrote: »No. Density and mass are different. Water has a density of 1.0. Other liquids/solids do not. Unfortunately, countries like Canada almost exclusively use measurements which makes "1/2 a cup" of something large and spacious quite annoying to fill out. Just weight things and then enter "13g of fat free mayo" etc. when you can, and use the measuring cup if you can't.
On nutrition labels they also include grams for most foods except for those considered liquids (oil, mayo, and the like) which would include ml.
To the OP, mayo left in the measuring spoon would only mean slightly lower calories than you would be logging, as long as you are not scraping the stuff on the outside off and eating it.
Second, no ml and grams for liquids will not match up because of different densities.0 -
arditarose wrote: »I weigh all semi-solid condiments: ketchup, mustard, mayo, dressings. It is more accurate.
That only works if one has the grams for them as their density varies greatly.0 -
middlehaitch wrote: »Edit. All Canadian packaging carries both cup & spoon measurements and gr & ml.
Some does, some doesn't - I went to double-check a couple of things, just to be sure I'm not suffering from a case of teh dumbz! The margarine says 2tsp (10g), but the mayo and Cool Whip only give tbsp/(ml), not weight.
My scale does have settings for water and milk, but I'm not sure how accurate those would be for foods that are NOT water or milk. Anyone know if they'd be good enough?
Thanks for the responses so far, by the way!
They would not be accurate. I would suggest that if you are careful with your measuring spoon, you will be fine. Make sure you level it off, then scrape out only what it inside it, not any on the outside.0 -
knelson095 wrote: »I believe a cup of flour is 128 g. I use this website:
http://dish.allrecipes.com/cup-to-gram-conversions/
Ooh, thank you - bookmarked!
This is my go to bookmarked site for cup to gram conversions. You just have to remember that 1 cup is equivalent to 8 fluid ounces or 16 tablespoons.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart.html0 -
knelson095 wrote: »I believe a cup of flour is 128 g. I use this website:
http://dish.allrecipes.com/cup-to-gram-conversions/
Ooh, thank you - bookmarked!
This is my go to bookmarked site for cup to gram conversions. You just have to remember that 1 cup is equivalent to 8 fluid ounces or 16 tablespoons.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart.html
Nice! This one is way more detailed, thanks!0 -
i weigh everything also my liquids
I measure it one time...then i know the amount of grams. Made a new entry for it and so i can use it over and over again.
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BurnWithBarn2015 wrote: »i weigh everything also my liquids
I measure it one time...then i know the amount of grams. Made a new entry for it and so i can use it over and over again.
I think this is what I will wind up doing - create my own favourite foods and rely on them. I just spent ~ 5 minutes trying to find an entry for Best Foods Real Mayonnaise in grams. Now that I've found it, there's no way to "favourite" it so I can find it quickly again. It's not going to stay in my recents, because I think I use mayonnaise once every 2 months or so.
I REALLY wish there was a way to request entries on MFP that show grams and ignore everything else. I don't ever want to use the entries with cups if I can help it. Even when I put "g" in the search window, there is no prioritization given to entries that feature the calories per 1g.0 -
knelson095 wrote: »I believe a cup of flour is 128 g. I use this website:
http://dish.allrecipes.com/cup-to-gram-conversions/
Ooh, thank you - bookmarked!
This is my go to bookmarked site for cup to gram conversions. You just have to remember that 1 cup is equivalent to 8 fluid ounces or 16 tablespoons.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart.html
This is the one I use as well.0 -
arditarose wrote: »I weigh all semi-solid condiments: ketchup, mustard, mayo, dressings. It is more accurate.
I understand it's more accurate, which is why I want to do it - I just didn't know if there was a standard sort of "1 tbsp mayo = 30g" kind of conversion I could use.
How do you log yours? Do you find database entries that are in grams rather than ml/spoons and use those?
Now if you used a proper mayo like Hellman's you'd be able to see on the label that 1 T = 13 g
(Mayo is one of the few things for which I am brand loyal.)0 -
This really grinds my gears!!!! I usually just weigh out 15 grams for things like mayo and consider that a serving. For things like canned beans and canned veg....it's a pain in the *kitten*. So what I do is drain the can then weigh out just the beans themselves. Then I'll look up the calories on the database. Or i just figure out how many servings in a can and portion in out into that many servings. So frustrating.0
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kshama2001 wrote: »I understand it's more accurate, which is why I want to do it - I just didn't know if there was a standard sort of "1 tbsp mayo = 30g" kind of conversion I could use.
Now if you used a proper mayo like Hellman's you'd be able to see on the label that 1 T = 13 g
(Mayo is one of the few things for which I am brand loyal.)
Hah! But I DO use Hellmann's - it's one of my extravagances, I won't buy the cheap store-brand stuff - and I went to check the jar in case I'd been dumb and missed it. But nope, it says "1 tbsp (15ml)". No grams. Maybe it's the Canadian packaging? 0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »I understand it's more accurate, which is why I want to do it - I just didn't know if there was a standard sort of "1 tbsp mayo = 30g" kind of conversion I could use.
Now if you used a proper mayo like Hellman's you'd be able to see on the label that 1 T = 13 g
(Mayo is one of the few things for which I am brand loyal.)
Hah! But I DO use Hellmann's - it's one of my extravagances, I won't buy the cheap store-brand stuff - and I went to check the jar in case I'd been dumb and missed it. But nope, it says "1 tbsp (15ml)". No grams. Maybe it's the Canadian packaging?
Yes, you Canadians are weird. I've seen several posts about Canadian ice cream only being in ml too.
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Ready2Rock206 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »I understand it's more accurate, which is why I want to do it - I just didn't know if there was a standard sort of "1 tbsp mayo = 30g" kind of conversion I could use.
Now if you used a proper mayo like Hellman's you'd be able to see on the label that 1 T = 13 g
(Mayo is one of the few things for which I am brand loyal.)
Hah! But I DO use Hellmann's - it's one of my extravagances, I won't buy the cheap store-brand stuff - and I went to check the jar in case I'd been dumb and missed it. But nope, it says "1 tbsp (15ml)". No grams. Maybe it's the Canadian packaging?
Yes, you Canadians are weird. I've seen several posts about Canadian ice cream only being in ml too.
In the manufacturing process, when they fill the jars (mayo) or containers (ice cream) it is in liquid form, so they measure it by volume. When it is cooled to storage temperature, it is semi-solid or solid. I wish manufacturers were required to list the weight serving size as it is normally consumed, instead of the liquid serving size at time of manufacturing and packaging.0 -
Ready2Rock206 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »I understand it's more accurate, which is why I want to do it - I just didn't know if there was a standard sort of "1 tbsp mayo = 30g" kind of conversion I could use.
Now if you used a proper mayo like Hellman's you'd be able to see on the label that 1 T = 13 g
(Mayo is one of the few things for which I am brand loyal.)
Hah! But I DO use Hellmann's - it's one of my extravagances, I won't buy the cheap store-brand stuff - and I went to check the jar in case I'd been dumb and missed it. But nope, it says "1 tbsp (15ml)". No grams. Maybe it's the Canadian packaging?
Yes, you Canadians are weird. I've seen several posts about Canadian ice cream only being in ml too.
That's what I was thinking.
I hate mayo, but in general this site is a good resource for anything: https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list0
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