Conference turris::cooks

Hi,
	A US ounce ("oz" for short) is both a measure of weight and
measure of volume.  In wieght, an ounce is about 28 grams.  16 ounces 
make one pound. In volume ("fluid ounce") it is about 29cc's (or 8 drams
if you use drams in France.) 

	A US cup is a measure of volume, and is 8 US ounces.

	"T" is tablespoon
	"t" is teaspoon

Oddly, when we talk about using "a cup of" something (say flour) we are
measuring by volume, and not by weight.  There is a movement in the US 
to change from the use of volume (which is not constant) to weight, but 
all the traditional recipies are still done the old way.  

				Hope this helps,
				>>>==>PStJTT

    And:
    
    	a tablespoon (T) is 1/2 of an ounce
    	a teaspoon (t) is 1/3 of a tablespoon
    
    -Neil

    Re .2:
    He is, of course, talking about ounces of volume, not weight.

Of course, it gets even more confusing...

Generally, we in the US use volume measures for liquids and weights for
solids.  But then of course things that pour (like Ketchup (catsup, etc.))
are sold by weight, and things that don't (like ice cream (in the proper,
frozen, state)) are sold by volume (pints, half gallons, etc.).

Gee, we could start a whole new topic on the foibles of the marketplace.

    When I lived in Italy, I used the following:
    
    1 kilo = 32 oz. (weight) therefore, 
    452 grams in 1 pound.
    I basically used the philosophy 1 lb = 1/2K
    1 cup liquid is (in Italian) una tazza grande- a large glass. 
    A tablespoon is a soup spoon (cuillerees a soupe)
    A teaspoon is 1/3 a soup spoon i.e. 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon
    
    Fortunately, our measuring glasses now have the metric system as
    well as cups/etc.
    
    Good luck.  As I learned the hard way, I know what you must be going
    through.
    
    Terry

    Can anyone  tell  me what half a cup of butter would weigh (I want
    to make the Scottish Lion oatcakes). Thanks.
    
    
    Tony.

    Well, a pound of butter comes in four sticks, in most American stores.
    Each stick contains 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) of butter, so a 1/2
    cup of butter is 1/4 pound of butter.
    
    Someone else can convert that to grams!
    
    --Louise

    
    
    I know this may sound a little stupid, but after reading most of
    the notes in this conference I am still confused.
    
    In England we measure in grammes or pounds and ounces, not by the
    cup.
    
    How do I convert your "cups" into my "pounds and ounces"?
    
    Thanks a lot - after reading all this I'm starving!!!
    
    Rae
    

    One cup has 8 ounces and one pound has 16 ounces.
    420 grammes in one pound, so divide it into 16 and
    you have how many grammes an ounce has.
    
    I hope that helps.

       re .1:
       
       You completely miss the point.  Measurements for recipes in Europe
       are usually given in terms of weight, while measurements for
       recipes in N America are usually given in terms of volume. [Part
       of the confusion is that the word "ounce" is ambiguous -- it can
       be weight, or it can be volume.  However, it is completely wrong
       to assume that something that has a volume of 4 ounces (1/2-cup)
       will also have the weight of 4 ounces (1/4-pound).
       
       Unfortunately, there is no standard rule of thumb for converting
       from volume measurements to weight -- it varies depending upon the
       density of the product.  (For example, a cup of butter weighs more
       than a cup of rice krispies.)
       
       --Mr Topaz

    and a cup of all-purpose flour has the same weight as 1 1/8 cups cake
    flour, a cup of sugar is (duhh) the same weight as 1 3/4 (about)
    confectionary sugar.
    
    --and the British "cup" is bigger than the American "cup"
    
    There are many notes in here already on the differences and they always
    confuse people anyway, but I don't know of any that actually translate
    volume to wt measure.
    
    ed

OK: having lived in both Britain and America and gone through this...

a US cup is 8 US fluid ounces.

However if you go to a hardware store in Britain and buy a measuring jug that 
has a scale marked in cups then it is American cups (I've tried several and it 
is true of all of them). So off you go and buy a measuring jug and forget the
problem...

/. Ian .\

    454 grammes per pound, not 420.
    
    

    I have the 2-set cookbook, "Joy of Cooking". It has conversions and
    substitutes for a variety of weights, measures, and foods.  This might
    be exactly what you need to translate recipes.
    
    

U.S. MEASURE AND METRIC MEASURE CONVERSION CHART
Formulas for Exact Measures								

     Symbol   When you know:  Multiply by:  	To find:
----------------------------------------------------------------

MASS	oz	ounces		28.35		grams			
(Wt)	lb	pounds		 0.45		kilograms		
	g	grams		 0.035		ounces			
	kg	kilograms	 2.2		pounds			


................................................................

VOLUME
	tsp	teaspoons	  5.0		milliliters
	tbsp	tablespoons	 15.0		milliliters
	fl oz	fluid ounces	 29.57		milliliters
	c	cups		  0.24		liters
	pt	pints		  0.47		liters
	qt	quarts		  0.95		liters
	gal	gallons		  3.785		liters
	ml	milliliters	  0.034		fluid ounces

.................................................................

TEMPERATURE
	*F	Fahrenheit	5/9 (after 	Celsius
				  subtracting 32)
	*C	Celsius		9/5 (then add	Fahrenheit
				  32)
    

			Rounded Measures for
		          Quick Reference
------------------------------------------------------------
		1 oz			= 30 g
MASS		4 oz			= 115 g
(Wt)		8 oz			= 225 g
		16 oz	= 1 lb		= 450 g
		32 oz   = 2 lb		= 900 g
		36 oz 	= 2.25 lb	= 1,000 g
					   (1 kg)
..................................................................

VOLUME
		1/4 tsp		= 1/24 oz	=   1 ml
		1/2 tsp 	= 1/12 oz	=   2 ml
		1 tsp		= 1/6 oz	=   5 ml
		1 tbsp		= 1/2 oz	=  15 ml
    		1 c		= 8 oz		= 250 ml
		2 c (1 pt)	= 16 oz		= 500 ml
		4 c (1 qt)	= 32 oz		= 1 liter
		4 qt (1 gal)	= 128 oz 	= 3.75 liters
...................................................................

TEMPERATURE

		32* F		= 0* C
		68* F		= 20* C
		212* F		= 100* C
----------------------------------------------------------------------

    Teaspoon    X5    = Milliliters
    Tablespoon  X1.5  = Milliliters
    Cup         X .24 = liter
    pint        X .47 = liter
    quart       x .95 = liter
    ounce       X 28  = gram
    pound (lb)  X .45 = kilogram
    
    Edd

    
    	RE: .-1
    
    	I think the previous reply should read -
    
    	Tablespoon	X15 = Milliliters
    
    -rjc-