Weights and Measures

A note on measurements

For consistency in the kitchen, you’ll want to measure your ingredients with a scale rather than with measuring cups. There are three systems of measure for recipe ingredients: American, Imperial, and metric. Certain units of measure are better suited for dry ingredients (mass) and others for liquid (volume).

Let’s break down the difference:

American Volume

The most common unit of measure for the American cook. Measures the volume of both wet and dry ingredients using cups like 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/4 cup, etc.

Imperial Fluid Ounces & Ounces

Fluid ounces (written as fl oz) are a unit of volume used to measure liquid ingredients like 8 fl oz of milk. Because fluid ounces measure volume, or the space something takes up, 16 fl oz of one liquid is also 16 fl oz of another. Think about a 12 fl oz soda bottle. It will only hold 16 fl oz of liquid regardless of what you fill it with. If a recipe calls for fluid ounces, pull our your liquid measuring cups.

Ounces (written as oz) are a unit of weight usually used for dry ingredients but can be used to weigh wet ingredients, too, like 5 oz of flour or 8 oz of milk. If a recipe calls for ounces, pull out your scale.

Metric Grams & Milliliters

Grams (written as g), like ounces, are a unit of weight used for both dry and wet ingredients. Ounces can be easily converted into grams.

Milliliters (written as ml), are a unit of volume used to measure liquid ingredients.

Here’s a list of my preferred conversions for some common and a few not-so-common ingredients. Use these as your personal guide, and remember, if a recipe provides conversions, always follow that as preferred measurements can vary from person to person.

Last updated: July 29th, 2006

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