Volume to Weight Conversion

[Free Rider]

Originally Posted by oldschool1982

.........................Or even better yet ... Weigh everything 4 times then take the average weight for all 4 then again the software looks fairly accurate. I guess it all depends on how much time you have.

I did indeed begin to weigh my cups of flour. Being somewhat of a statistician, however, the urge to take the average of 100 cups of flour was just about overwhelming. On one very auspicious occasion, my one cup of flour weighed over 12 ounces without my even needing to pack it in. Even worse is that I grew up with metric and having ounces as both a volume and a weight measure just frustrates me. Most recipe books don't indicate whether they mean volume ounces that are part of a cup or weight ounces that are part of a pound. eeek

[mudbug]

Originally Posted by Free Rider

...volume ounces that are part of a cup or weight ounces that are part of a pound.

The rule of thumb is liquid is measured in fluid ounces.
Dry ingredients would be measured by dry ounces in a pound.

You also need to take into consideration the audience of the cookbook. Was it written for Europeans or Americans?

[oldschool1982]

Originally Posted by Free Rider

I did indeed begin to weigh my cups of flour. Being somewhat of a statistician, however, the urge to take the average of 100 cups of flour was just about overwhelming. On one very auspicious occasion, my one cup of flour weighed over 12 ounces without my even needing to pack it in. Even worse is that I grew up with metric and having ounces as both a volume and a weight measure just frustrates me. Most recipe books don't indicate whether they mean volume ounces that are part of a cup or weight ounces that are part of a pound. eeek

And some folks wonder why some Chef's shave their heads. Personally issues like this or even costing out recipes/menus (which is the only other time I did/needed conversions) among many other issues made it necessary to even out the areas that were "picked clean". Well it was either that or buy stock in RumpleMinz.

[Free Rider]

Originally Posted by mudbug

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

You also need to take into consideration the audience of the cookbook. Was it written for Europeans or Americans?

Good gracious, what are you trying to do to me?! In the specific case that got me onto this, I have two similar books that have sort of exactly the same recipes. They are titled the same and have the same photographs. They have the same method and the same ingredients. The only difference is that one book has the recipes in weight and the other in volume. I noticed that the weights were different for one cup of flour in one recipe than the 1 cup of flour in another. I think the recipes were originally for a European audience, but were converted to American. The one with weights, for instance, mentions caster sugar, so is European. I've been working up a recipe book of my own (not for publication, but just my reference) and just decided to convert all to weight as I prefer using weight (amongst many other things, it's less messy).

So in converting ingredients, I think that caster sugar is about equivalent to C&H's "Baker's" sugar. Am I right?

[mudbug]

Originally Posted by Free Rider

So in converting ingredients, I think that caster sugar is about equivalent to C&H's "Baker's" sugar. Am I right?

Yes. This is correct.

[foodpump]

[quote=Free Rider]Good gracious, what are you trying to do to me?! In the specific case that got me onto this, I have two similar books that have sort of exactly the same recipes. They are titled the same and have the same photographs. They have the same method and the same ingredients. The only difference is that one book has the recipes in weight and the other in volume. I noticed that the weights were different for one cup of flour in one recipe than the 1 cup of flour in another. I think the recipes were originally for a European audience, but were converted to American. The one with weights, for instance, mentions caster sugar, so is European. I've been working up a recipe book of my own (not for publication, but just my reference) and just decided to convert all to weight as I prefer using weight (amongst many other things, it's less messy).

What you have just described is exactly what I experienced almost 20 years ago, when I replaced a copy of Teubner's "Cakes and pastries" in original German--which ws stolen from me, with a the same copy, albeit printed in USA with the same beautiful photos and recipie descriptions, but the ingredients given in US imperial volume. I felt like I had bought a Rolls Royce and someone had swapped out the engine for a Hyundai engine. I fumed and wrote letters, and then realized that most cooking publications printed in the US are ONLY in Imperial volume. This topic has been discussed to death a few weeks ago, with many people for and against measurements in weights.

As I often tell my wife, "you can't argue with logic" but she does... Go the route ALL professionals, ALL around the world have been doing since befoe Christ, use weights.

[Free Rider]

What an improvement! I did the conversions and now things are working much better. No more mess from spooning flour or sifting it onto paper to tip it into the cup and no more just trying to dig the cup in and hoping for the best. I tried it twice over the weekend and I think it is a vast improvement from the eyeball/volume method ('specially as my eyeballs are gettin' old).

Thanks everyone for the input.

[foodpump]

I am a very happy to hear this.
Now if only some of those Cooking Magazine editors could view this thread and make a few decisions.............

[casualcook]

I suggest you look at The Cake Bible by Rose Bevy Barenbaum. At the back she has pages and pages of conversions for all different types of flour, sugar and just about every baking ingredient.

This book is worth buying just for this reference.

[mitmondol]

Foodpump, I totally feel your pain!
Being from Eu myself, I had a really hard time with cups and spoons etc.
Ended up franticly weighing every cup of flour only to discover that it IS inpossible to convert that to an accurate weight!
They were always different no matter how hard I tried to do everything the same way!
Not only the type of flour but the brand of flour mattered too. Or the time of the year. Or the weather. Or who knows!

Anyway, I still weigh everything for baking , well, if it is possible.For cookies? No.
I figured they are so American, can just use the American way of putting them together...
I don't think you will find a surefire conversion though. Only because it is inpossible to do.

[Stavrogin]

I don't have a definitive source, but I have had reliable results using 4.5 ounces or 130 grams of flour per cup. Regardless of the weight printed on the package. Some packages say a 1/4th of a cup of flour is 20 grams, some say 30, some say 40, etc. I think most other ingredients are either pack-resistant or used in such small quantities as to make the weight irrelevant. But, then again, I have been drinking tonight and alcohol does terrible things to your judgement.

[castironchef]

Originally Posted by Stavrogin

I don't have a definitive source, but I have had reliable results using 4.5 ounces or 130 grams of flour per cup.

There is no, can be no, "definitive source" for the weight of a "cup of flour." Alas, the difference between the same volume of packed and freshly sifted flour is way too great. All you can do is hope that the writer of the recipe will give some clues as to how the volume was originally determined.

[Free Rider]

Originally Posted by casualcook

I suggest you look at The Cake Bible by Rose Bevy Barenbaum. At the back she has pages and pages of conversions for all different types of flour, sugar and just about every baking ingredient.

This book is worth buying just for this reference.

I went to Borders and looked at this book. I didn't see anything about volume to weight conversions. Perhaps they've changed the book over the years?

[Z~BESTUS]

Good morning to you. Go back to Borders book store & take a look at page 438 & it begins at page 439. I have seen this book in used book shoppes for much less. Anyway, I thought you would like to know that.
Enjoy the rest of the day.

~Z~BESTUS.

[Free Rider]

Originally Posted by Z~BESTUS

Good morning to you. Go back to Borders book store & take a look at page 438 & it begins at page 439. I have seen this book in used book shoppes for much less. Anyway, I thought you would like to know that.
Enjoy the rest of the day.

~Z~BESTUS.

I'll try that. Mastercook has worked wonderfully so far, btw. I've converted most of my recipes over and the standard they use works great. I've heard that the Cake Bible may be good for other than conversions though. I just wasn't impressed when I looked at it. I'll give it another shot.