Help! Measuring question!

[NancyR]

I am in the throes of making a sauce that calls for 6 cups canned tomatoes. So, do I measure 6 cups out or do I put in 48 ounces based upon what is listed on the cans? In measuring, a 28 ounce can of tomatoes yielded six cups. Help! Which do I go by? Thanks so much!!!

[Pete]

Store bought canned goods list the ounces in weight, not volume, so you need to measure it out.

[NancyR]

I appreciate your assistance--feel like such a dummy... a Senior moment? Hmm...

NancyR

[Free Rider]

I wish they could have thought of another word to measure either weight or volume instead of copying "ounces". I suppose I should be grateful they didn't call all of the measurements by duplicate terms. TGFM?

[Suzanne]

When a recipe calls for something in cups, it's a measure of volume. That's pretty standard.

When it calls for ounces, that's when it gets tricky because it could be either volume (8 ounces = 1 cup, etc.) OR weight. I always try to get the authors I work on to be very clear about which they mean. Unfortunately, not all authors and editors understand how much confusion they cause (or they don't care ).

BTW: how was the sauce?

[Jayme]

Sometimes it gets frustrating- some of my recipes are American and so in volume, and many are international and in weight. I have a great set of stainless measuring cups, and the scale on the counter!

[Suzanne]

I wish all recipes required weighing; it is so much more accurate. But American magazines and book publishers say "Oh, no, the public won't go for that."

[shel]

One of the things that gets to me is that when a recipe calls for an item that's packed in liquid - tomatoes, beans for example - and it doesn't specify drained or not. And, even if it does, I've noticed different brands of canned tomatoes and beans have different amounts of the prime ingredient. Muir Glen may have more liquid and less tomatoes than the same sized can of Italian tomoatoes, or Progresso. I really wish the recipe writer would be specific.

Shel