Liquid and Dry Conversions
Technically, liquid and dry measures hold the same volume, but they are each designed to measure their respective ingredients accurately.
For instance, as you could easily spill any liquid that you measure in a dry measuring cup, it is always a good idea to use a liquid measuring cup. They have lines that measure well below the rims so there is room for the liquid to slosh without spilling.
There are two types of liquid measurings cups that you can purchase, the beaker
and the angled measuring cups. The angled measuring cups are best as you don’t need to be at eye level when you are pouring in your ingredient to read the measurement, as the measurements are written on the top and on the side.
Using liquid measuring cups for dry ingredients is also a bad idea as dry measuring cups are designed to be filled to the brim so the excess can be swept off which is difficult to do in a liquid measuring cup. Patting or shaking the cup would cause your ingredients to compact and you will be adding more than is necessary for your recipe. Ideally, the best weigh to measure your ingredients is by weight with a digital kitchen scale.
Liquid ingredients are poured in and filled to the appropriate lines. Dry ingredients are scooped in then leveled off.
The best way to measure…
Dry ingredients would be by using the “dip and sweep” method whereby you use
your dry measuring cup to scoop your ingredients and then using a flat edge sweep
off the excess.
Liquid ingredients are best measured using a liquid measuring cup and placing
it on a flat surface. Then pour the liquid in until you have reached your desired marking.
For accuracy, however, you can’t beat using a scale that is almost foolproof.
Two systems of measuring …
There are two systems used for measuring quantities – metric and imperial. In
cooking the metric system uses kilograms (kg) and grams (g) for dry ingredients and litres (l) and millilitres (ml). The imperial system uses pounds (lb) and ounces (oz) for dry ingredients and fluid ounces (fl oz), quarts (qt), and gallons (gal). While a gill in the imperial system is the equivalent of 5 fl oz (150 ml) is now mainly used to measure alcoholic spirits.
Liquid and Dry Measures Chart
As a guide, I have included a conversion chart below. For an online calculator, however, I like to use the one from Donna Hay as it includes Australian, UK and US cups.
dry measures | liquid measures | ||||
metric | imperial | metric | imperial | ||
15 g | 1/2 ounce | 30 ml | 1 fluid oz | ||
30 g | 1 ounce | 100 ml | 3 fluid oz | ||
60 g | 2 ounces | 125 ml | 4 fluid oz | ||
100 g | 3 ½ ounces | 150 ml | 5 fluid oz | ¼ pint | |
124 g | 4 ounces | 150 ml | 1 gill | ||
155 g | 5 ounces | 185 ml | 6 fluid oz | ||
220 g | 7 ounces | 250 ml | 8 fluid oz | ||
| 250 g | ½ pound | 300 ml | 10 fluid oz | ||
280 g | 9 ounces | 300 ml | ½ pint | ||
315 g | 10 ounces | 500 ml | 16 fluid oz | ||
345 g | 11 ounces | 600 ml | One pint | ||
375 g | 12 ounces | 750 ml | 24 fluid oz | ||
440 g | 14 ounces | 1,000 ml | 32 fluid oz | ||
500 g | 16 ounces | 1 pound | 1 litre | 1 ¾ pint | |
1 kg | 32 ounces | 2 pounds | 1,200 ml | One quart | Gallon |
Click here for details on Measuring Cups and Spoons Worldwide.
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We have a tradition in our family of getting together once a week at Mum’s house for “Family Dinner Night”. Mum was always responsible for getting the meat and starch side of the dinner organised and it was always my responsibility to do the salads and vegetable sides. It was always a huge production with the dinner table groaning under the strain of the variety of dishes created.
