Having a handy reference for kitchen measurements and recipe abbreviations can certainly make life in the kitchen so much easier. Whether making a small adjustment to your recipe or reducing the overall amount for the recipe to fit the size of your family, it definitely can be invaluable.
Ever wonder how many tablespoons are in a cup? How about tablespoons in a fluid ounce? Well no more wondering, we have found what you are looking for and have put them in a handy printable for you.
Just as important as knowing the measurements, is knowing the correct technique to be using when measuring ingredients.
MEASURING INGREDIENTS BY VOLUME
This by far is the most common method used by home cooks. Many of us were taught this form of measurement the first time we made a recipe with our Mothers, or in home ec classes in high school. There really isn’t a good way to remember the breakdown of volume measurements other than a chart. Measuring by volume is the easiest way to measure liquids but can be rather inconsistent when it comes to measuring dry ingredients. Here in the states we get by with using it almost exclusively for both but elsewhere folks will only use volume measurements for liquids.
MEASURING INGREDIENTS BY MASS
This is the holy grail of measuring dry ingredients. Not only is it ultimately easier, you only need to remember one conversion for using in your cooking; 16 ounces equals a pound. This method is most commonly used in baking because it’s much more accurate to weigh out a pound of all-purpose flour, rather than measure 4 cups which may vary in weight by as much as 4 ounces or more. If you are having difficulties with getting a consistently moist cupcake you might want to look into measuring by mass not volume.
Unfortunately many recipes published today, including ours, are formatted using volume measurements so as a home cook we need to be able to work with both types and be able to convert from one to the other with confidence.
When it comes right down to it having the right tools for the job can make a significant difference. If you like to be precise then you should look for a measuring spoon set that includes all the sizes you regularly use, from a tablespoon all the way to 1/8 of a teaspoon if you desire.
We’d like to hear your opinion in the comment section at the end of the article:
We’ve had an ongoing disagreement. Does 1 cup of all-purpose flour measure out the same if you use a dry measuring cup or a liquid measuring cup? Help us settle this.
The Kitchen Measurements and Recipe Abbreviations are available in 3 different colors for you to download.
