U.S. CUSTOMARY UNITS AND THEIR EQUIVALENTS
It is generally not a good idea to scale a recipe up or down by more than 3 or 4 times. All measurements presented on this page are in U.S. units.
LIQUID MEASUREMENTS
In the United States, liquid measurement is not only used for liquids such as water and milk, it is also used when measuring other ingredients such as flour, sugar, shortening, butter, and spices.
teaspoon tablespoon fluid
ouncegill cup pint quart gallon 1 teaspoon = 1 1/3 1/6 1/24 - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 tablespoon = 3 1 1/2 1/8 1/16 - - - - - - - - - 1 fluid ounce = 6 2 1 1/4 1/8 1/16 - - - - - - 1 gill = 24 8 4 1 1/2 1/4 1/8 - - - 1 cup = 48 16 8 2 1/2 1/4 1/16 1 pint = 96 32 16 4 2 1 1/2 1/8 1 quart = 192 64 32 8 4 2 1 1/4 1 gallon = 768 256 128 32 16 8 4 1 1 firkin = 6912 2304 1152 288 144 72 36 9 1 hogshead = 48384 16128 8064 2016 1008 504 252 63
MISCELLANEOUS EQUIVALENT 1 pinch 1/8 teaspoon or less 1 teaspoon 60 drops
DRY MEASUREMENTS
Dry measurements are not typically used in U.S. recipes; dry measurements are used mainly for measuring fresh produce (e.g. berries are sold by the quart, apples by the bushel, or peck). Do not confuse dry measure with liquid measure, because they are not the same.
Pint Quart Gallon Peck Bushel Cubic Feet Pint 1 1/2 1/8 1/16 1/64 0.019445 Quart 2 1 1/4 1/8 1/32 0.03889 Gallon 8 4 1 1/2 1/8 0.15556 Peck 16 8 2 1 1/4 0.31111 Bushel 64 32 8 4 1 1.2445 Cubic Feet 51.428 25.714 6.4285 3.2143 0.80356 1
LIQUID MEASUREMENTS vs. DRY MEASUREMENT
The table below shows the differences between dry measurement and liquid measurement.
DRY UNIT LIQUID UNIT 1 pint, dry = 1.1636 pints, liquid 1 quart, dry = 1.1636 quarts, liquid 1 gallon, dry = 1.1636 gallons, liquid
WEIGHT
The two most commonly used units of weight (or mass) measurement for cooking in the U.S. are the ounce and the pound. Do not confuse the ounce of weight with the fluid ounce, because they are not the same; there is no standard conversion between weight and volume unless you know the density of the ingredient. To make matters worse, there are different kinds of weight measurement; Avoirdupois weight, Troy weight, and Apothecaries weight. In the U.S., when someone refers to pounds and ounces of weight (especially in cooking) they are usually referring to Avoirdupois weight.
Basic Cooking Rule:
16 ounces = 1 pound
LENGTH
Unlike the metric system, where everything is neat and organized in units of ten, the U.S. system of length does not seem to be based on any one number. This table summarizes the different units of length. Although not used in cooking, I have included larger units of length also such as the mile.
inch foot yard 1 inch = 1 1/12 1/36 1 foot = 12 1 1/3 1 yard = 36 3 1 1 mile = - - - 5280 1760
COUNTING
Many foods are sold in quantities of dozen or gross. Eggs are a good example of something that you buy by the dozen. When refering to more than one dozen or gross, you do not add an "s" to the end; instead, you precede the word by the amountUsage Examples:
- One dozen eggs
- Three dozen people
- Five gross of pencils
It is also very common to use the phrase "half dozen" to mean six.
1 Dozen = 12 1 Gross = 12 Dozen or 144
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